Evil practices never go away. a little T-shaped mark that stands for the long-A vowel (like a in father). The worship of Baal extended in this region to the Jews, Canaanites and the Phoenicians. The latter title has a biblical echo in the corrupted form Baal-Zebub (II Kings 1:2ff. Gray, The Legacy of Canaan (rev. Baal is said to be one of the first of Solomon's 72 demons. At the foundation of every community is a way of life that its people live and teach their children. He was to be an aid in getting them from their state of being merely "churched" to that of being truly religious and servants of the Most High God. Lastly, he replaced God with golden calves in Bethel and Dan. Baal was the god of agriculture and fertility in Canaan, becoming a fallen angel and a demon. This is typical Israeliltish syncretism, but it will not work. 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 . What was the rationale behind this perverse, immoral act? In Ugaritic and Hebrew, Baal's epithet as the storm god was He Who Rides on the Clouds. The word "Baal" derives from the Semitic stem "bel", meaning "lord". Most modern translations use "false," "deceitful," or "faithless," and none of these are wrong, including "divided." Who were the Sidonians of the Bronze Age (c. 30001200 B.C.E.)? They clash violently until both are prostrate and the Sungoddess warns Mot not to fight with Baal lest El hear and overthrow him. How Is Harry Potter a Literary Christ Figure? But their carnality and their fear of men persuaded them to worship Baal, because they wanted to be friends with their fellow Israelites. Baal worship was rooted in sensuality and involved ritualistic prostitution in the temples. In Canaanite religion her primary role was that of mother goddess. And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. Worshipers of Baal Killed. It was under the Sol Invictus cult that CHRISTIANITY as a religion BEGAN TO BE ACCEPTED AND GROW, but THERE WAS A BIG PRICE THE EARLY ROMAN CHURCH HAD TO PAY. The open-air altar shrine, called a bamah (plural bamot), is known through several books of the Biblical canonbut none more so than the Book of Kings, where they play a prominent role in assessing the performance of a king.Often referred to as "high places" in translations of the Bible, bamot were worship sites that usually contained an altar. 57:310), perhaps including copulation with animals (Hos. 11:1011). In the first encounter, Baal is invited to a banquet at which he is to be both guest and main course. 3:10; cf. Even now some ancient Jews (white and black) live in Cochin, Kerala, India. Ginsberg, Kitvei Ugarit (1936); J. Oberman, Ugaritic Mythology (1948); A.S. Kapelrud, Baal in the Ras Shamra Texts (1952); M. Dahood, in: Studi Semitici, 1 (1958), 7578; N. Habel, Yahweh Versus Baal: A Conflict of Religious Cultures (1964); J. Baal worship was the bane of the Ancient Israelites. In the Bible, Baal is spoken of in a negative light, as an idol and a false god, and is associated with idolatry and paganism. All this was part of his fertility role, which, when fulfilled, meant an abundance of crops and fertility for animals and mankind. Another idea is that it pictures a person shifting his weight from one foot to the other, indicating a degree of lameness. The Israelites displayed a pandemic failure to love their fellow man. One would think that, if altars increase during this period of prosperity, then religion is flourishing. The only trouble is that people like to feel comfortable in moral mediocrity. In exchange, they would offer information about their unit. Even those who have vaguely heard of the name Baal in the Bible know it doesnt have a good connotation. With Baal's functions accredited to YHWH, it was natural and fitting that some of Baal's titles would also be taken over. Paul, in: Biblica, 49 (1968), 3436; U. Oldenburg, The Conflict Between El and Bal in Canaanite Religion (1969). Yet if you asked most people who believe and follow this new morality, I suspect few would have ever heard of Baal. Christ warned the Pharisees: "For laying aside the commandments of God, you hold the traditions of men." Recall the mention in Hosea 10:1 of increasing and embellishing altars just before Israel fell to Assyria. The proposition for the concept is as follows: The Latins called the Phoenicians as Poeni. Now another presentation that the Phoenicians who are also connected with the Canaanites had traded with the trading mariners of Kerala, India. Next both Mot and Baal appear reconstituted and reactivated and again in conflict. But Baal was not exclusively a fertility god. Isaiah 29:13 clarifies what God means: "Therefore the LORD said: 'Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.'" Because of their self-procured wealth and affluence, they think they are being blessed with material things. However, God shows there is a possible harmful, secondary effect: As people become financially secure, their attention is diverted from His purpose to vain and unimportant things. