The bulk of the Ugaritic mythological texts is concerned with the activities of Baal. 55:613; Jer. And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods. Lastly, he replaced God with golden calves in Bethel and Dan. 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! 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. Required fields are marked *. God wants to transform us from people who are bent on pleasing ourselves to people who show concern for others. because they sell the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals. The association of the name Baal-Zephon with Israel's exit from Egypt (Ex. 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 ). 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." Scott Broberg Fig Tree Ministries. The prophet Haggai attributed the drought and scarcity in his day to the failure to rebuild the Temple (Hag. 9:20 presents a parallel is mistaken since the Ugaritic text mentions the sea-god and not Death (Mot) in connection with the window.) In their ignorance, the people do not realize the terrible calamity that is coming soon upon modern Israel. We may not sacrifice our children on altars for everyone to see; instead, we sacrifice them behind closed doors at a doctor's . 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. 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.'" The Bible tells us that there were dire consequences for Israel worshiping a false god (Judges 2). 14:13). 1:711). If Baal triumphed, a seven-year cycle of fertility would ensue; but, if he were vanquished by Mot, seven years of drought and famine would ensue. The Bible is full of colorful characters, from Noah to Moses to Jesus. 30 Verses to Reflect on in the Book of Hebrews. He may have replaced the Sabbath with Sunday worship. 29:35, 32:26; Nah. What Is Coptic and Who Were the Copts in Ancient Egypt? Prepare to Meet Your God! Near Baals temple was that of Dagon, given in the tablets as Baals father. In the mythology of Canaan, Baal, the god of life and fertility, locked in mortal combat with Mot, the god of death and sterility. 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). He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. 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. Paul, then, is letting the church know that it need not be concerned about missing the end time. For example, Christmas and Easter are traditions of men, but they are lies. 27:1, 30:7, 51:910; Ezek. The practice of Baal worship was wide spread in Bible times and was very evil. Elijah was sent by God, and he was fulfilling the responsibility of a prophet, to prod the people to whom he was sent to their responsibilities. 26:1920). However, it was not the religion God gave through Moses, but idolatry that flourished! Claude Doumet-Serhal of the British Museum details recent excavations at Sidon in her article SidonCanaans Firstborn, published in the July/August 2017 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review. However, even though their origins were Canaanite, the Phoenicians established their own distinct culture. John W. Ritenbaugh The Devil is behind a. Matthew 5:17Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. Since the Ugaritic verified the antiquity and authenticity of this divine name, additional instances have been alleged in the Psalter and in Job. 3:10; cf. Baal was a god of prosperity, god of harvest, sex and fertility. 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. The Bible speaks of the destruction of Baal's temples and the idols associated with him. . 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. All Rights Reserved. Ahab accommodated his wife's idolatry to the point of building a . 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. A solution has been supplied by a tradition ascribed to the ancient Phoenician priest Sakkunyaton (Greek Sanchuniathn) that when El-Kronos defeated Ouranos, he captured in the battle Ouranos' pregnant concubine and gave her to Dagn. 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). 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. 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Scholars previously associated the theonym with solar cults and with a variety of unrelated patron deities, but inscriptions have . you didnt even mention her horrible daughter Athaliah, the only killer queen The above comment is by Prof. Abraham Joseph, M.Sc., M.Phil. Superstitious fear and sexual rites on the one hand fought against faith and loyalty on the other. Besides the names Baal and Haddu, the Ugaritic texts furnish a variety of other titles, such as "Mighty Baal" (aliyn bl) and "Prince, Lord of Earth" (zbl bl ars). In addition to Baal still influencing religions and pagan practices today, we must take note of what happened to the Israelites and vigilantly watch our churches. They too had blended the worship of the true God with outright paganism, utterly corrupting the relationship He had established with them. (II Kings 17:35-38). At Shittim they attached themselves to Baal-Peor, ate sacrifices for the dead, and indulged in sacred sexual orgies (Num. 