The summer drought did not mean that YHWH had died (like Baal), nor did the return of the rains signal the resurrection. The worship of Baal penetrated Jewish religious life during the period of the Judges ( Judges 3:7 ), became common in Israel during the rule of Ahab ( 1 Kings 16:31-33 ), and also influenced Judah ( 2 Chronicles 28:1-2 ). Study the god Baal, Baal worship, and the presentation of Baal in the Bible. 2:11; 3:7; 8:33), while the singular of the word in combination with other terms apparently designated minor or local gods, such as Baal-Berith, Baal-Gad, Baal-Hamon, Baal-Hazor, Baal-Hermon, or, in the feminine form, a goddess, Baalat-Beer, Baalat-Gebal. In Canaanite religion her primary role was that of mother goddess. Although they lived in Israel, Jezebel and her retainers were free to worship Baal. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: And the plague brake in upon them. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Baal-ancient-deity, McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Baal, Baal - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). The motifs of these myths were adopted and adapted in Jewish and Christian eschatology. Learn more about Biblical Sidon and Sidonian religion in Claude Doumet-Serhals article SidonCanaans Firstborn in the July/August 2017 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review. Baal's resurrection followed Mot's demise, the good news being transmitted through a dream of El: The fields were still parched from the drought and again Anath and Shapsh set out to find Baal. He replaced the Levitical priesthood with men of his own choosing. * Jesus is a transliteration of the Latin; it is NOT a translation! The prize of the victory was kingship over the gods and the enthronement ritual guaranteed the natural order of life and the welfare of the society. Asherah, along with Astarte and Anath, was one of the three great goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon. Even those who have vaguely heard of the name Baal in the Bible know it doesnt have a good connotation. In the Hebrew language, Baal as a noun means "lord or possessor." As a verb, it means "to have dominion over or be lord over." Additionally, the local deity (near Israel) "Baal," was a god of rain and fertility. Recall God's prophecy in Deuteronomy 32:15, predicting that when Israel prospered, then it would rebel. God wants to transform us from people who are bent on pleasing ourselves to people who show concern for others. I appreciate your consideration, and Im sure the Most High does as well! In Hebrew, it is rendered Yehoshua, and in Aramaic, Yeshua. It disturbed them. Not a BAS Library member yet? The word bal, common Semitic for "owner, master, husband," became the usual designation of the great weather-god of the Western Semites. 22:816). Prophets and Prophecy (Part 1). Thus in any year anxiety about the rainfall would be a continuing concern of the inhabitants which would suffice to give rise to rites to ensure the coming of the rains. Yet Sidon was a significant site before this period, too. Baal's 450 prophets worked themselves into a frenzy, cutting themselves, dancing, and chanting to their god. Your email address will not be published. Another idea is that it pictures a person shifting his weight from one foot to the other, indicating a degree of lameness. Baal was the god of agriculture and fertility in Canaan, becoming a fallen angel and a demon. For instance, Amos 2:7 describes a deliberate act of ritual prostitution in a pagan temple: "A man and his father go in to the same girl, to defile My holy name." By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. II Kings 17:33 illustrates their worship: "They feared the LORD, yet served their own gods - according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away." The latter title has a biblical echo in the corrupted form Baal-Zebub (II Kings 1:2ff. The cosmic character of afon leads to its use as a synonym for "sky" in Job 26:7: "who stretched out afon on emptiness who suspended earth on naught." The worship of Moloch, which was practiced at a special site (outside the walls of Jerusalem in the valley of Ben-Hinnom) called Topheth, became firmly established in the time of King Manasseh, his son Amon, and at the beginning of Josiah's reign. She gives life to 70 other gods in the Canaanite pantheon. They also worshiped him as a fertility god who provided children. 3:10; cf. The Semitic word Baal means lord or master, and the ancient people believed he was in charge of all of nature and humans. Photo: Courtesy of Claude Doumet-Serhal. He awakens them to their spiritual and moral responsibilities. 57:310), perhaps including copulation with animals (Hos. BIBLIOGRAPHY: W. Hermann, in: DDD, 13238; M.S. Join the BAS Library today. The myths also tell of Baals struggle to obtain a palace comparable in grandeur to those of other gods. Jehu's massacre of the Baal worshipers (II Kings 10:1828) did not eradicate bull worship (II Kings 10:31). California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 30 Verses to Reflect on in the Book of Hebrews. The latter name (Amarna, Addu) is to be related to Arabic hadda ("break," "crash") with reference to thunder. The Israelites fell into the worship of this idol(Numbers 25:3,5,18; Deuteronomy 4:3; Psalm 106:28; Hosea 9:10). In the books of Kings and Chronicles, we can read the record of a given king who turned away from God and served the Baals, and the foolishness sounds quick and casual because we are reading a summary. If anyone could get an award for Having the Worst Neighbors, it would most likely go to the ancient Israelites. This is typical Israeliltish syncretism, but it will not work. They were Canaanites and shared numerous similarities, including many of the same gods, with their close neighbors in the southern Levantwho were also predominantly Canaanite. Now that He has announced Israel's imminent calamity, God begins to show how His punishment would alter the lives of the people. It may seem easy to point the finger at the ancient Israelites and say, How could you let a bull statue into Israel? 19Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. The word "Baal" derives from the Semitic stem "bel", meaning "lord". A complaint is made to Bull El, father of the gods, that Baal has no house like other gods. (The suggestion that Jer. 11:17; I Kings 8:3536; Jer. YHWH's victory over the waters is connected either with the rescue of Israel at the Exodus (Ps. For one to keep on coming to services and leaving, like a theatergoer, without his options, opinions, or decisions resolved but deferred, is an erosion of character. *Romans 1:25 "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and WORSHIPPED AND SERVED THE CREATURE MORE THAN THE CREATOR". Baal persuaded Asherah to intercede with her husband El, the head of the pantheon, to authorize the construction of a palace. Whatever the case, there is no doubt about Elijah's intent: "How long will you keep shifting from one opinion to the other?" because they sell the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals. After we accept His calling, He commands us to become moral as He is. Doumet-Serhal explains the significance of the handles iconography: The dragon epitomizes the most fundamental ancient mythical perception of the Mesopotamian storm god. What Is Coptic and Who Were the Copts in Ancient Egypt? He established a feast in the eighth month to replace the true Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh. How Is Harry Potter a Literary Christ Figure? In contrast, the church has had periods of strength and weakness all throughout its historyit goes through cycles of rallying around truth and then gradually letting it slip. Baal was a god of prosperity, god of harvest, sex and fertility. His opinion of his holiness as compared with God's judgment is so far off base, it causes Jesus Christ to regurgitate him from His body. They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, and pervert the way of the humble." She's most famously the mother of Baal, another god who shows up throughout the Old Testament when the Israelites stray after other idols. In artistic depictions and archeological finds, Baal took the shape of a bull or ram and had associations with fertility. Nevertheless, despite the biblical tendency to avoid the use of the word as a proper name, it is now quite clear that by pre-Israelite times the term had become the usual name of the weather-god of Syria-Palestine. Baal was different from his adherents merely in that he was above them. ; contact address: [emailprotected]. Christ's purpose is to cure, not merely to comfort, so pain will be often involved when dealing with a prophet. Indeed, throughout its history, the most important god at Sidon was the storm godknown during the Phoenician period as Baal or Bel. Val is related to valimai in Tamil. Mot refused and boasted how he had mangled Baal. 2:13) and *Asherah (Judg. A general understanding about the bamah and . Since their rejection of the house of David under Jeroboam I, the Israelites had practiced a syncretistic religion (Amos 5:21-26; 8:14; I Kings 12:25-33). Your email address will not be published. Discovered in a farmer's field in northeastern Egypt, this inscribed monument bears the name of one of the few pharaohs actually named in the Old . He replaced the Levitical priesthood with men of his own choosing. One was 260 days and was used for . (verses 9-11). Worship of Baal was also carried out right on the housetops of the people, from where sacrificial smoke to their god was frequently seen to rise. Dated to c. 1750 B.C.E., the handle pictures the storm god as a leonine dragon. Baal worship is something I associated only with Old Testament Bible days. Baal Worship Baal-Berith Berbers Bet (Ha)-Midrash Bet Din Bethar Bibliophiles Bloodletting Chronicles of Kings of Israel Episcopus Judaeorum Essenes Exile Fable Flood Forced Baptism Garden of Eden Glass Golden Calf Goliath Great Revolt Great Synagogue Hannah and her Seven Sons Hasmoneans/Maccabees Hebrew Printing Hekdesh Herod Herodian Dynasty Take the word isabel; it can be split as isa bel or as isai bel. Molech was an ancient god worshiped by the people neighboring Israel during Old Testament times. There are indications that Baal and other gods and goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon were associated in the minds of their worshipers with certain heavenly bodies. God sends a prophet to people who are cold in their relationship with Godspiritually freezing to deaththough they want to stay that way. Like ancient Israel, we can easily fall back into our former ways. In the mysterious tablets of Ugarit, discovered by Claude Schaeffer, Baal is the God of rain, thunder, and extraordinary bolts of lightning. In Phoenician he was called Baal Shamen, Lord of the Heavens. More than 1400 of her works have been featured in various publications. In the parallel Ugaritic list, which is unfortunately very fragmentary, the "Weather-god, Lord of Mount azi" apparently corresponds to Baal apn, while those following are termed simply Baalim (blm). BAAL-WORSHIP AMONG THE GENTILES.The evidence is hardly of such weight as to justify us in speaking of a worship of Baal. The ancient Tamils had connections with the Syrians and Sidon. The Masoretic text has the 4 letters YHWH with a sheva under the Y, pronounced yuh, and a Qamats below the W, i.e. The conflict of Yahwism and Baalism reached a crisis with Elijah's challenge to Baal's prophets to settle the question whether it was Baal or YHWH who really supplied the rain (I Kings 18). Why Did Pharaoh Tell Joseph to Enjoy the 'Fat of the Land'? The prophet turns the heat on, and they become angry with him when he is actually working to make them better. Though it hurts, the pain is indicative of rescue and cure. 18For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. They too had blended the worship of the true God with outright paganism, utterly corrupting the relationship He had established with them. The judge Gideon was also named Jerubbaal (Judges 6:32), and King Saul had a son named Ishbaal (I Chronicles 8:33). Recall God's wrath when Aaron made a golden calf at the urging of the Israelites in the wilderness and proclaimed a feast to the Lord (Exodus 32:1-5). The Sidonians were the inhabitants of ancient Sidon, a seaport on the Mediterranean Sea in modern Lebanon. We must understand that our god is not what we say we worship but what we serve. What made the very name Baal anathema to the Israelites was the program of Jezebel, in the 9th century bce, to introduce into Israel her Phoenician cult of Baal in opposition to the official worship of Yahweh (I Kings 18). What the Bible says about Baal Worship ( From Forerunner Commentary ) 1 Kings 12:26-33 The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God.