That made God so angry that a plague spread through their ranks; Phinehas stood up and pled their case and the . 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. Since the Ugaritic verified the antiquity and authenticity of this divine name, additional instances have been alleged in the Psalter and in Job. You have a cuddly little Baal idol in your child's bedroom without even suspecting it. Sidons Phoenician Temple. The word "Baal" derives from the Semitic stem "bel", meaning "lord". 10:25, 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 18). Updates? Baal & Asherah. 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. 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). This is a prophet's job, a hallmark of a prophet of God. 4. 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. Baal was a cruel, sensuous, and revolting false god whose worship involved sexual degradation and lewdness. They clash violently until both are prostrate and the Sungoddess warns Mot not to fight with Baal lest El hear and overthrow him. 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. Yet Sidon was a significant site before this period, too. In exchange, they would offer information about their unit. 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. He could, and did, withhold the rain from one city and lavish it on another (Amos 4:7). . Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1998 - 2023 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. More than 1400 of her works have been featured in various publications. And Asherah and Baal led the way together (Judges 3:7, 1 Kings 18:19, 2 Kings 23:4). l, b . They think that what they are doing is right, but they are deceived. It was a corruption of that religion, for the Israelites syncretized that holy way with Baalism and other idolatries. 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. 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. Kings Ahaz and Manasseh, Notably, an impressed handle found near a Canaanite grave at the site depicts Sidons storm god and a ship. The Canaanites often worshipped her via trees (Asherah poles) because of her association with the tree of life. * Jesus is a transliteration of the Latin; it is NOT a translation! Canaanite worship often took place in open-air sites at the tops of hills, referred to in the Bible as "high places." . He just goes to sleep as he is freezing to death. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Next both Mot and Baal appear reconstituted and reactivated and again in conflict. Today, some evangelicals attempt to prepare the people for what is to come, but their teaching is a mixture of right and wrong. The spectacular victory for Yahwism did not have a lasting effect. He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. Omissions? Baal, god worshipped in many ancient Middle Eastern communities, especially among the Canaanites, who apparently considered him a fertility deity and one of the most important gods in the pantheon. 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's house was constructed in an extraordinary fashion. Your email address will not be published. Baal Worship The Battle for the Israelites' Hearts For nearly a thousand years, a battle raged for the hearts of the Israelite nation. 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. 3:10; cf. Because of their self-absorption, God's "sudden" punishment will stun the people of the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, and the other nations of modern Israel, including some members of the true church. For those early Hebrews, Baal designated the Lord of Israel, just as Baal farther north designated the Lord of Lebanon or of Ugarit. In Ugaritic and Hebrew, Baals epithet as the storm god was He Who Rides on the Clouds. Baal was a god of prosperity, god of harvest, sex and fertility. The sum of what Elijah said is actually spiritually dangerous, due to the fact that God is judging. Baal was the title of the "god" worshiped in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia. Doumet-Serhal explains the significance of the handles iconography: The dragon epitomizes the most fundamental ancient mythical perception of the Mesopotamian storm god. Alan, how said anything about John baptizing Jesus? El and Anath mourn violently, mutilating their faces and bodies. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: And the plague brake in upon them. Asherah, another popular deity in Canaan, was the goddess of motherhood and fertility . The divine child was named Demarous, one of the cognomens of Zeus-Baal-Hadad. Jews nowadays say Ha-Shem [i.e. Ashtoreth was the fertility goddess consort of Molech. Some suppose Baal to correspond to the sun and Ashtoreth to the moon; others that Baal was Jupiter and Ashtoreth Venus. At Ras-Shamar, Baal was referred to as the son of Dagon, the Philistines chief god. 6:30; II Kings 16:3233) are associated with him. 