Noms de dieux et théologie négative au Levant dans l’Antiquité

The study of divine names gives us access to real theological knowledge. This approach is all the more fundamental for the study of Levantine reli- gions in particular, for which we often lack literary sources. After having shown the theological potential of divine names, this paper focusses on particularly striking divine names, sometimes understood as being related to gods without a proper name or to anonymous gods. By inscribing these names back into the Semitic naming system, this paper argues that, on the one hand, it is incorrect to regard these gods as anonymous gods and that, on the other hand, divine names derived from common names such as ba‘al, ’el, ’adon, melek etc. disclose further developments of negative theology.