Baal's worshipers appeased him by offering sacrifices, usually animals such as sheep or bulls (1 Kings 18:23). This is not brand new, but it is picking up speed. The laws given to Moses by God expressly forbade the Jews to do what was done in Egypt or in Canaan. We must understand that our god is not what we say we worship but what we serve. All through the Old Testament, the people of Israel fell into Baal and Asherah worship, and it is no different for us today. The bird cannot make up its mind where it wants to settle down, so it just keeps hopping around. However, before the war was over, both sides were summarily executing anybody who did this because those traitors could not be trusted. Sometimes the leadership of the nation of Israel tolerated and embraced the deities of other nations. Yet, he was in trouble his whole life, from his teenage years on. 29:35, 32:26; Nah. For Constantine, the acceptance of Christianity was done solely TO UNIFY TERRITORY, RELIGIONS, AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS. . This connects with the curse of Laodiceanism because God shows in the Laodiceans what can happen spiritually as people increase materially. 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. One idea is that he means, "How long are you going to hop from branch to branch? 74:1314, 89:910, 93:1ff. Tamil is connected with the Phoenician. Looking at these two definitions we can say . For this reason, God shows that the preacher, not the civil authority, is the most vital part of the community. 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. The name Baal in the Bible is most commonly associated with the Canaanite and Phoenician god of fertility, the rain, the sun, and the storm. A major question about II Thessalonians 2 is the scope of the described events. Join the BAS Library today. The Baal-worship so often alluded to and described in Holy Writ might, perhaps, be better styled Cid-worship, moon-worship, Melek ()-worship, or Hadad-worship, according to places and circumstances.Many of the practices mentioned were most probably common to the worship . They too had blended the worship of the true God with outright paganism, utterly corrupting the relationship He had established with them. Sidon was well connected by trade by the traders of the Pandya kingdom of Tamil Nadu. 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. Since Baal was, like almost all ancient deities, a fertility god, the human act of intercourse demonstrated that they wanted Baal to prosper them. Baal transformed into Zeus, who transformed into Jupiter, etc. The Israelites fell into the worship of this idol(Numbers 25:3,5,18; Deuteronomy 4:3; Psalm 106:28; Hosea 9:10). Our god is what we give our lives over to. Baal was a god of prosperity, god of harvest, sex and fertility. And of all the foreign gods the Israelites came into contact with, they appeared to struggle the most with worshipping this one. BAAL WORSHIP AND SEMITIC RACISM This term was used as a title and name of various local deities worshipped as guardians, heroes, and kings. The Sovereign Creator is not a God who allows His favor to be bought with crumbs. linked to Molech (also called Milcom in the Bible). 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. The prophet turns the heat on, and they become angry with him when he is actually working to make them better. This is God's way of showing that Israel abused its prosperity: It used its prosperity for the purposes of idolatry. Because such people are drunk through riches' deceptive promise, their judgment is in danger of being radically altered. In Ugaritic and Hebrew, Baals epithet as the storm god was He Who Rides on the Clouds. 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. 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! A general understanding about the bamah and . 55:613; Jer. So-called from Mount Peor, where this worship was celebrated, the Baal of Peor. Corrections? During the summer months the rains cease, but the temporary drought is no threat unless it is abnormally prolonged. Further, they "followed idols, became idolaters, and . Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan (1968); Albright, Arch Rel; S.M. See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. The most prominent idol that they worshiped was Baal. Yet Sidon was a significant site before this period, too. Fertility was envisaged in terms of seven-year cycles. Baal & Asherah. 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. Today Jezebel has built Baal altars in the name of 'church' and led many to Baal worship. Through the influence of the Aramaeans, who borrowed the Babylonian pronunciation Bel, the god ultimately became known as the Greek Belos, identified with Zeus. He views them as personally rejecting Him and His Word. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. When religion is ungodly, its power is destructive, and every institution in the nation suffers. As we study the operation of the spirit of Baal in the Bible, one can see the fruit of its operation in the USA.. 9:20 presents a parallel is mistaken since the Ugaritic text mentions the sea-god and not Death (Mot) in connection with the window.) Who Was Baal? 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). And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. 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. They simply evolve. In the Bible, Baal (also rendered Baal) was an important Canaanite god, often portrayed as the primary enemy of the Hebrew God Yahweh. Yet if you asked most people who believe and follow this new morality, I suspect few would have ever heard of Baal. They believed by their actions they could control and manipulate the Gods. (II Kings 17:35-38). Baal's house was constructed in an extraordinary fashion. 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). 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. Asherah was a fertility goddess. BAAL-WORSHIP AMONG THE GENTILES.The evidence is hardly of such weight as to justify us in speaking of a worship of Baal. Anath then dismembered Mot, scattered and burned the pieces, and gave them to the birds. Baal remains silent during the exchange, whereas God showers a sopping-wet altar with fire. Study the god Baal, Baal worship, and the presentation of Baal in the Bible. But not all years are good, and in a bad year, or a series of bad years, when the rains fail, the skies become like iron, the land like brass, and man's toil is futile for the earth will not yield its increase (Lev. 