Origin of name Isabel
Your alternate origin for Isabel as "daughter of Ba'al" may be more correct than people think. Judas Iscariot was the Greek/Aramacized form of Judas "Ish Keret", man of Crete. In late Punic, Ba'al became Bel, as in Latin. The word "Ba'al" itself means "Lord" or "Prince and as such is incorporated in a number of Biblical names. "Ish" means "man", and "Isha" is "woman". So it is not a stretch of the imagination to see "Isabel" as "Isha Bel" as the Iberians, Romans, and Spanish would have pronounced it (not having an "sh" sound in their languages). If you know the history of Spain you see why this line of thinking may not be so far-fetched.
Replies
Interesting suggestion about Judas - I'd always assumed that he was a sicarius, which is a dark and a dirty thing to have been - they performed random assassinations on random people in crowded streets, and disappeared quickly. (Josephus has the details.) Odd place, the Middle East.
Have you got a reference for your Cretan suggestion? I'd be really interested.
Have you got a reference for your Cretan suggestion? I'd be really interested.
I really don't think Isabel means "daughter of Ba'al" Isabel is the 'Old Spanish' word for Elisabeth, meaning 'Devoted to God/Consecrated to God' I have never heard Isabel meaning anything else but that, until I saw it on this site. I strongly disagree. :)