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). The divine child was named Demarous, one of the cognomens of Zeus-Baal-Hadad. High Places, Altars and the Bamah - Biblical Archaeology Society The Israelites displayed a pandemic failure to love their fellow man. The Tetragrammaton should be rendered as Yahoah, with the vav being pronounced as the o in Torah, menorah, Eloah (singular form of Elohim), and Yehoshua (=Joshua, Christs REAL name). Baal is said to be one of the first of Solomon's 72 spirits. A falling away is taking place right now. Apostasy is a defection from trutha forsaking of one spiritual approach in favor of another. Today, some evangelicals attempt to prepare the people for what is to come, but their teaching is a mixture of right and wrong. Groves and high places were places of worship erected to Canaanite gods and goddesses. Who was Baal? | GotQuestions.org He is a loving Master who only is to be obeyed and servedand only on His terms. The Hebrew word suggests "smoothness" or "flattering," describing people who "talk the talk" but do not "walk the walk.". 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. 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. Asherah, mother of the gods, was prevailed upon to intercede with El to gain permission for the building. BAAL the Religion of SATANISM - Loren Davis The myths also tell of Baals struggle to obtain a palace comparable in grandeur to those of other gods. BAAL-PEOR - JewishEncyclopedia.com For those early Hebrews, Baal designated the Lord of Israel, just as Baal farther north designated the Lord of Lebanon or of Ugarit. As such, Baal designated the universal god of fertility, and in that capacity his title was Prince, Lord of the Earth. In the Aztec religion, life existed before humans, and civilization was built after the destruction of the fourth sun. Sign up to receive our email newsletter and never miss an update. 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). Speech is completely original and produced exclusively by Grace Digital Network Music licensed through Artlist.io Footage licensed through Filmpac.com and S. 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. It is not known to what extent the Canaanites considered those various Baalim identical, but the Baal of Ugarit does not seem to have confined his activities to one city, and doubtless other communities agreed in giving him cosmic scope. 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. 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. Join the BAS Library today. Christ warned the Pharisees: "For laying aside the commandments of God, you hold the traditions of men." * Jesus is a transliteration of the Latin; it is NOT a translation! It proved extremely hard for a monotheistic faith to compete against the Canaanite fertility cult. Israel's false religion, represented by the altars of Bethel, is at the root of her problems. Indeed, religion flourished, as Amos, Hosea's contemporary, clearly reports (see Amos 5:21-27). Thus, according to Sakkunyaton, Baal's natural father was Ouranos and Dagn became his foster-father, while El-Kronos effected the transfer. ( The first is the Assyrian crisis, discussed here.) After we accept His calling, He commands us to become moral as He is. (the Middle Bronze Age), this impressed handle depicts a ship and a leonine dragon, which is the symbol of the Mesopotamian storm god Adad. 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. (NASB). Baal was a fertility and earth god of the ancient cultures and was later exported to Egypt where he was worshipped as the storm 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. 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. A prophet's life is not a happy situation. 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. A third is that he is describing somebody teetering on a tightrope and trying to maintain his balance. The latest archaeological discoveries shed light on Biblical Sidon and provide a window into the Sidonians polytheistic religion and worship practices during the Bronze and Iron Ages. 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. Many of the practices mentioned were most probable common to the worship of all the Baals; a few others are certainly specific. This is the crux of our salvation through Jesus Christ. . All through the Old Testament, the people of Israel fell into Baal and Asherah worship, and it is no different for us today. In spite of the fact that the word is used as the theophorous element in personal names, such as Eshbaal, Merib-Baal, Jerub Baal, it was long believed that the term remained an appellation and did not become a proper name, except in the case of the Mesopotamian Bel and in late theological speculation. Alan, how said anything about John baptizing Jesus? They clash violently until both are prostrate and the Sungoddess warns Mot not to fight with Baal lest El hear and overthrow him. The triumph of Baal recounted in the myths and perhaps reenacted in ritual drama gave assurance of help in the present and the future as in the past. 