In an Akkadian catalogue of Ugaritic deities Baal apn is listed as dIM be-el hurn a-zi, "Storm-God, Lord of Mount azi" (see above; az [z] i being the Hurrian name of Mount apn which survives in the Greek and Latin Kasios/Casius as the name of the storied mountain of the gods). Baal was the god of agriculture and fertility in Canaan, becoming a fallen angel and a demon. Blending the lies of this world with the truth of God produces a foul mixture called syncretism (James 3:10-13). In others, they rejected Yahweh worship altogether and fully turned themselves over to the idols of Canaan (2 Kgs 17:14-17). The Bible speaks of the destruction of Baal's temples and the idols associated with him. All this was part of his fertility role, which, when fulfilled, meant an abundance of crops and fertility for animals and mankind. The Sidonians were the inhabitants of ancient Sidon, a seaport on the Mediterranean Sea in modern Lebanon. In Ugaritic and Hebrew, Baal's epithet as the storm god was He Who Rides on the Clouds. However, before the war was over, both sides were summarily executing anybody who did this because those traitors could not be trusted. In other words, God is saying that He was driven to defeat and scatter Israel because they were guilty of exactly the same sin as the Samaritans! 10:1113; 14:22). A second interpretation is that since the falling away contains the definite article, it refers to a unique event in man's history, far greater than anything that has happened before. A falling away is taking place right now. Elijah had to take drastic measures to prevent Baal worship from completely eradicating the worship of the true God (I Kings 18:20-40). In Phoenician he was called Baal Shamen, Lord of the Heavens. I know the firstborn of Creation through and for Him everything was made would appreciate it! 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). Who were the Sidonians of the Iron Age (c. 1200586 B.C.E.)? However, even though their origins were Canaanite, the Phoenicians established their own distinct culture. Your email address will not be published. Reuben Alcalay, a famous Hebrew lexicographer, stated that Yehoshua is closely related to Let there be So, lets be intellectually honest and start using the proper English translation: Joshua. The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God. The Baal-worship so often alluded to and described in Holy Writ might, perhaps, be better styled Cid-worship, moon-worship, Melek ()-worship, or Hadad-worship, according to places and circumstances.Many of the practices mentioned were most probably common to the worship . It was this Israelite worship of Baal which was challenged by the Hebrew prophet Elijah in his famous conflict with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel in I Kings 18, when he challenged the. In the formative stages of Israels history, the presence of Baal names did not necessarily mean apostasy or even syncretism. There are several ideas as to exactly what Elijah meant by "How long will you falter between two opinions?" Take the word isabel; it can be split as isa bel or as isai bel. El is praised for his wisdom in granting the request since now it is insured that Baal will give his rain in season. A religion with such a beginning was doomed to fail, bringing the nation down with it. (The Book of Amos) (Part Two). These Israelites were lethargic in terms of true, spiritual matters. They set up for themselves sacred pillars and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree; and there they burned incense on all the high places, as the nations had done whom the LORD had carried away before them." Asherah (Hebrew ), also spelled Ashera, was a major northwest Semitic mother goddess, appearing also in Akkadian sources as Ashratu, in Hittite as Asherdu and in Ugaritic as Athirat.She was the consort of the chief deity El and the mother of 70 other gods.. One idea is that he means, "How long are you going to hop from branch to branch? They were primarily devoted to the worship of Baal and Asherah (or Asherim, Asheroth). In popular and syncretistic religion in Israel, Yahweh could be equated with both El and Baal. 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. In other words, God is saying that He was driven to defeat and scatter Israel because they were guilty of exactly the same sin as the Samaritans! What will happen will affect the entire world, even though the world will not grasp the spiritual significance. Elijah is quite instructive here. These people, who became known as the Samaritans, feared the Lord but worshipped their own gods. This corrupt blending of a holy God with a pagan goddess became part of everyday religious practice, which is why evil king Manasseh put an Asherah pole . Apparently in anticipation of developments the artisan god Koshar had cast furnishings of gold and silver. The basis for this view was the fact that in biblical usage the plural of the term, with the article, "the Baalim," appears to designate minor local gods (Judg. 28:2); Hezekiah attempted to eliminate it; Manasseh his son again gave it royal support (II Kings 21:3); and Josiah in his turn purged the Temple of YHWH of the utensils made for Baal and Asherah (II Kings 23:4). This god also, apparently according to Canaanite lore, defeated El and had associations with the sun and thunder. His ministry took place about 150 years before Israel was to fall, becoming the Lost Ten Tribes, so God was beginning to make a powerful witness to them. In daily life, they conformed to and reflected the Babylonish system just as Israel does today. This article is about Baal worship in the Bible. 