This time, Baal puts up a fight and holds Mot off in battle. But what was its real effect on the participants and the nation? north of Ugarit. Paul, then, is letting the church know that it need not be concerned about missing the end time. This god also, apparently according to Canaanite lore, defeated El and had associations with the sun and thunder. Psalm 68 may have been written, in part, as a polemic against Baal worship wherein it is indicated in verse 4 that YHWH is the one who rides the clouds. God sends a prophet to people who are cold in their relationship with Godspiritually freezing to deaththough they want to stay that way. The Spread of Baalism. 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. This is no different from what Israel was doing when Amos wrote back in 760 BC. Bible Study Hosea Old Testament. One was 260 days and was used for . was furnished by Harvard University excavations in the form of personal names containing Baal as the theophorous element, such as bybl, "Baal is my father," bl zmr, "Baal sings" or "Baalis strong," bl zkr, "Baal remembers," bl mny, "Baal is my answer," etc. Ugaritic texts tell of other fertility aspects of Baal, such as his relations with Anath, his consort and sister, and also his siring a divine bull calf from a heifer. 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). Child sacrifice was a fundamental aspect of Baal worship. Isai is music in Tamil and Vallavi means an expert. . 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. 11:17; I Kings 8:3536; Jer. Note the name of her father, King of the Sidoneans and apparently (Josephus) a priest of Baal as well. Who were the Sidonians of the Bronze Age (c. 30001200 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. It is urgent that we understand what is involved here because it reveals the cause of God's anger that led to Israel's defeat and scattering. Asherah was a fertility goddess. Baal worship also included, at times, child sacrifice, which we see some Israelite kings engaging with later on. Did the Carthaginians Really Practice Infant Sacrifice? So the word Jezebel finally means one who is a good musician. For those early Hebrews, Baal designated the Lord of Israel, just as Baal farther north designated the Lord of Lebanon or of Ugarit. Despite Gods efforts to dissuade them, the Israelites engaged with the Canaanite culture a little too much and adopted their practices, including Baal worship. 26:46). Kings Ahaz and Manasseh, Huffmon, Amorite Personal Names in the Mari Texts (1965), 174; W.F. That afon designated the "north" in Hebrew is presumably due to the fact that Mount Casius lies directly north of Palestine. More than 1400 of her works have been featured in various publications. Elijah says disturbing things. Baal is said to be one of the first of Solomon's 72 spirits. He could, and did, withhold the rain from one city and lavish it on another (Amos 4:7). There is no doubt that prosperity is good, but unless one is properly focused and disciplined, it can also be a demanding master because of its power to distract one into idolatry. They simply evolve. The Bible tells us that there were dire consequences for Israel worshiping a false god (Judges 2). But Baal was not exclusively a fertility god. How many pagan ideas have we let seep in? 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. Asherah, along with Astarte and Anath, was one of the three great goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon. Yet if you asked most people who believe and follow this new morality, I suspect few would have ever heard of Baal. The latter name (Amarna, Addu) is to be related to Arabic hadda ("break," "crash") with reference to thunder. 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 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. The motifs of these myths were adopted and adapted in Jewish and Christian eschatology. The eschatological traits were taken over with the Canaanite myths. What do we know about the religion surrounding this Canaanite deity, and how did it affect those in the Old Testament? Sift through the storied history of ancient Israel. The Aztec people used two calendars. I appreciate your consideration, and Im sure the Most High does as well! 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." 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. The word bel can be transformed into vel or val. The Israelites displayed a pandemic failure to love their fellow man. All 450 prophets of Baal do not escape the slaughter that takes place after that. 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). Baal and Asherah were two giant stumbling blocks for the people of Israel. In Phoenician he was called Baal Shamen, Lord of the Heavens. With Baal's functions accredited to YHWH, it was natural and fitting that some of Baal's titles would also be taken over. Not a BAS Library member yet? In Ugaritic and Hebrew, Baal's epithet as the storm god was He Who Rides on the Clouds. Did the Ancient Israelites Think Children Were People. In Hosea 10:2, God charges Israel with having a divided heart. Revelation 2:14 "THE DOCTRINES OF . Molech was another such god. What Is Coptic and Who Were the Copts in Ancient Egypt? . Yet, he was in trouble his whole life, from his teenage years on. They too had blended the worship of the true God with outright paganism, utterly corrupting the relationship He had established with them. (The Book of Amos) (Part Two). They used the name of God frequently, saying they trusted Him, but they filled the nation with stealing, lying, and murder. Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1998 - 2023 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. During the summer months the rains cease, but the temporary drought is no threat unless it is abnormally prolonged. The Israelites fell into the worship of this idol(Numbers 25:3,5,18; Deuteronomy 4:3; Psalm 106:28; Hosea 9:10). (the Iron Age). El is praised for his wisdom in granting the request since now it is insured that Baal will give his rain in season. He awakens them to their spiritual and moral responsibilities. Lastly, he replaced God with golden calves in Bethel and Dan. that the southern kingdom of Judah ever had .just like her momma. When the rain failed, it was inevitable that some would question YHWH's power and resort to Baal. 131; Sanh. Ashtaroth is mentioned 12 times in the Old Testament. Your email address will not be published. Recall the mention in Hosea 10:1 of increasing and embellishing altars just before Israel fell to Assyria. Jews nowadays say Ha-Shem [i.e. 