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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). He sends someone long before the real crisis reaches its peak, while it is building. (II Kings 17:35-38). Baal was also worshipped by various communities as a local god. 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. Israel "walked in the statutes of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel." God's difference from us is that He is holy; He is moral and we are immoral. And of all the foreign gods the Israelites came into contact with, they appeared to struggle the most with worshipping this one. Baal's response to Mot's invitation to come and be devoured is abject surrender: "Thy slave am I, thine eternal." Did the Carthaginians Really Practice Infant Sacrifice? Thus the basis of the Baal cult was the utter dependence of life on the rains which were regarded as Baal's bounty. What Tamils are you speaking of? In Judah the murder of the queen mother, *Athaliah , and of Mattan, priest of Baal, and the smashing of the altars and cult images in the Baal temple (II Kings 11:18) did not wipe out the cult (II Kings 12:34). The Macedonian Cleopatra planned to send her son to India through the Red Sea. Jews nowadays say Ha-Shem [i.e. The longest of the texts deals with the construction of Baal's house on top of Mount apn. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Mot refused and boasted how he had mangled Baal. We need to be reminded of it because it can have a detrimental effect on us. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them (2 Kings 21:3). What Is the Significance of Not the Letter but of the Spirit? 13:2) such as Baal himself performed in the Ugaritic myth are depicted in the prophetic tirades. . Assyria, a kingdom known as much for its innovative weapons as for their brutal implementation, conquered the Kingdom of Israel in 718 BC. You have a cuddly little Baal idol in your child's bedroom without even suspecting it. 30 Verses to Reflect on in the Book of Hebrews. In the Old Testament, many of the kings and eventually the whole nation of Israel rebelled against God and chose opposing belief systems. 10:1113; 14:22). Baal's sister-consort Anath demanded that Mot release her brother. 33:7) has been made the basis of intriguing speculation by Eissfeldt. Figs and grapes ripen during the dry season and the grain harvest also takes place before the rains resume. Alan, how said anything about John baptizing Jesus? Dig into the illuminating world of the Bible with a BAS All-Access membership. Blending the lies of this world with the truth of God produces a foul mixture called syncretism (James 3:10-13). While it is acceptable to say that it was in what is now Jordan, to point to a particular cave and say, This is it. is ridiculous. 6:30; II Kings 16:3233) are associated with him. This article is about Baal worship in the Bible. In the mythology of Canaan, Baal, the god of life and fertility, locked in mortal combat with Mot, the god of death and sterility. Who were the Sidonians, and what do we know about their religion? Notably, an impressed handle found near a Canaanite grave at the site depicts Sidons storm god and a ship. This viewpoint was developed as the basic and final argument against Baalism. 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! Doumet-Serhal explains the significance of the handles iconography: The dragon epitomizes the most fundamental ancient mythical perception of the Mesopotamian storm god. The latter name (Amarna, Addu) is to be related to Arabic hadda ("break," "crash") with reference to thunder. The combined letters o and e is joined to pronounce the sound ye. 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! For Constantine, the acceptance of Christianity was done solely TO UNIFY TERRITORY, RELIGIONS, AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS. 2:13) and *Asherah (Judg. 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. Those familiar with the Biblical text will recall that Sidon was an influential, wealthy Phoenician city when the kings of Israel and Judah ruled during the Iron Age. His overall conduct may not be too bad, but his poor self-analysis persuades him that he has no urgent need to seek God any further. He was the god that provided - food - for the people. 