The Lady of the Titles: The Lady of Byblos and the Search for her »True Name«

A linguistic analysis of Phoenician inscriptions from Byblos reveals that 'Lady of Byblos' (Baalat Gubal) was indeed considered a proper name by the ancient inhabitants, despite its semantic transparency. The study challenges the long-standing assumption that such titles could not be proper names and demonstrates this through distinctions in writing conventions found in two Byblian inscriptions. This finding is significant as it sheds light on the naming conventions of divine entities in the ancient Levant, where semantically transparent names were not uncommon.

Zernecke, A. (2013). The Lady of the Titles: The Lady of Byblos and the Search for her »True Name«. Die Welt Des Orients, 43(2), 226–242. https://doi.org/10.13109/wdor.2013.43.2.226