29:35, 32:26; Nah. After we accept His calling, He commands us to become moral as He is. But Jezebels religion is not Jewish whereas the religion of the Tamils is more like that of the Jews. Either you are going to be committed to Him or not. What was the rationale behind this perverse, immoral act? 1:21), would be catastrophic. Baal was different from his adherents merely in that he was above them. They see themselves as following the way of God, but their religion has deceived them by failing to teach them His truth. Some become discouraged with the church because we are always being toldto some measure anywaydisturbing things about ourselves. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_washing_in_Judaism#Full-body_immersion_.28Tvilah.29, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_River, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_to_Judaism. This is exactly what God warns us to flee, and the only way to come out of it is by developing and maturing in our relationship with God. Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1998 - 2023 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. The Canaanites worshiped Baal as the sun god and as the storm godhe is usually depicted holding a lightning boltwho defeated enemies and produced crops. Baal is a Canaanite and Phoeniciandeity and the son of the chief god El. The Canaanites worshiped Baal as the sun god and as the storm godhe is usually depicted holding a lightning boltwho defeated enemies and produced crops. With human features as well as the eyebrows, nose and horns of a ram, this painted limestone figurine represents a deity and dates to c. 1650 B.C.E. Certainly not those of east Asia. The Masoretic text has the 4 letters YHWH with a sheva under the Y, pronounced yuh, and a Qamats below the W, i.e. Revelation 2:14 "THE DOCTRINES OF . In their ignorance, the people do not realize the terrible calamity that is coming soon upon modern Israel. Although they lived in Israel, Jezebel and her retainers were free to worship Baal. Did the Ancient Israelites Think Children Were People. He takes something loathsome and vile, something that is a direct affront to almighty God, a pagan idol, and turns it into a cute little children's fairy tale, so that you can buy the book, see the movies, get the cuddly toy, and bingo! Christianity.com is a member of the Salem Web Network of sites including: Copyright 2023, Christianity.com. A series of bad years, which were apparently believed to come in seven-year cycles (cf. Who were the Sidonians, and what do we know about their religion? In some cases, they attempted to attach this practice to worship of the Lord (Ezek 23:39). It was a corruption of that religion, for the Israelites syncretized that holy way with Baalism and other idolatries. ADD. Baal and Asherah were two giant stumbling blocks for the people of Israel. Alan, how said anything about John baptizing Jesus? In Psalms 89:13 afon and yamin, in parellelism with Tabor and Hermon, hardly designate the directions north and south; yamin is almost certainly a corruption of Amana, the southern portion of the Taurus mountains, the alteration of amanah to yamin being occasioned by the misunderstanding of afon as the direction rather than the name of the holy mountain. II Kings 17:7-17 catalogs the sins of Israel: Widespread idolatry. Canaanite worship often took place in open-air sites at the tops of hills, referred to in the Bible as "high places." . When the rain failed, it was inevitable that some would question YHWH's power and resort to Baal. ), from an original Baal-Zebul, which is preserved in this form in the New Testament (Matt. guilty of adopting the ghastly Canaanite practice of child sacrifice. In other words, prosperity turns people's heads. The word bal, common Semitic for "owner, master, husband," became the usual designation of the great weather-god of the Western Semites. He did not like the position God put him in. They believed in a Creator God, but they worshipped Him at the shrines they erected to the Baals. Sign up to receive our email newsletter and never miss an update. In the first encounter, Baal is invited to a banquet at which he is to be both guest and main course. Though it hurts, the pain is indicative of rescue and cure. The judge Gideon was also named Jerubbaal (Judges 6:32), and King Saul had a son named Ishbaal (I Chronicles 8:33). He awakens them to their spiritual and moral responsibilities. You tricked me." When a person is freezing to death, he feels a pleasant numbness that he does not want to end. They also worshiped him as a fertility god who provided children. At the foundation of every community is a way of life that its people live and teach their children. The Assyrians deported the population en masse from its homeland in Canaan, transplanting it virtually in toto to the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. The summer drought did not mean that YHWH had died (like Baal), nor did the return of the rains signal the resurrection. Baal's sister-consort Anath demanded that Mot release her brother. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. You have a cuddly little Baal idol in your child's bedroom without even suspecting it. They too had blended the worship of the true God with outright paganism, utterly corrupting the relationship He had established with them. It may be, however, that these extra Baalim are Baal's attendants, mentioned as the seven or eight lads whom Baal is ordered to take with him in his descent into the netherworld. Because of their self-absorption, God's "sudden" punishment will stun the people of the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, and the other nations of modern Israel, including some members of the true church. God's first command to destroy any forms of idol worship came early in the Bible in Exodus 34:13. . 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. Why Did Pharaoh Tell Joseph to Enjoy the 'Fat of the Land'? Meaning of Jezebel: This word can be also pronounced as Isabel. He established a feast in the eighth month to replace the true Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh. Did the Carthaginians Really Practice Infant Sacrifice? Gray, The Legacy of Canaan (rev. So it was in the northern kingdom of Israel after its division from the kingdom of Judah. What is so interesting is that, by verse 36, God is no longer reporting on the Samaritans but is addressing Israel. Verse 15 points out that the people "rejected [God's] statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them." Right now, though, we are witnessing a steady defection from the basic principles of the Bible, away from what we call the Judeo-Christian ethic. Isaiah 14:13 alludes to this divine abode as "the Mount of Assembly in the recesses of afon" (har moed be-yarkete afon), the latter phrase being the equivalent of Ugaritic mrym pn or rrt pn, the height or fastness of apn. However, it was not the religion God gave through Moses, but idolatry that flourished! The Kingdom of Israel fell below the historian's radar. A prophet's life is not a happy situation. The god of arts and crafts, Kothar, then proceeded to build for Baal the most beautiful of palaces which spread over an area of 10,000 acres. (verses 9-11). Israel's false religion, represented by the altars of Bethel, is at the root of her problems. Prepare to Meet Your God! We are seeing the same thing today, but at times, it is harder to recognize because we are accustomed to it, and it is not happening overnight. north of Ugarit. By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Now another presentation that the Phoenicians who are also connected with the Canaanites had traded with the trading mariners of Kerala, India. Baal's 450 prophets worked themselves into a frenzy, cutting themselves, dancing, and chanting to their god. Rejection of God's Law. Thus it is clear that Baal, representing the life-giving rains, fluctuates in his ability to withstand the power of Mot, who represents drought, sterility, and death. Virtually all reference to Baal's consort, the violent "Virgin Anath" with whom Baal copulates by the thousand in one of the Ugaritic mythological fragments has been excluded from the Bible, but the goddesses Ashtart (Judg. Baal remains silent during the exchange, whereas God showers a sopping-wet altar with fire. This is a prophet's job, a hallmark of a prophet of God. Jehu's massacre of the Baal worshipers (II Kings 10:1828) did not eradicate bull worship (II Kings 10:31). Baal was considered the supreme. Like ancient Israel, we can easily fall back into our former ways. The actual worship of Ba'al was carried out in terms of imitative magic whereby sexual acts by both male and female temple prostitutes were understood to arouse Ba'al who then brought rain to make Mother Earth fertile (in some forms of the myth, represented by a female consort, Asherah or Astarte). Their commitment went one way, and then it went the other way. In exchange, they would offer information about their unit. 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 With Baal's functions accredited to YHWH, it was natural and fitting that some of Baal's titles would also be taken over. Study the god Baal, Baal worship, and the presentation of Baal in the Bible. In Hosea 10:2, God charges Israel with having a divided heart. This Bible History Daily Article was first published in 2017, British Museum Excavations at Sidon Expose Millennia of History, The Phoenician Alphabet in Archaeology by Josephine Quinn. They simply evolve. Who were the Sidonians of the Bronze Age (c. 30001200 B.C.E.)? It is related that on one occasion a strange ruler came to the place where Peor was worshiped, to sacrifice to him; but when he heard of this silly practise, he caused his soldiers to attack and kill the worshipers of the god (Sifre, Num. We may not sacrifice our children on altars for everyone to see; instead, we sacrifice them behind closed doors at a doctor's . Photo: Courtesy of Claude Doumet-Serhal. 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. No doubt, we cant cover the breadth of verses on Baal here, but we should note that Baal becomes a big player in the book of Judges and during the time of the kings when Israel appears to succumb most to the foreign pantheons. The Devil is behind a. 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). For a while, both sidesthe Confederate and the Unionaccepted those turncoats and took their information. (II Kings 17:35-38). 