2019/08/05 by Ryan M. Thomas · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Mathematics · #Archaeology and Historical Studies #Ancient Egypt and Archaeology #Biblical Studies and Interpretation #Semitic languages #Divinity #Epithet #Character (mathematics) #Literature #Philosophy #Arabic #Art #Theology #Linguistics #Mathematics
paper · pdf · doi:10.7817/jameroriesoci.139.2.0307
openalex publication_date 2019/08/05 · openalex created_date 2019/08/13 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Although a Canaanite deity named Gad has long been known to have had a cultic following in the Levant, relatively little attention has been devoted to elucidating its character, status, and relationship to other major gods. The following study aims to investigate the nature of the deity by culling information from a broad analysis of West Semitic personal names carrying this theophoric as well as synthesizing the data with diverse biblical and inscriptional material. Several lines of evidence are adduced to suggest that Gad is not an independent West Semitic divinity but merely a descriptive epithet of the personal god El.