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. II Kings 17:7-17 catalogs the sins of Israel: Widespread idolatry. "Christian" religions of this world have mixed the traditions of paganism with some of the truth of God's Word. The variant form Hadad (hdd) is attested to only once in Ugaritic. This shows that the Egyptian Cleopatra had maritime connections with the ancient Kerala Tamils. Apostasy is a defection from trutha forsaking of one spiritual approach in favor of another. Note the name of her father, King of the Sidoneans and apparently (Josephus) a priest of Baal as well. He is a loving Master who only is to be obeyed and servedand only on His terms. Christ warned the Pharisees: "For laying aside the commandments of God, you hold the traditions of men." In other words, prosperity turns people's heads. 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). Isai is music in Tamil and Vallavi means an expert. Study the god Baal, Baal worship, and the presentation of Baal in the Bible. ( The first is the Assyrian crisis, discussed here.) 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. 57 Bull Baal. ; Job 3:8, 7:12, 9:13, 26:1213, 38:811, 40:25). This viewpoint was developed as the basic and final argument against Baalism. Perhaps the clearest example of this is Jeremiah, who moaned and complained to God, "This is more difficult than You ever told me it would be. See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. . Now that He has announced Israel's imminent calamity, God begins to show how His punishment would alter the lives of the people. 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 events leading up to the Day of the Lord will be unmistakable to those with eyes to see. Certainly not those of east Asia. It will be far more terrible than anything ever seen on this earth! Photo: Courtesy of Claude Doumet-Serhal. Ritual prostitution only served to erode the family, eventually leading to the destruction of the nation. I know the firstborn of Creation through and for Him everything was made would appreciate it! The practice of Baal worship was wide spread in Bible times and was very evil. Koshar twice recommended that a window be installed and Baal twice vetoed the suggestion, although Koshar insisted that Baal would have to reconsider. 57:310), perhaps including copulation with animals (Hos. Sift through the storied history of ancient Israel. The word bel can be transformed into vel or val. The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. The Spread of Baalism. Baal was the title of the "god" worshiped in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia. 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. 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. 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. One was 260 days and was used for . Sometimes the leadership of the nation of Israel tolerated and embraced the deities of other nations. 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! Searching for Israel (Part Six): Israel Is Fallen, Is Fallen. So it was that, about 250 years after it was established, the ten-tribed northern kingdom became extinct as a sovereign nation. Meaning of Jezebel: This word can be also pronounced as Isabel. 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 violence and injustice in Israelite society ultimately stemmed from the false teaching proclaimed from the pulpits. Whatever the case, there is no doubt about Elijah's intent: "How long will you keep shifting from one opinion to the other?" In Phoenician he was called Baal Shamen, Lord of the Heavens. because they sell the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals. Murder and sexual immorality was a part of Baal worship. They used the name of God frequently, saying they trusted Him, but they filled the nation with stealing, lying, and murder. But God has a different perspective; He says they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17). "But there was no voice. Baal and Asherah were two giant stumbling blocks for the people of Israel. Baal is a Canaanite and Phoeniciandeity and the son of the chief god El. I would also challenge the suggestion in the text of the article that the location of Lots cave is known. The name "Baal" shows up seven times in Hosea (2:8, 2:13, 2:16, 2:17 . 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. The Septuagint (LXX) referred to the latter as a stranger [in the land]. And she has taken over many so-called churches. Since Baal was, like almost all ancient deities, a fertility god, the human act of intercourse demonstrated that they wanted Baal to prosper them. Check out her books at hopebolinger.comfor clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. They also worshiped him as a fertility god who provided children. Baal persuaded Asherah to intercede with her husband El, the head of the pantheon, to authorize the construction of a palace. Asherah was a fertility goddess. "Whatever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). Baal worship spread rapidly when the king of Israel, Ahab, married Jezebel, the princess of Tyre (1 Kings 16:31-32). He did not like the position God put him in. The Israelites displayed a pandemic failure to love their fellow man. Nevertheless, he was still faithful, and he did his job. The ancient Tamils had connections with the Syrians and Sidon. Actually, there were two gods which were essentially worshiped the same way, Baal and Ashtoreth. What is so interesting is that, by verse 36, God is no longer reporting on the Samaritans but is addressing Israel. The bulk of the Ugaritic mythological texts is concerned with the activities of Baal. . Worshipers of Baal Killed. Hope Bolingeris an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, and the author 21+ books. (From Forerunner Commentary). 