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. Two practices in particular are mentioned in Scripture. Despite Gods efforts to dissuade them, the Israelites engaged with the Canaanite culture a little too much and adopted their practices, including Baal worship. Now that He has announced Israel's imminent calamity, God begins to show how His punishment would alter the lives of the people. They used the name of God frequently, saying they trusted Him, but they filled the nation with stealing, lying, and murder. The word bal, common Semitic for "owner, master, husband," became the usual designation of the great weather-god of the Western Semites. The eschatological traits were taken over with the Canaanite myths. The tablets, although closely attached to the worship of Baal at his local temple, probably represent Canaanite belief generally. Hosea exposes the problem between God and Israel. Thus, according to Sakkunyaton, Baal's natural father was Ouranos and Dagn became his foster-father, while El-Kronos effected the transfer. (verse 8). The Jordan River (Nahar ha-Yarden) qualified as a mikveh as its flowing living waters originated from a natural spring (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_River). Dated to c. 1750 B.C.E. Paul, in: Biblica, 49 (1968), 3436; U. Oldenburg, The Conflict Between El and Bal in Canaanite Religion (1969). 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 biblical allusions to YHWH's victory over the sea preserve echoes of the older exploit of Baal (cf. El is praised for his wisdom in granting the request since now it is insured that Baal will give his rain in season. In daily life, they conformed to and reflected the Babylonish system just as Israel does today. In the formative stages of Israels history, the presence of Baal names did not necessarily mean apostasy or even syncretism. For a while, both sidesthe Confederate and the Unionaccepted those turncoats and took their information. You tricked me." Archaeologists at Sidon have uncovered a 12th-11th-century B.C.E. Of special interest is the designation Aliy (ly) which is twice applied to Baal in the Krt Epic: Before the discovery and recognition of this name in Ugaritic, H.S. The judge Gideon was also named Jerubbaal (Judges 6:32), and King Saul had a son named Ishbaal (I Chronicles 8:33). Baal is said to be one of the first of Solomon's 72 demons. How could you worship Baal? But if we dont exercise extreme discernment, we may find ourselves doing the same with modern-day baals. One interpretation is that it is a localized occurrence, in the sense of it happening just within the little flockthe church. Jehu's massacre of the Baal worshipers (II Kings 10:1828) did not eradicate bull worship (II Kings 10:31). In Hosea 10:2, God charges Israel with having a divided heart. In short, Scripture has nothing positive to say about Baal. The Largest Baal Worship Service on the Planet is in America August 27, 2017 by Andy Roman "They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone." Daniel 5:4. The prophet turns the heat on, and they become angry with him when he is actually working to make them better. Baal's objection to the window somehow concerned his three daughters and the sea-god (Yamm), but the text is broken at this point. He is deceived into thinking that his material prosperity proves that God approves of his conduct and attitudes. (From Forerunner Commentary). The word is used as the name of a town in ancient Israel in Deuteronomy 1:4, Joshua . 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. Paul is not writing about apostasy in a small group of people that will give rise to an international personality, but an event on the world scene that creates the right environment to catapult this figure, backed by the power of Satan, to the heights of power. Ashtar the Awful (ttrr) was then nominated to replace Baal, but when he ascended the throne, his feet did not reach the footstool nor his head the top and so he declined to reign on the heights of apn and descended from Baal's throne, but ruled over all El's earth. 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. 19 Now therefore, call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. One of the rooms in this temple had a bench, where offerings would have been placed, and an altar made of piled and unhewn stones, which recalls the Biblical command to make altars of uncut stones (see Exodus 20:25). He could, and did, withhold the rain from one city and lavish it on another (Amos 4:7). In others, they rejected Yahweh worship altogether and fully turned themselves over to the idols of Canaan (2 Kgs 17:14-17). Remember, this falling away sets the stage for the man of sin, who will have tremendous influence over humanity. The Israelites "caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger" (verse 17). The name is more likely derived from the god Baal. In the Hebrew Bible, Moloch is presented as a foreign deity who was at times illegitimately given a place in Israel's worship as a result of the syncretistic policies of certain apostate kings. Photo: Courtesy of Claude Doumet-Serhal. Elijah says disturbing things. Silapadikaram, a Tamil Classic, mentions more than 200 musical instruments. A common designation of Baal in the Ugaritic myths is bn-dgn "son of Dagn"; but Baal is also considered the son of El who is called "Bull El his [i.e., Baal's] father; El King who begot him [Baal]" (tr il abh; il mlk dyknnh). 11:17; I Kings 8:3536; Jer. All this was part of his fertility role, which, when fulfilled, meant an abundance of crops and fertility for animals and mankind. The sum of what Elijah said is actually spiritually dangerous, due to the fact that God is judging. Ahaz fostered Baal worship (II Chron. When the Israelites, following Moses to the Promised Land, were in the vicinity of Peor, some of them fell into idolatry and worshiped Baal Peor. BAAL-WORSHIP AMONG THE GENTILES.The evidence is hardly of such weight as to justify us in speaking of a worship of Baal. The Jews of Christ's day clearly recognized this putrid blend and despised the Samaritans for it. 