Is Hubal The Same As Allah?
One of the authors (MSMS) would like to thank both Dr. M. C. A. Macdonald and Dr. R. Hoyland for stimulating discussions on ancient North Arabian and ancient South Arabian epigraphies. The authors would also like to thank Asim Awan for discussions on pre-Islamic godhood. None of them are associated with Islamic Awareness.
Appendix 1: Ba•alshamin - A Nabataean Deity Ba•alshamin (or Baalshamin, as written in popular literature), b•lšmn, was a Syrian deity who was incorporated into the Nabataean pantheon. Ba•alshamin has a long history going back to the second millennium BCE. His origin lies in the great storm and fertility god Ba•lu of the Ugaritic texts.[147] His specific name appears to be a title of the storm god Hadad whose worship was widespread in Syria and Mesopotamia. He was popular in Palmyra, Hatra and the Edessa region, where he was identified with the local deity Maralahe.[148] Ba•alshamin was worshipped over a wide area and his popularity gradually spread south.[149] He had a late 1st century BCE temple dedicated to him at Si• in Syria. Littmann published a major inscription from Si• dedicated to Ba•alshamin. In the pious remembrance of Maleikat, the son of Aus•, the son of Mo‘aier• who built for Ba‘al Sam•n the inner temple and the outer temple and this theatron and [the (or these watch towers],... and departed from (?) life in peace![150]
From Salkhad in Syria, we have an altar from 72 / 73 CE, dedicated to Ba•alshamin, god of mtnw. The inscription reads: This is the cult-stone which was made by ‘Ubaid, the son of ’Utaifik (?) for Ba‘al-Sham•n, the god of Matan (?), in the year 33 of Malik the king, the king of the Nabataeans.[151]
The Nabataean inscription from Bosra dated to the 1st century CE is again dedicated "to Ba•alshamin, the god of Shu•aydu" (lb•lšmn •lh š•ydw).[152] Moving further down south in Wadi Musa, near Petra in Jordan, an inscription from the reign of Aretas IV is dedicated lb•lšmn •lh mnkw, "to Ba•alshamin, god of mnkw".[153] The texts discussed above clearly show that Ba•alshamin was an official Nabataean deity. Ba•alshamin moved from his Syrian home to down south[154] and was also worshipped in Northern Arabia by Safaitic people as evidenced by numerous Safaitic inscriptions.[155]
Appendix 2: Hubal In The Hebrew Bible? It is also worthwhile to point out that attempts were made by Barstad to find a trace of Hubal in the Hebrew Bible. Barstad considered some instances of the word hebel in the Hebrew Bible, usually translated as "vanity" and found frequently as a derogatory term applied to pagan idols, as occurrences of the name of a Canaanite deity related to the Arabian Hubal (e.g., Jer. 10:3 and Zech. 10:2).[156] Bob Becking has strongly rejected these ideas as there is no evidence of any such Canaanite deity. Furthermore, a connection via Moab, a possible source of Hubal at Makkah, is far too flimsy.[157]
References & Notes [1] N. A. Faris, The Book Of Idols: Being A Translation From The Arabic Of The Kit•b al-Asn•m By Hish•m Ibn Al-Kalbi, 1952, Princeton Oriental Studies - Volume 14, Princeton University Press: Princeton (NJ), p. 23. [2] T. Fahd, "Une Pratique Cléromantique A La Ka•ba Preislamique", Semitica, 1958, Volume 8, pp. 55-79. file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/CS/Desktop/Is%20Hubal%20The%20Same%20As%20Allah%20.htm (24 of 38)11/8/2012 10:08:21 AM