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). Child Sacrifice and Baal - Moloch - Anglican Orthodox Church Lastly, he replaced God with golden calves in Bethel and Dan. Biblical Archaeology's Top 10 Discoveries of 2021 - News & Reporting Since El and Dagn are distinct deities, this seeming confusion over Baal's paternity needs explanation. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Baal - World History Encyclopedia 57 Bull Baal. The latter title has a biblical echo in the corrupted form Baal-Zebub (II Kings 1:2ff. What Is Coptic and Who Were the Copts in Ancient Egypt? Child sacrifice was a fundamental aspect of Baal worship. The prophet turns the heat on, and they become angry with him when he is actually working to make them better. Possibly even more treacherous than this was a parallel development: mixing the worship of Yahweh and Baal. (verse 8). Or about Yahweh? They believed by their actions they could control and manipulate the Gods. 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. He is often accused of causing their pain. This describes to a T what Israel did then and their descendants are continuing to do today. Most modern translations use "false," "deceitful," or "faithless," and none of these are wrong, including "divided." In the Judeo-Christian tradition Asherah is considered a false Canaanite deity and a major source of temptation to the Israelites. Baal persuaded Asherah to intercede with her husband El, the head of the pantheon, to authorize the construction of a palace. (the Middle Bronze Age). Their spiritual lethargy for the true God made them uncommitted. 57:310), perhaps including copulation with animals (Hos. 3:8; Ps. The handle displays an impression of a ship with the leonine dragon Uumgal, the storm god Adads attendant, next to it. The beliefs and practices of the Canaanites were not only detestable, but they also . 14:2). Charles Whitaker Since Baal was, like almost all ancient deities, a fertility god, the human act of intercourse demonstrated that they wanted Baal to prosper them. Well dive more into this in the historicity of Baal in a few sections. Asherah - New World Encyclopedia 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. Child sacrifice was even practiced in the Valley of Hinnom just outside of Jerusalem. The Bible tells us that there were dire consequences for Israel worshiping a false god (Judges 2). Sidon is the birth place of Jezabel. 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'. All 450 prophets of Baal do not escape the slaughter that takes place after that. 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. Who were the Sidonians of the Iron Age (c. 1200586 B.C.E.)? 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. Doumet-Serhal explains the significance of the handles iconography: The dragon epitomizes the most fundamental ancient mythical perception of the Mesopotamian storm god. But it could have existed long before that, when God established the law, including laws against eating pork, since pig slaughter and sacrifice were a hallmark of Baal worship. This chapter reports on the behavior of the people placed in Israel after Israel's conquest and deportation by Assyria between 722-720 BC. 11:17; I Kings 8:3536; Jer. 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. He awakens them to their spiritual and moral responsibilities. The worship of Baal was popular in Egypt from the later New Kingdom in about 1400 bce to its end (1075 bce). 2:13) and *Asherah (Judg. What Is the Significance of Not the Letter but of the Spirit? O. Eissfeldt, Beitraege zur Religionsgeschichte des Altertums I (1932); H.L. She's most famously the mother of Baal, another god who shows up throughout the Old Testament when the Israelites stray after other idols. If you will not be committed to Him, you are going to die.". He may have replaced the Sabbath with Sunday worship. And Asherah and Baal led the way together (Judges 3:7, 1 Kings 18:19, 2 Kings 23:4). He could, and did, withhold the rain from one city and lavish it on another (Amos 4:7). Sacred sex was a key component. 26:1920). Elijah had to take drastic measures to prevent Baal worship from completely eradicating the worship of the true God (I Kings 18:20-40). The eschatological traits were taken over with the Canaanite myths. 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. In exchange, they would offer information about their unit. 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. The prophet Haggai attributed the drought and scarcity in his day to the failure to rebuild the Temple (Hag. . The association of the name Baal-Zephon with Israel's exit from Egypt (Ex. Near Baals temple was that of Dagon, given in the tablets as Baals father. How could you worship Baal? But if we dont exercise extreme discernment, we may find ourselves doing the same with modern-day baals. 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. The second major background factor that we need to grasp somewhat to read Hosea well is the worship of the Canaanite god Baal (s). Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered!only to go on doing all these abominations? Not only do the Jews have to deal with the abomination of Zeus and Antiochus Epiphanes IV (Daniel 8), but the Greek pantheon later gets repeated in the Roman pantheon, and practices from both the Greeks and Romans still exist today. Nyberg had restored it in Deuteronomy 33:12; I Samuel 2:10; II Samuel 23:1; Isaiah 59:18, 63:7; and Hosea 7:16. Baal - the pagan idol in your garden. By Pat Franklin Yet such fluidity in the use of the term baal did not prevent it from being attached to a god of distinct character. "like a bird in a tree. Child Sacrifice, Transgender Issues and Baal Worship Despite having the power and support of the king of Israel and his . 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. . But church is where we come to have our minds stretched and measured against Christ's standard. Today Baal churches preach and teach Baal doctrines; prosperity, harvest, sex and fertility. Can we stop with the Yahweh pronunciation once and for all? He did not like the position God put him in. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. When religion is ungodly, its power is destructive, and every institution in the nation suffers. Some scholars believe that the Canaanites also sacrificed pigs and that God prohibited his people from eating pork in part to prevent this horrible cult from being established among them. Ashtoreth in the Bible - Definition, Meaning and References Who was Baal And Why Was The Worship Of Baal A Constant - YouTube He then merely floats, going through the motions, even feeling good about himself as he neglects so great salvation (Hebrews 2:3). At Shittim they attached themselves to Baal-Peor, ate sacrifices for the dead, and indulged in sacred sexual orgies (Num. 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. That Baal appears to be a relative newcomer in the Ugaritic pantheon has been generally recognized, and it may be that Sakkhunyaton's story about Baal's paternity reflects a mythologizing of the process by which Baal was integrated into the family of El. Baal, Ashtoreth and Molech - God's Old Testament rivals 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. Who Is Baal in the Bible - History and Mythology - Crosswalk.com He may have replaced the Sabbath with Sunday worship. The Lord said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel." Who Was Baal? - Topical Studies - Bible Study Tools Despite Gods efforts to dissuade them, the Israelites engaged with the Canaanite culture a little too much and adopted their practices, including Baal worship. This is typical Israeliltish syncretism, but it will not work. In the El-Amarna letters Canaanite clients addressed the Egyptian king as "My Baal, my Addu." . There are several ideas as to exactly what Elijah meant by "How long will you falter between two opinions?" He views them as personally rejecting Him and His Word. They were Phoenicians. 10:1113; 14:22). Baal was a god of prosperity, god of harvest, sex and fertility. After a textual gap, there is a report that Baal's corpse has been found. We may not sacrifice our children on altars for everyone to see; instead, we sacrifice them behind closed doors at a doctor's . God's pattern is being established. The word is used as the name of a town in ancient Israel in Deuteronomy 1:4, Joshua . Alternate titles: Baal Shamen, Baal Shemin, Baalim. Horrendous and repulsive aspects of the worship sexual excesses and perversions (Isa. 1:4; Hab. The Canaanites often worshipped her via trees (Asherah poles) because of her association with the tree of life. The name "Baal" shows up seven times in Hosea (2:8, 2:13, 2:16, 2:17 . Asherah, another popular deity in Canaan, was the goddess of motherhood and fertility . The Cult of Moloch - Jewish Virtual Library Appendix 5. Canaanite Religions and Baal Worship - JesusWalk What happens if a person, trying to establish a religion, mixes falsehood with the truth of God? To become moral, we must kill our selfish egos through the use and guidance of God's Holy Spirit. 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. Recall the mention in Hosea 10:1 of increasing and embellishing altars just before Israel fell to Assyria. Study the god Baal, Baal worship, and the presentation of Baal in the Bible. This is not brand new, but it is picking up speed. Either you are going to be committed to Him or not. He began to prophesy in a time of immediate crisis, one that would become far worse before it ever improved. Your email address will not be published. Since the Ugaritic verified the antiquity and authenticity of this divine name, additional instances have been alleged in the Psalter and in Job. 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." Baal was simply the title (literally, Lord) of the pagan god Molech. BAAL-WORSHIP AMONG THE GENTILES.The evidence is hardly of such weight as to justify us in speaking of a worship of Baal. He was considered superior to his father, El, the chief of the deities. Whether it turns out to be the falling away remains to be seen. Yet, he was in trouble his whole life, from his teenage years on. Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/ggenova. 3:23). Canaanite Religion in the Bible - wilrens.org The laws given to Moses by God expressly forbade the Jews to do what was done in Egypt or in Canaan. In other words, prosperity turns people's heads. 