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. 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." The god Baal was the heathen sun-god spoken of in the Old Testament. He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. Indeed, religion flourished, as Amos, Hosea's contemporary, clearly reports (see Amos 5:21-27). God's first command to destroy any forms of idol worship came early in the Bible in Exodus 34:13. . Avot 5:11 on the connection between tithing and rain). The heyday of Baal worship in Israel came in the days of Elijah, when the Phoenician princess Jezebel launched a massive campaign to promote Baal. What was the rationale behind this perverse, immoral act? Ashtoreth is mentioned three times in scripture, in 1 Kings 11:5 & 33, 2 Kings 23:13. ed., 1965); H.B. El and Anath mourn violently, mutilating their faces and bodies. The Hebrew scriptures speak frequently of the Baal of a given place or refers to Baalim in the plural, suggesting the evidence of local deities, or lords, of various locales. 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. . The Septuagint (LXX) referred to the latter as a stranger [in the land]. 3:8; Ps. 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. The songs of His Temple would ordinarily be happy and joyous songs of praise to God, but He will turn the songs of their templesung to Baal in the name of the Lordto wailing, for the numbers of the dead will be unimaginable. With the help of the sun-goddess Shapsh, Anath locates the dead Baal, carries him to the height of apn, and weeping buries him with funerary sacrifices. With Baal's functions accredited to YHWH, it was natural and fitting that some of Baal's titles would also be taken over. He began to prophesy in a time of immediate crisis, one that would become far worse before it ever improved. But God. 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. "But there was no voice. This life-and-death struggle pitted the worship of Baal against the worship of Jehovah. Sometimes the leadership of the nation of Israel tolerated and embraced the deities of other nations. Some become discouraged with the church because we are always being toldto some measure anywaydisturbing things about ourselves. A complaint is made to Bull El, father of the gods, that Baal has no house like other gods. This is no different from what Israel was doing when Amos wrote back in 760 BC. Elijah's work was to reveal the true God to Israel in a time of growing national crisis. So-called from Mount Peor, where this worship was celebrated, the Baal of Peor. BIBLIOGRAPHY: W. Hermann, in: DDD, 13238; M.S. YHWH's victory over the waters is connected either with the rescue of Israel at the Exodus (Ps. The lesson for us becomes clear, because Jesus says the same thing (Matthew 6:24; 12:25). The Masoretic text has the 4 letters YHWH with a sheva under the Y, pronounced yuh, and a Qamats below the W, i.e. Baal was simply the title (literally, Lord) of the pagan god Molech. Ritual prostitution only served to erode the family, eventually leading to the destruction of the nation. Before descending to the realm of death, Baal copulates with a heifer and begets a male offspring. 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. The bird cannot make up its mind where it wants to settle down, so it just keeps hopping around. The Semitic word "baal" (meaning '"Lord") was also used to refer to various deities of the Levant. 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. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Blending the lies of this world with the truth of God produces a foul mixture called syncretism (James 3:10-13). Figs and grapes ripen during the dry season and the grain harvest also takes place before the rains resume. 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! Some suppose Baal to correspond to the sun and Ashtoreth to the moon; others that Baal was Jupiter and Ashtoreth Venus. 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. The Lord calls for the worship of him and his idols to be uprooted and destroyed, and for the people to turn away from his false . The contest on Mount Carmel was reported as demonstrating that Baal was an impotent non-entity and that the rain came only from YHWH. Today, music performers entice young and old in the practice of the worship of Baal-Peor They simply evolve. 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. And Asherah and Baal led the way together (Judges 3:7, 1 Kings 18:19, 2 Kings 23:4). 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. That there were minor Baalim also at Ugarit is indicated by a god list in Akkadian (see Ugaritica, 5, p. 44 ll. . 11:1011). Baal was the title of the "god" worshiped in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch" (Matthew 15:14). Hope Bolingeris an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, and the author 21+ books. "Whatever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). Although they lived in Israel, Jezebel and her retainers were free to worship Baal. 33:7) has been made the basis of intriguing speculation by Eissfeldt. Because of their self-procured wealth and affluence, they think they are being blessed with material things. Archeological excavations have dated information about Baal back as far as the second millennium BC, and the spread of Baal worship caught fire in Egypt in 1400 BC. Gray, The Legacy of Canaan (rev. The variant form Hadad (hdd) is attested to only once in Ugaritic. Through the influence of the Aramaeans, who borrowed the Babylonian pronunciation Bel, the god ultimately became known as the Greek Belos, identified with Zeus. 