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. Consequently, during this tumultuous time, most Jews kept their faith and identity outwardly but bowed to Baal when necessary to appease Jezebel as well as mainstream culture. 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. Today, some evangelicals attempt to prepare the people for what is to come, but their teaching is a mixture of right and wrong. 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. The name "Baal" shows up seven times in Hosea (2:8, 2:13, 2:16, 2:17 . 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. Baal worship is something I associated only with Old Testament Bible days. Now the word isai, simply means music in Tamil. Elijah had to take drastic measures to prevent Baal worship from completely eradicating the worship of the true God (I Kings 18:20-40). Who were the Sidonians, and what do we know about their religion? Drought and the Fall of the Hittite Empire. Christianity.com is a member of the Salem Web Network of sites including: Copyright 2023, Christianity.com. Bible Study Hosea Old Testament. Historical Background of HoseaBaal and Idolatry. Or about Yahweh? Unlike Egypt and Mesopotamia, which depend on irrigation, the Promised Land drinks water from the rain of heaven (Deut. He describes Israel as a luxuriant grape vine sending runners in every direction, indicating a bountiful crop. Lastly, he replaced God with golden calves in Bethel and Dan. 2:13) and *Asherah (Judg. Possibly even more treacherous than this was a parallel development: mixing the worship of Yahweh and Baal. In artistic depictions and archeological finds, Baal took the shape of a bull or ram and had associations with fertility. He replaced the Levitical priesthood with men of his own choosing. 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). The Jews of Christ's day clearly recognized this putrid blend and despised the Samaritans for it. A large part of this world's appeal is its offer of financial security. How many pagan ideas have we let seep in? In some cases, they attempted to attach this practice to worship of the Lord (Ezek 23:39). The Israelites displayed a pandemic failure to love their fellow man. Check out her books at hopebolinger.comfor clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. 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 god also, apparently according to Canaanite lore, defeated El and had associations with the sun and thunder. 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. As such, Baal designated the universal god of fertility, and in that capacity his title was Prince, Lord of the Earth. The proposition for the concept is as follows: The Latins called the Phoenicians as Poeni. 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. Canaanite worship often took place in open-air sites at the tops of hills, referred to in the Bible as "high places." . BIBLIOGRAPHY: W. Hermann, in: DDD, 13238; M.S. Silapadikaram, a Tamil Classic, mentions more than 200 musical instruments. 4. 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. The combined letters o and e is joined to pronounce the sound ye. Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. 6:30; II Kings 16:3233) are associated with him. 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.. The practice of Baal worship was wide spread in Bible times and was very evil. 114) or with eschatological victory (Isa. Although they lived in Israel, Jezebel and her retainers were free to worship Baal. They were Phoenicians. One such deity who gripped Israel for a period of time was Baal. They were afraid of God, but they did not really change their way of life. 1:21), would be catastrophic. Baal is said to be one of the first of Solomon's 72 demons. 14:2, 9; Num. 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. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Many of the practices mentioned were most probable common to the worship of all the Baals; a few others are certainly specific. Baal's objection to the window somehow concerned his three daughters and the sea-god (Yamm), but the text is broken at this point. But who is Baal? 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). A prophet's life is not a happy situation. 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. (From Forerunner Commentary). ADD. There are several ideas as to exactly what Elijah meant by "How long will you falter between two opinions?" In their spiritually unaware state, they will be incredulous at God's punishment for "such a little bit of sin." Further, in biblical usage when applied to the great weather-god, the singular regularly has the article, "the Baal," which suggests that the word was not regarded as a proper name. 33 Bible Verses about Baal Worship, History So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry against Israel. 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. Evil practices never go away. *Romans 1:25 "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and WORSHIPPED AND SERVED THE CREATURE MORE THAN THE CREATOR". The basis of all immorality is selfishness, the exact opposite of what God is. However, even though their origins were Canaanite, the Phoenicians established their own distinct culture. Baal (/ b e. Jun 2. 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. Ritual prostitution only served to erode the family, eventually leading to the destruction of the nation. In this chapter, the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal have a show-down to prove the power of their God and gods. Thus the basis of the Baal cult was the utter dependence of life on the rains which were regarded as Baal's bounty. . For example, Christmas and Easter are traditions of men, but they are lies. 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). The worship of Moloch, which was practiced at a special site (outside the walls of Jerusalem in the valley of Ben-Hinnom) called Topheth, became firmly established in the time of King Manasseh, his son Amon, and at the beginning of Josiah's reign. 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." In Canaanite religion her primary role was that of mother goddess. 106 a ). 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. This life-and-death struggle pitted the worship of Baal against the worship of Jehovah. 