18 Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. Jer 32:29. But when a falling away happens around us, perhaps even beginning before we were born, it is easy for our minds to adjust to the point that we almost forget the continuing rebellion against God and His way. How Is Harry Potter a Literary Christ Figure? Avot 5:11 on the connection between tithing and rain). In this chapter, the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal have a show-down to prove the power of their God and gods. The name is more likely derived from the god Baal. Nevertheless, he was still faithful, and he did his job. The sequel to this action is furnished by the group of texts which recount Baal's confrontations with Mot. At Ras-Shamar, Baal was referred to as the son of Dagon, the Philistines chief god. that the southern kingdom of Judah ever had .just like her momma. However, before the war was over, both sides were summarily executing anybody who did this because those traitors could not be trusted. Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1998 - 2023 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Archaeologists at Sidon have uncovered a 12th-11th-century B.C.E. 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). So-called from Mount Peor, where this worship was celebrated, the Baal of Peor. This viewpoint was developed as the basic and final argument against Baalism. Who is Baal in the Bible? - The Truth Mission This is a prophet's job, a hallmark of a prophet of God. 2008 The Gale Group. Kings Ahaz and Manasseh, The Baal-worship so often alluded to and described in Holy Writ might, perhaps, be better styled, id-worship, moon-worship, Melek (Moloch)-worship, or Hadad-worship, according to places and circumstances. A god Baal apn was known from Egyptian and Akkadian sources before the discovery of the Ugaritic documents. For those who think the baptism of John (Yochanan) was something new under the sun recall that he was a Levite as was his father Zechariah (Tsekharya). Gen. 41; II Sam. What modern-day Baals have we worshipped in place of God? north of Ugarit. Drought and the Fall of the Hittite Empire. 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.. They used the name of God frequently, saying they trusted Him, but they filled the nation with stealing, lying, and murder. Worshipers of Baal Killed. Isa. Molech was an ancient god worshiped by the people neighboring Israel during Old Testament times. Canaanite Religions and Baal Worship by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson Audio (12:51) Free E-mail Bible Study Grace: Favor for the Undeserving. Sidon's Phoenician Temple. 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. And she has taken over many so-called churches. 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. 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. Baal worship is and has always been pagan; today it is replacing the laws and beliefs based upon Judaeo-Christian roots, which honours the GOD of the Bible, His laws and His ways. The principal pillars of Baalism were child sacrifice, sexual immorality (both heterosexual and homosexual) and pantheism . Baal - Wikipedia 8. In the Bible, Baal (also rendered Baal) was an important Canaanite god, often portrayed as the primary enemy of the Hebrew God Yahweh. The Devil is behind a. 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. Our god is what we give our lives over to. 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. Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan (1968); Albright, Arch Rel; S.M. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch" (Matthew 15:14). Portions of ancient Baal liturgy were adapted to the praise of Israel's God, as the Ugaritic poems have shown. Sidons Phoenician Temple. Corrections? In the Bible, the followers of the one true God encounter other gods, or previously worshipped idols themselves. 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. 6:30; II Kings 16:3233) are associated with him. What was the rationale behind this perverse, immoral act? Baal was the god of rain, wind, and fertility. BIBLIOGRAPHY: W. Hermann, in: DDD, 13238; M.S. 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. It was a corruption of that religion, for the Israelites syncretized that holy way with Baalism and other idolatries. Updates? The combined letters o and e is joined to pronounce the sound ye. 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. Elijah's work was to reveal the true God to Israel in a time of growing national crisis. The sum of what Elijah said is actually spiritually dangerous, due to the fact that God is judging. 106:28). In their ignorance, the people do not realize the terrible calamity that is coming soon upon modern Israel. 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). With Baal's functions accredited to YHWH, it was natural and fitting that some of Baal's titles would also be taken over. 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. In the mysterious tablets of Ugarit, discovered by Claude Schaeffer, Baal is the God of rain, thunder, and extraordinary bolts of lightning. 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. The Aztec people used two calendars. 9:20 presents a parallel is mistaken since the Ugaritic text mentions the sea-god and not Death (Mot) in connection with the window.)