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. 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). 10:1113; 14:22). Elijah had to take drastic measures to prevent Baal worship from completely eradicating the worship of the true God (I Kings 18:20-40). Looking at these two definitions we can say . Today Jezebel has built Baal altars in the name of 'church' and led many to Baal worship. Our god is what we give our lives over to. He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. Baal Worship The Battle for the Israelites' Hearts For nearly a thousand years, a battle raged for the hearts of the Israelite nation. They also worshiped him as a fertility god who provided children. 13:2) such as Baal himself performed in the Ugaritic myth are depicted in the prophetic tirades. 30 Verses to Reflect on in the Book of Hebrews. 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 bulk of the Ugaritic mythological texts is concerned with the activities of Baal. Sidons Storm God. As a result of their sin, the men of Israel were judged by God. Elijah is quite instructive here. Remember, this falling away sets the stage for the man of sin, who will have tremendous influence over humanity. 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. guilty of adopting the ghastly Canaanite practice of child sacrifice. The Bible is full of colorful characters, from Noah to Moses to Jesus. But Jezebels religion is not Jewish whereas the religion of the Tamils is more like that of the Jews. The principal pillars of Baalism were child sacrifice, sexual immorality (both heterosexual and homosexual) and pantheism . One idea is that he means, "How long are you going to hop from branch to branch? 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. Now the word isai, simply means music in Tamil. Its prosperity played a part in corrupting the Israelites' hearts, which is why Hosea mentions the divided or disloyal heart in context with its bountiful fruit. In the Bible, Jezebel is notorious for persecuting the worship of Yahweh and for demanding that the Israelites worship Baal. Theoretically, the Israelites did not believe in idols, but in reality, they did. 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). 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." He was the god that provided - food - for the people. Today, music performers entice young and old in the practice of the worship of Baal-Peor The practice of Baal worship was wide spread in Bible times and was very evil. 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). Photo: Courtesy of Claude Doumet-Serhal. Apostasy is a defection from trutha forsaking of one spiritual approach in favor of another. He was overseeing a tevilah (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_washing_in_Judaism#Full-body_immersion_.28Tvilah.29) in a mikveh (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikveh). And she has taken over many so-called churches. The Sidonians were the inhabitants of ancient Sidon, a seaport on the Mediterranean Sea in modern Lebanon. Updates? Scholars previously associated the theonym with solar cults and with a variety of unrelated patron deities, but inscriptions have . Sidons Phoenician Temple. 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. The handle displays an impression of a ship with the leonine dragon Uumgal, the storm god Adads attendant, next to it. Only the individual could decide which side he would be on, because Elijah made it clear, "God does not want you the way you are. Everything Joshua* (Yehoshua) did was in accordance with the TaNaKh, which is an acrostic for Torah (=Law/Instruction), Neviim (=Prophets), and Ketuvim (=Writings). It seemed they couldnt border a single person who didnt try to destroy them or convince them to worship their own gods. Baal rejoiced and celebrated with a banquet. Matthew 5:17Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. The Sovereign Creator is not a God who allows His favor to be bought with crumbs. 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. Historical Background of HoseaBaal and Idolatry. 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. 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 were afraid of God, but they did not really change their way of life. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. Lastly, he replaced God with golden calves in Bethel and Dan. 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. He may have replaced the Sabbath with Sunday worship. What the Bible says about A religion with such a beginning was doomed to fail, bringing the nation down with it. 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). In Tamil Nadu, the following words payachi paarai, Peyazhwar, payans, pai (meaning devil) are currently in use. He replaced the Levitical priesthood with men of his own choosing. They were straddling the fence in a precarious state of imbalance, attempting to combine the worship of God with the more popular worship of Baal and Asherah. After a textual gap, there is a report that Baal's corpse has been found. This full-body immersion was required for converts (giyur) to the sect called The Way (HaDerech) in Acts whether a Pharisaic/Saddusaic Jew or a Gentile proselyte (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_to_Judaism). Jehu's massacre of the Baal worshipers (II Kings 10:1828) did not eradicate bull worship (II Kings 10:31). ), from an original Baal-Zebul, which is preserved in this form in the New Testament (Matt. O. Eissfeldt, Beitraege zur Religionsgeschichte des Altertums I (1932); H.L. Scott Broberg Fig Tree Ministries. However, before the war was over, both sides were summarily executing anybody who did this because those traitors could not be trusted. Your email address will not be published. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Baal's response to Mot's invitation to come and be devoured is abject surrender: "Thy slave am I, thine eternal." 