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. 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. Speech is completely original and produced exclusively by Grace Digital Network Music licensed through Artlist.io Footage licensed through Filmpac.com and S. They believed in a Creator God, but they worshipped Him at the shrines they erected to the Baals. The myth may refer in part to the construction of Baals own temple in the city of Ugarit. 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. They become "settled on their lees," as it says in Zephaniah 1:12. Baal Peor, or the Baal of Peor, was a local deity worshiped by the Moabites. They clash violently until both are prostrate and the Sungoddess warns Mot not to fight with Baal lest El hear and overthrow him. Baal worship was rooted in sensuality and involved ritualistic prostitution in the temples. Commentaries are at odds over what the Hebrew word translated divided means. . Baal worship is something I associated only with Old Testament Bible days. 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. Your email address will not be published. Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. 33 Bible Verses about Baal Worship, History So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry against Israel. Some extraordinary discoveries from recent excavations have allowed us to partially reconstruct Sidonian religion during the Bronze and Iron Agesshowing that Baal worship at the site had deep roots. A major question about II Thessalonians 2 is the scope of the described events. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. Learn about the Canaanite-Phoenician deities who were called Baal, which means Lord. 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. It indeed produces great material prosperity, but it is consumed through self-indulgent gorging. In popular and syncretistic religion in Israel, Yahweh could be equated with both El and Baal. This viewpoint was developed as the basic and final argument against Baalism. So the word Jezebel finally means one who is a good musician. A complex religion with traditions and gods from all over the ancient Middle East, Baal worship offered something for everyone. Well dive more into this in the historicity of Baal in a few sections. The right remedy, according to Israel's prophets, was to repudiate Baal completely and to seek and return to Israel's true God (Isa. Omissions? Who Was Baal? In Canaan, however, when the solar theology had absorbed the older beliefs, Baal, passing into a sun-god and the goddess who stood at his side becoming a representative of the moon--the pale reflection, as it were, of the sun- -Ashtoreth came to be regarded as the consort of Baal and took the place of the solar goddesses of Babylonia. She gives life to 70 other gods in the Canaanite pantheon. guilty of adopting the ghastly Canaanite practice of child sacrifice. 14:2). BAAL WORSHIP AND SEMITIC RACISM This term was used as a title and name of various local deities worshipped as guardians, heroes, and kings. Today Jezebel has built Baal altars in the name of 'church' and led many to Baal worship. What is so interesting is that, by verse 35, it is clear God is no longer addressing Himself to the Samaritans, but to Israel: [T]he LORD had made a covenant and charged [Israel], saying: "You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; but the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. But church is where we come to have our minds stretched and measured against Christ's standard. Most often, it condemns Baal worship. Sift through the storied history of ancient Israel. Mot refused and boasted how he had mangled Baal. Doumet-Serhal explains the significance of the handles iconography: The dragon epitomizes the most fundamental ancient mythical perception of the Mesopotamian storm god. 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. Baal was the god of rain, wind, and fertility. 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). When religion is ungodly, its power is destructive, and every institution in the nation suffers. In the Bible, Jezebel is notorious for persecuting the worship of Yahweh and for demanding that the Israelites worship Baal. 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. The violence and injustice in Israelite society ultimately stemmed from the false teaching proclaimed from the pulpits. First was sexual orgies "under every green tree," where promiscuity and perverted sex acts were the norm. In other words, prosperity turns people's heads. 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.. In the Bible, Baal (also rendered Baal) was an important Canaanite god, often portrayed as the primary enemy of the Hebrew God Yahweh. A vivid description of theophany in a thunderstorm is found in Psalms 18:715 (= II Sam. . 106:28). Thus the basis of the Baal cult was the utter dependence of life on the rains which were regarded as Baal's bounty. 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.
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