8. In the El-Amarna letters the logogram for the weather-god is conventionally read Addu, but that it is sometimes to be read Baluis indicated by the addition of the phonetic complement-lu, as well as by the names like Mut dIm written syllabically as mu-ut-ba-a-lum. A frequent epithet is "Cloud Rider" (rkb rpt) which has an almost identical parallel in Psalms 68:5. BAAL-WORSHIP AMONG THE GENTILES.The evidence is hardly of such weight as to justify us in speaking of a worship of Baal. (Jeremiah 7:8-10). What the Bible says about Indeed, religion flourished, as Amos, Hosea's contemporary, clearly reports (see Amos 5:21-27). And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch" (Matthew 15:14). California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Baal was considered the supreme. Life in a land dependent on rainfall enhanced the appeal of the Baal cult and its pervasive influence persisted through the centuries, as the unrelenting protests of the prophets and the sporadic efforts at reform attest. 19:5ff.). However, God still holds them responsible because the truth is available. 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 biblical allusions to YHWH's victory over the sea preserve echoes of the older exploit of Baal (cf. *Romans 1:25 "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and WORSHIPPED AND SERVED THE CREATURE MORE THAN THE CREATOR". Sidon's Phoenician Temple. In other words, prosperity turns people's heads. The written form Moloch (in the Septuagint Greek translation of the Old Testament), or Molech (Hebrew), is the word Melech or king, transformed by interposing the vowels of bosheth or 'shameful thing'. Photo: Courtesy of Claude Doumet-Serhal. l /), or Baal (Hebrew: baal), was a title and honorific meaning 'owner', 'lord' in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity.From its use among people, it came to be applied to gods. For this reason, God shows that the preacher, not the civil authority, is the most vital part of the community. If you will not be committed to Him, you are going to die.". In the Judeo-Christian tradition Asherah is considered a false Canaanite deity and a major source of temptation to the Israelites. The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God. "Christian" religions of this world have mixed the traditions of paganism with some of the truth of God's Word. Combine a one-year tablet and print subscription to BAR with membership in the BAS Library to start your journey into the ancient past today! Who Was Baal? (the Iron Age). . As a Semitic common noun baal (Hebrew baal) meant owner or lord, although it could be used more generally; for example, a baal of wings was a winged creature, and, in the plural, baalim of arrows indicated archers. They used the name of God frequently, saying they trusted Him, but they filled the nation with stealing, lying, and murder. 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. In many cases, when the king or the nation had wandered from the way, the prophets were sent to correct them (e.g., II Samuel 12:1-15; I Kings 18:17-19; II Kings 21:10-15). Biblical Sidon is perhaps most infamously known as the birthplace of the Phoenician princess Jezebel (1 Kings 16:31), who became queen of the Israelites during King Ahabs reign in the ninth century B.C.E. They think that what they are doing is right, but they are deceived. It Is So Painful to Care: How Do I Conquer Apathy? In Tamil Nadu, the following words payachi paarai, Peyazhwar, payans, pai (meaning devil) are currently in use. Such evil cunning. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. Superstitious fear and sexual rites on the one hand fought against faith and loyalty on the other. Rejection of God's Law. A falling away is taking place right now. Baal in Smith's Bible Dictionary Baal (2) the supreme male divinity of the Phoenician and Canaanitish nations, as Ashtoreth was their supreme female divinity. In the Bible, Baal (also rendered Baal) was an important Canaanite god, often portrayed as the primary enemy of the Hebrew God Yahweh. Yet Sidon was a significant site before this period, too. 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." Because Canaan depended on rain to grow crops and survive, he was numero uno. The Semitic word "baal" (meaning '"Lord") was also used to refer to various deities of the Levant. 