"Let Ba'al be enthroned": The date, identification, and function of a bronze statue from Hazor

The hitherto unpublished bronze statue of a seated male discussed here was unearthed in the summer of 1996 at Tel Hazor, situated in Israel's Upper Galilee region (figs. 1-6). In the following, after some introductory remarks (part 1), I shall discuss the dress and accessories of the statue and make some suggestions as to its date and identification (part 2). While analyzing these aspects, I shall touch on the complex reciprocal relations between Canaan and New Kingdom Egypt, which will enable me to propose a date for the manufacture of the statue. The headgear of the statue has a decoration in high relief, the interpretation of which suggests a possible identification of the god represented by the statue as Ba'al, the Levantine storm god.¹ The identification of the statue raises a need for textual parallels, leading us to Ugaritic mythology and its rich metaphoric verbal imagery (part 3). Finally, the role of the statue will be suggested in a discussion of the physical properties of ancient Near Eastern cult images, and a hierarchy of seated and standing divine figures will be proposed (part 4). I hope these issues, taken together, will shed light on some aspects of Canaanite cult and religious ideology in the second half of the second millennium B.C.