
Zabib ("Flame") is a Canaanite Goddess of Fire or Flame,
and the daughter of El, the King of the Gods. She is an enemy to Ba'al, the
Storm-God, and likely represents the summer heat that drives away the rain and
causes drought. Zabib is the last of Ba'al's enemies who are killed by the Goddess
Anat, His sister and defender. In the13th century
BCE Epic of Ba'al, an ancient (and fragmentary) text found in the city
of Ugarit, Anat boasts of having killed the Sea-God Yam, Beloved of El; Nahar
the River-God; the Tortuous Serpent; 'Arsh, or Desire, the Darling of the Gods;
'Atik the Rebellious One, the Divine Calf; the Bitch of the Gods, Ishat the
Fiery; and lastly, She has "annihilated the daughter of El, Zabib, the
Flame".
Zabib is sometimes rendered "Zebub" (as there are no
vowels in Ugaritic), and in that case Her name means "Fly", after
the insect. The fly, at least in Egypt (which had plenty of cultural contact
with Canaan), was regarded as symbolic of the tenacity of a warrior in battle,
who will not let up on the enemy. In fact the "golden fly" was an
award given in ancient Egypt to a soldier who had displayed exceptional valor
in battle; moreover, there are recorded instances of this award being given
to women, in particular the 18th dynasty Queen, Aahhotep. If this interpretation
of Zabib/Zebub's name is correct, perhaps then She should be considered an especially
fierce opponent of Ba'al. It may also relate in some way to Ba'al Himself, as
one of the many variants of His name was Ba'al-Zebub, the Lord of the Flies,
later used as the name of a great demon in Biblical myth.