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. Ashtoreth was the fertility goddess consort of Molech. 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. Matthew 5:17Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. They see themselves as following the way of God, but their religion has deceived them by failing to teach them His truth. A religion with such a beginning was doomed to fail, bringing the nation down with it. 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! Updated: 12/07/2022 This viewpoint was developed as the basic and final argument against Baalism. In Hebrew, it is rendered Yehoshua, and in Aramaic, Yeshua. The variant form Hadad (hdd) is attested to only once in Ugaritic. I prefer transliterating the sheva with [*] rather than any other English vowel letter, so I prefer Y*HWaH to YuHWaH or to YaHWeH, for that matter. 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. Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/ggenova. The worship of Baal extended in this region to the Jews, Canaanites and the Phoenicians. Portions of ancient Baal liturgy were adapted to the praise of Israel's God, as the Ugaritic poems have shown. Since the Ugaritic verified the antiquity and authenticity of this divine name, additional instances have been alleged in the Psalter and in Job. Photo: Courtesy of Claude Doumet-Serhal. He wanted people to like him, which is understandable. Avot 5:11 on the connection between tithing and rain). They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 27:1). The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God (I Kings 12:26-33). His ministry took place about 150 years before Israel was to fall, becoming the Lost Ten Tribes, so God was beginning to make a powerful witness to them. He then merely floats, going through the motions, even feeling good about himself as he neglects so great salvation (Hebrews 2:3). Your email address will not be published. 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 . If you will not be committed to Him, you are going to die.". And that happened with the Canaanites and Baal. In the mythology of Canaan, Baal, the god of life and fertility, locked in mortal combat with Mot, the god of death and sterility. He was also king of the gods, and, to achieve that position, he was portrayed as seizing the divine kingship from Yamm, the sea god. 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." What do we know about the religion surrounding this Canaanite deity, and how did it affect those in the Old Testament? Adad (the Canaanite Hadad, the Semitic Hadda, the Hurrian Teshub, the Egyptian Resheph, the Phoenician Baal/Bel, the Sumerian Ishkur) is the Mesopotamian storm god, who has special maritime, celestial and meteorological attributes important to the well-being of sailors. Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. One was 260 days and was used for . 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! The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God. 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). Given Sidons position on the coast, it is not surprising that the storm god is Sidons most important god. He began to prophesy in a time of immediate crisis, one that would become far worse before it ever improved. At Shittim they attached themselves to Baal-Peor, ate sacrifices for the dead, and indulged in sacred sexual orgies (Num. I would also challenge the suggestion in the text of the article that the location of Lots cave is known. In Phoenician he was called Baal Shamen, Lord of the Heavens. 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. No doubt, we cant cover the breadth of verses on Baal here, but we should note that Baal becomes a big player in the book of Judges and during the time of the kings when Israel appears to succumb most to the foreign pantheons. Baal was a false god the feckless Jewish King Ahab and his wicked wife, Jezebel, attempted to force upon the nation of Israel during the time of Elijah the prophet (see 1 Kings 18). Val is related to valimai in Tamil. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1998 - 2023 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Its is right up there with the thought that we know where Jesus was born, or that one can see a descendant of the original burning bush, etc.. In Hosea 10:2, God charges Israel with having a divided heart. He is a loving Master who only is to be obeyed and servedand only on His terms. 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. These Israelites were lethargic in terms of true, spiritual matters. Asherah, mother of the gods, was prevailed upon to intercede with El to gain permission for the building. Because Canaan depended on rain to grow crops and survive, he was numero uno. "Whatever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). No one answered; no one paid attention" (v. 29 ESV). 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. 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). 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. 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. 2:11; 3:7; 8:33), while the singular of the word in combination with other terms apparently designated minor or local gods, such as Baal-Berith, Baal-Gad, Baal-Hamon, Baal-Hazor, Baal-Hermon, or, in the feminine form, a goddess, Baalat-Beer, Baalat-Gebal. Jews nowadays say Ha-Shem [i.e. Blending the lies of this world with the truth of God produces a foul mixture called syncretism (James 3:10-13). 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. This describes to a T what Israel did then and their descendants are continuing to do today. YHWH's victory over the waters is connected either with the rescue of Israel at the Exodus (Ps. Dig into the illuminating world of the Bible with a BAS All-Access membership. 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. 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. 26:46). The eschatological traits were taken over with the Canaanite myths. Ahab accommodated his wife's idolatry to the point of building a . (the Iron Age). The worship of Baal in Syria-Palestine was inextricably bound to the economy of the land which depends on the regularity and adequacy of the rains. II Kings 17:7-17 catalogs the sins of Israel: Widespread idolatry. 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.
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