Zakar-Baal

Zakar-Baal (also known as Zeker-Baal or Zeker-Ba'al) was the king of Byblos (or Gebal or Jbeil), a Phoenician city on coast of Lebanon, during the 11th century BCE. His reign was contemporary with pharaoh Ramesses XI of Egypt (1099-1069 BCE). As he is a character in the Story of Wenamun, an Egyptian work of historical fiction, it is not entirely certain if Zakar-Baal was a historical personage.

What little is known of Zakar-Baal comes from the Story of Wenamun, dated to Year 5 of the Renaissance or wḥm mswt era (or Year 23 proper of Ramesses XI) as a person of the highest importance.

About a hundred years before the Story of Wenamun, the Egyptians had expelled the Sea Peoples from Egypt and now Egypt was in trouble. The Sea People had settled in Phoenicia.

At this time, even the supremacy of the king of Egypt is placed under scrutiny. The current pharaoh of the day, Ramesses XI, is never even mentioned during Wenamun's account. In the Story of Wenamun, Thebes is under the control of Herihor – the High Priest of Amun. After the victory of Ramesses III over the Sea Peoples, a very slow decay characterized Thebes in times of division of Egypt; even then, despite its limited political power, Thebes had an edge over all the rest.

Based on events in Wenamun's tale, however, Zakar-Baal does not appear to feel that Herihor or Smendes (the prince of the Delta region) are superior to him. He most likely sees them as his equals, men fully capable of autonomous rule, and who even handle judicial matters that are within their jurisdiction.

Like him, however, they are still under the authority of the pharaoh. However, Zakar-Baal does enter into his own contracts and trade agreements, which would be against any sort of vassal/liege compact typical of that era. Illustrative of this fact, he will still not give the cedar logs to Wenamun just out of duty, as did his fathers, but wishes for payment in advance. By the time of Zakar-Baal, the pharaoh may be little more than the underlying stability factor in the region, and not of much real consequence unless he were to make war.

Zakar-Baal refused to see Wenamun for twenty-nine days and finally one of Zakar-Baal's priests had a frenzy of prophesying and demanded that they heed the idol and Wenamun.

Zakar-Baal does recognize Amun as a god who is present not just in Egypt, but in every land. According to the narrative, he believes that Amun will be helpful to all who believe in him, and so helps Wenamun at least partially out of a duty to the god whom he represents, rather than out of any sense of duty to Egypt.

The religious symbolism of Zakar-Baal has also been noted by Mormon theologians for its similarity to the story of Laban in the Book of Mormon.