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! 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. In the El-Amarna letters Canaanite clients addressed the Egyptian king as "My Baal, my Addu." Sidon's Phoenician Temple. To become moral, we must kill our selfish egos through the use and guidance of God's Holy Spirit. As an example, notice Amos 2:6-7, where Amos chides the Israelites: ". Learn about the Canaanite-Phoenician deities who were called Baal, which means Lord. One would think that, if altars increase during this period of prosperity, then religion is flourishing. . . Because such people are drunk through riches' deceptive promise, their judgment is in danger of being radically altered. But Baal was not exclusively a fertility god. ; contact address: [emailprotected]. 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.. Baal's abode was Mount apn, identified as Jebel el-Aqra ("Mount Baldy") some 30 mi. 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). Our god is what we give our lives over to. 19 Now therefore, call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Now the word isai, simply means music in Tamil. This describes to a T what Israel did then and their descendants are continuing to do today. The Masoretic text has the 4 letters YHWH with a sheva under the Y, pronounced yuh, and a Qamats below the W, i.e. . When Ashtoreth is mentioned in scripture, she is linked to Molech, (also called Milcom in the Bible). Recall the mention in Hosea 10:1 of increasing and embellishing altars just before Israel fell to Assyria. Elijah had to take drastic measures to prevent Baal worship from completely eradicating the worship of the true God (I Kings 18:20-40). What made the very name Baal anathema to the Israelites was the program of Jezebel, in the 9th century bce, to introduce into Israel her Phoenician cult of Baal in opposition to the official worship of Yahweh (I Kings 18). 22:816). Smith, The Ugaritic Baal Cycle (1994). After we accept His calling, He commands us to become moral as He is. Even those who have vaguely heard of the name Baal in the Bible know it doesnt have a good connotation. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Possibly even more treacherous than this was a parallel development: mixing the worship of Yahweh and Baal. John W. Ritenbaugh Can we stop with the Yahweh pronunciation once and for all? 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. The contest on Mount Carmel was reported as demonstrating that Baal was an impotent non-entity and that the rain came only from YHWH. The Semitic original of this name has been recognized in one of Baal's names in Ugaritic: (The name is to be connected with the root dmr, "be strong, brave," and is probably the same as that of Abraham's son Zimrn (damarn), the -n afformative being preserved in the genitive case of the Greek form Demarountos). Ginsberg, Kitvei Ugarit (1936); J. Oberman, Ugaritic Mythology (1948); A.S. Kapelrud, Baal in the Ras Shamra Texts (1952); M. Dahood, in: Studi Semitici, 1 (1958), 7578; N. Habel, Yahweh Versus Baal: A Conflict of Religious Cultures (1964); J. Revelation 2:14 "THE DOCTRINES OF . 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 was the god of rain, wind, and fertility. Today, music performers entice young and old in the practice of the worship of Baal-Peor Let's exemplify Baal doctrines as preached . 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. 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. Most often, it condemns Baal worship. He may have replaced the Sabbath with Sunday worship. 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? God's first command to destroy any forms of idol worship came early in the Bible in Exodus 34:13. . 33:7) has been made the basis of intriguing speculation by Eissfeldt. A vivid description of theophany in a thunderstorm is found in Psalms 18:715 (= II Sam. (Iron Age) temple. 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. They see themselves as following the way of God, but their religion has deceived them by failing to teach them His truth. In the books of Kings and Chronicles, we can read the record of a given king who turned away from God and served the Baals, and the foolishness sounds quick and casual because we are reading a summary. 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). Today Baal churches preach and teach Baal doctrines; prosperity, harvest, sex and fertility. The summer drought did not mean that YHWH had died (like Baal), nor did the return of the rains signal the resurrection. 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 . Whoever is missing shall not live.". 1:4; Hab. 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. If anyone could get an award for Having the Worst Neighbors, it would most likely go to the ancient Israelites. FREE ebook: Israel: An Archaeological Journey. In others, they rejected Yahweh worship altogether and fully turned themselves over to the idols of Canaan (2 Kgs 17:14-17). When the rain failed, it was inevitable that some would question YHWH's power and resort to Baal. They were afraid of God, but they did not really change their way of life. Usually the storm god is illustrated as a striding human figure, but sometimes he is represented by one of his symbols, such as the bull or leonine dragon. 