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. An example of Israel going after Baal leads to their loss of direction and, ultimately, scattering at the hands of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. Baal is also referred to about 12 times as "the Rider of the Clouds" which undoubtedly testifies to his control over the rain and storms. Yet such fluidity in the use of the term baal did not prevent it from being attached to a god of distinct character. From Easton's Bible Dictionary:Baal-peor: lord of the opening, a god of the Moabites (Numbers 25:3; 31:16; Joshua 22:17), worshipped by obscene rites. But church is where we come to have our minds stretched and measured against Christ's standard. Alternate titles: Baal Shamen, Baal Shemin, Baalim. God's first command to destroy any forms of idol worship came early in the Bible in Exodus 34:13. . A series of bad years, which were apparently believed to come in seven-year cycles (cf. However, even though their origins were Canaanite, the Phoenicians established their own distinct culture. All Rights Reserved. But when heat is applied, and the blood begins rushing into the affected areas, pain immediately occurs. In the Ugaritic mythological texts Balu (bl) is the name of the god which is used more than twice as often as his next most frequent name, Haddu (hd). Various forms of Baal worship are still going on in the Catholic church; even though these pagan idols were incorporated into Catholicism centuries ago, the worship of the sun still exists to this day. El is praised for his wisdom in granting the request since now it is insured that Baal will give his rain in season. The king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. This is God's way of showing that Israel abused its prosperity: It used its prosperity for the purposes of idolatry. Issuing a challenge to his enemy Mot (death), who presumed to rule gods and men, Baal dispatched his messengers to Mot's infernal, filthy abode, warning them not to get close to Mot's rapacious jaws. When we see that our thoughts and ways are not His, we should reform and repent. The Semitic original of this name has been recognized in one of Baal's names in Ugaritic: (The name is to be connected with the root dmr, "be strong, brave," and is probably the same as that of Abraham's son Zimrn (damarn), the -n afformative being preserved in the genitive case of the Greek form Demarountos). Hosea exposes the problem between God and Israel. THIS IS A PROFILE OF PRACTICES, DOCTRINES, AND SYMBOLS OF BAAL WORSHIP . Extra-biblical evidence for the flourishing Baal cult at Samaria in the ninth and eighth centuries B.C.E. 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. 27:1, 30:7, 51:910; Ezek. Once Elijah began preaching, their conscience pricked them, and it encouraged them to worship the true God. The prophet comes along and troubles people by awakening them to their sins, making them feel guilty about their relationships with God and each other. 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. Payment of the full tithe to the food stores of the Temple, some thought, would guarantee that YHWH would open the windows of heaven and pour down overflowing blessings (Mal. 2008 The Gale Group. Adad roughly equates with the later Phoenician storm god Baal, the worship of whom is championed by the nefarious queen Jezebel in the Bible. The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God (I Kings 12:26-33). Knowledge of Baals personality and functions derives chiefly from a number of tablets uncovered from 1929 onward at Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra), in northern Syria, and dating to the middle of the 2nd millennium bce. made for themselves a molded image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal" (verses 15-16). This life-and-death struggle pitted the worship of Baal against the worship of Jehovah. Today, music performers entice young and old in the practice of the worship of Baal-Peor Horrendous and repulsive aspects of the worship sexual excesses and perversions (Isa. Let's exemplify Baal doctrines as preached . It proved extremely hard for a monotheistic faith to compete against the Canaanite fertility cult. In Hebrew, it is rendered Yehoshua, and in Aramaic, Yeshua. There was tremendous evil to overcome. Anyway she changed her mind and sent his son to Libya etc 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. Asherah, mother of the gods, was prevailed upon to intercede with El to gain permission for the building. II Kings 17:5-6 relates the ultimate consequence. FREE ebook: Israel: An Archaeological Journey. ( The first is the Assyrian crisis, discussed here.) He established a feast in the eighth month to replace the true Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh. 14:13). Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Sidon is the birth place of Jezabel. (verses 9-11). They were Phoenicians. Despite having the power and support of the king of Israel and his . What will happen will affect the entire world, even though the world will not grasp the spiritual significance. He may have replaced the Sabbath with Sunday worship. 4:12; Hos. One of the rooms in this temple had a bench, where offerings would have been placed, and an altar made of . Jun 2. The Sovereign Creator is not a God who allows His favor to be bought with crumbs. 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.