3:8; Ps. (the Middle Bronze Age). A general understanding about the bamah and . That afon designated the "north" in Hebrew is presumably due to the fact that Mount Casius lies directly north of Palestine. If it is of men, it will not work very long. Thus, IF one is to pronounce the Tetragrammaton according to the masoretic vowel-markings, then it should probably be pronounced something like yuh-WAH or yuh-HWAH. All 450 prophets of Baal do not escape the slaughter that takes place after that. In the mythology of Canaan, Baal, the god of life and fertility, locked in mortal combat with Mot, the god of death and sterility. Because Baal was neither alive nor a moral force, his worshippers felt they could communicate with him only by ritual actions that portrayed what they were asking him to do. Their reverence for Him was mere intellectual accommodation intended to appease Him. Assyria, a kingdom known as much for its innovative weapons as for their brutal implementation, conquered the Kingdom of Israel in 718 BC. Baal, of course, could not talk to them, but if he could, he would probably have said basically the same thing, so the people were in a very uncomfortable situation. And that happened with the Canaanites and Baal. 25:111; Ps. In the Bible, Jezebel is notorious for persecuting the worship of Yahweh and for demanding that the Israelites worship Baal. But church is where we come to have our minds stretched and measured against Christ's standard. Isa. Baal & Asherah. This second, universal interpretation is a better fit because, when we look at the whole passage, the events and personalities are worldwide in scope. Unlike Egypt and Mesopotamia, which depend on irrigation, the Promised Land drinks water from the rain of heaven (Deut. 10:25, 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 18). So the word Poeni can be rewritten as Peyeni or as Payani or as Payan. 19 Now therefore, call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. 27:1, 30:7, 51:910; Ezek. (Iron Age) temple. Note the name of her father, King of the Sidoneans and apparently (Josephus) a priest of Baal as well. Baal's abode was Mount apn, identified as Jebel el-Aqra ("Mount Baldy") some 30 mi. II Kings 17:5-6 relates the ultimate consequence. Sometimes the leadership of the nation of Israel tolerated and embraced the deities of other nations. This life-and-death struggle pitted the worship of Baal against the worship of Jehovah. However, God still holds them responsible because the truth is available. . The Hebrew word suggests "smoothness" or "flattering," describing people who "talk the talk" but do not "walk the walk.". Baal worship was rooted in sensuality and involved ritualistic prostitution in the temples. Since the root tr in Arabic is connected with artificial irrigation, it is apparent that Ashtar's failure to measure up to Baal represents the inadequacy of irrigation as a substitute for natural rainfall. These soldiers would surrender themselves to the other side to be given a bit of favor and put into prison. The first mention of Molech is in Leviticus 18:21 in which the . Jews nowadays say Ha-Shem [i.e. 19:5ff.). because they sell the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals. COPYRIGHT 2023 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY 5614 Connecticut Ave NW #343, Washington DC 20015-2604. This is no different from what Israel was doing when Amos wrote back in 760 BC. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. After a textual gap, there is a report that Baal's corpse has been found. Smith, The Ugaritic Baal Cycle (1994). Isai is music in Tamil and Vallavi means an expert. A frequent epithet is "Cloud Rider" (rkb rpt) which has an almost identical parallel in Psalms 68:5. One such deity who gripped Israel for a period of time was Baal. Baal was a god of prosperity, god of harvest, sex and fertility. They think that what they are doing is right, but they are deceived. According to the Bible, centers of worship for Canaanite gods such as Molech and the Baal's were set up in Judah and Israel by apostate kings. "But there was no voice. I would also challenge the suggestion in the text of the article that the location of Lots cave is known. Mot refused and boasted how he had mangled Baal. When Elijah preached his message, it put the people in a bind because they knew their conscience was telling them that they had to commit themselves to God or to Baal. The worship of Baal was popular in Egypt from the later New Kingdom in about 1400 bce to its end (1075 bce). Extra-biblical evidence for the flourishing Baal cult at Samaria in the ninth and eighth centuries B.C.E. Despite Gods efforts to dissuade them, the Israelites engaged with the Canaanite culture a little too much and adopted their practices, including Baal worship. The Septuagint (LXX) rendered Joshua, the son of Nun, in Greek as Iesous; the same was used for Christs name in the NT. A complaint is made to Bull El, father of the gods, that Baal has no house like other gods. In Canaanite religion her primary role was that of mother goddess. The Israelites rejected the law of God and relied on the traditions of Gentile nations. In the Bible, the followers of the one true God encounter other gods, or previously worshipped idols themselves. John W. Ritenbaugh The divine child was named Demarous, one of the cognomens of Zeus-Baal-Hadad. Given Jezebels religious fervor in the Bible, one would expect to find evidence of Baal worship at Sidon.