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. When we see that our thoughts and ways are not His, we should reform and repent. Rejection of God's Law. He may have replaced the Sabbath with Sunday worship. 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The myth may refer in part to the construction of Baals own temple in the city of Ugarit. Sacred sex was a key component. Their commitment went one way, and then it went the other way. Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. 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." What modern-day Baals have we worshipped in place of God? Sun worship came from the ancient pagan religion of Baal. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The motifs of these myths were adopted and adapted in Jewish and Christian eschatology. Essentially, the Phoenicians were the Canaanites who survived from the Bronze Age into the Iron Age and who were not supplanted by new people groups (Philistines, Israelites, etc.). Christianity.com is a member of the Salem Web Network of sites including: Copyright 2023, Christianity.com. Another idea is that it pictures a person shifting his weight from one foot to the other, indicating a degree of lameness. The sequel to this action is furnished by the group of texts which recount Baal's confrontations with Mot. Given Sidons position on the coast, it is not surprising that the storm god is Sidons most important god. The basis of all immorality is selfishness, the exact opposite of what God is. 11:1011). In short, Scripture has nothing positive to say about Baal. Groves and high places were places of worship erected to Canaanite gods and goddesses. 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. Most of the information they gave turned out to be wrong, to be lies. Even as the Canaanite religion waned, Baal took on a new role as Zeus in the Ancient Greek pantheon. In the formative stages of Israels history, the presence of Baal names did not necessarily mean apostasy or even syncretism. Why Did Pharaoh Tell Joseph to Enjoy the 'Fat of the Land'? Fertility was envisaged in terms of seven-year cycles. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. This time, Baal puts up a fight and holds Mot off in battle. A series of bad years, which were apparently believed to come in seven-year cycles (cf. Observing Christmas and Easter in the name of Christ is no different. Then stood up Phinehas, and exe Then they linked up with Baal Peor, attending funeral banquets and eating idol food. The Sovereign Creator is not a God who allows His favor to be bought with crumbs. Drought and the Fall of the Hittite Empire. 2:13) and *Asherah (Judg. Burning incense, worship of the sun, moon, astrology, and ancestor worship are all earmarks of the Baal religion. They too had blended the worship of the true God with outright paganism, utterly corrupting the relationship He had established with them. Scholars previously associated the theonym with solar cults and with a variety of unrelated patron deities, but inscriptions have . A complex religion with traditions and gods from all over the ancient Middle East, Baal worship offered something for everyone. Baal's 450 prophets worked themselves into a frenzy, cutting themselves, dancing, and chanting to their god. For Constantine, the acceptance of Christianity was done solely TO UNIFY TERRITORY, RELIGIONS, AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS. This is God's way of showing that Israel abused its prosperity: It used its prosperity for the purposes of idolatry. The proposition for the concept is as follows: The Latins called the Phoenicians as Poeni. But what was its real effect on the participants and the nation? So-called from Mount Peor, where this worship was celebrated, the Baal of Peor. Sidon is the birth place of Jezabel. Updated: 12/07/2022 (Jeremiah 7:8-10). "like a bird in a tree. 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). The eschatological traits were taken over with the Canaanite myths. Avot 5:11 on the connection between tithing and rain). They simply evolve. Paul, then, is letting the church know that it need not be concerned about missing the end time. 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. He was the god that provided - food - for the people. People like to feel comfortable. However, it was not the religion God gave through Moses, but idolatry that flourished! In contrast, the church has had periods of strength and weakness all throughout its historyit goes through cycles of rallying around truth and then gradually letting it slip. Apparently in anticipation of developments the artisan god Koshar had cast furnishings of gold and silver. north of Ugarit. 14:2). Archaeologists at Sidon have uncovered a 12th-11th-century B.C.E. a little T-shaped mark that stands for the long-A vowel (like a in father). This connects with the curse of Laodiceanism because God shows in the Laodiceans what can happen spiritually as people increase materially. 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. A god Baal apn was known from Egyptian and Akkadian sources before the discovery of the Ugaritic documents. 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.
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