4:12; Hos. In the formative stages of Israels history, the presence of Baal names did not necessarily mean apostasy or even syncretism. John W. Ritenbaugh If it is of men, it will not work very long. Before descending to the realm of death, Baal copulates with a heifer and begets a male offspring. Many of the practices mentioned were most probable common to the worship of all the Baals; a few others are certainly specific. The name is more likely derived from the god Baal. In artistic depictions and archeological finds, Baal took the shape of a bull or ram and had associations with fertility. At Shittim they attached themselves to Baal-Peor, ate sacrifices for the dead, and indulged in sacred sexual orgies (Num. By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch" (Matthew 15:14). Some of Judah's kings spent years tearing down shrines and high places to foreign gods (II Chronicles 34:1-7). Baal Peor, or the Baal of Peor, was a local deity worshiped by the Moabites. The biblical allusions to YHWH's victory over the sea preserve echoes of the older exploit of Baal (cf. A general understanding about the bamah and . 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). This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. Baal is said to be one of the first of Solomon's 72 demons. COPYRIGHT 2023 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY 5614 Connecticut Ave NW #343, Washington DC 20015-2604. Hope Bolingeris an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, and the author 21+ books. Take the word isabel; it can be split as isa bel or as isai bel. After a sortie against the sea-god, Baal returned to his house and ordered Koshar to install a window; Koshar laughed, reminded Baal of the debate, and complied. They were not committed to the side that they were supposed to be on. What happens if a person, trying to establish a religion, mixes falsehood with the truth of God? 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. The Septuagint (LXX) rendered Joshua, the son of Nun, in Greek as Iesous; the same was used for Christs name in the NT. Thus, they developed a syncretic religious system, a blending of the truth of God and outright paganism. "like a bird in a tree. 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. ( The first is the Assyrian crisis, discussed here.) . 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. Thus the basis of the Baal cult was the utter dependence of life on the rains which were regarded as Baal's bounty. Portions of ancient Baal liturgy were adapted to the praise of Israel's God, as the Ugaritic poems have shown. Horrendous and repulsive aspects of the worship sexual excesses and perversions (Isa. Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan (1968); Albright, Arch Rel; S.M. 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. He may have replaced the Sabbath with Sunday worship. The laws given to Moses by God expressly forbade the Jews to do what was done in Egypt or in Canaan. A complex religion with traditions and gods from all over the ancient Middle East, Baal worship offered something for everyone. Apparently in anticipation of developments the artisan god Koshar had cast furnishings of gold and silver. The latter title has a biblical echo in the corrupted form Baal-Zebub (II Kings 1:2ff. 14:2). In the mythology of Canaan, Baal, the god of life and fertility, locked in mortal combat with Mot, the god of death and sterility. The myths also tell of Baals struggle to obtain a palace comparable in grandeur to those of other gods. 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. . Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/ggenova. 29:35, 32:26; Nah. Sun worship came from the ancient pagan religion of Baal. Biblical narrative incorporates tales of Baal worship into the traditions of the wilderness wandering, thus tracing Baal worship to the earliest period of Israel's existence. The first mention of Molech is in Leviticus 18:21 in which the . Two practices in particular are mentioned in Scripture. 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. As an example, notice Amos 2:6-7, where Amos chides the Israelites: ". See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. Assyria, a kingdom known as much for its innovative weapons as for their brutal implementation, conquered the Kingdom of Israel in 718 BC. As such, Baal designated the universal god of fertility, and in that capacity his title was Prince, Lord of the Earth. Israel "walked in the statutes of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel." The prophet Haggai attributed the drought and scarcity in his day to the failure to rebuild the Temple (Hag. You have a cuddly little Baal idol in your child's bedroom without even suspecting it. In the mysterious tablets of Ugarit, discovered by Claude Schaeffer, Baal is the God of rain, thunder, and extraordinary bolts of lightning. 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. In this article, well discuss what Scripture has to say about Baal, what we know from history about Baal, and why this ultimately matters to us today. Despite having the power and support of the king of Israel and his . 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. Asherah, mother of the gods, was prevailed upon to intercede with El to gain permission for the building. Human-Ram Deity from Sidon. After we accept His calling, He commands us to become moral as He is. In those God calls outthose who, by faith, will voluntarily yield to HimHe is building character based on outgoing love. All rights reserved. Gray, The Legacy of Canaan (rev. 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. Child sacrifice was even practiced in the Valley of Hinnom just outside of Jerusalem. It disturbed them. One such deity who gripped Israel for a period of time was Baal. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. YHWH's victory over the waters is connected either with the rescue of Israel at the Exodus (Ps. 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). The judge Gideon was also named Jerubbaal (Judges 6:32), and King Saul had a son named Ishbaal (I Chronicles 8:33). In some cases, they attempted to attach this practice to worship of the Lord (Ezek 23:39). All this was part of his fertility role, which, when fulfilled, meant an abundance of crops and fertility for animals and mankind. What modern-day Baals have we worshipped in place of God? Avot 5:11 on the connection between tithing and rain). But God. In the El-Amarna letters Canaanite clients addressed the Egyptian king as "My Baal, my Addu." Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. 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). Baal was considered the supreme. Elijah prepared the way for Elisha, who had a double portion of Elijah's spirit and did many more miracles. 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." Some suppose Baal to correspond to the sun and Ashtoreth to the moon; others that Baal was Jupiter and Ashtoreth Venus.
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