Worshipers of Baal Killed. They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, and pervert the way of the humble." 57:310), perhaps including copulation with animals (Hos. What modern-day Baals have we worshipped in place of God? 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). Then stood up Phinehas, and exe Then they linked up with Baal Peor, attending funeral banquets and eating idol food. Baal (/ b e. How could you worship Baal? But if we dont exercise extreme discernment, we may find ourselves doing the same with modern-day baals. 11:1011). 14:13). 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). 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. 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. Who were the Sidonians of the Bronze Age (c. 30001200 B.C.E.)? Baal rejoiced and celebrated with a banquet. "Whatever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). 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 Israelites fell into the worship of this idol(Numbers 25:3,5,18; Deuteronomy 4:3; Psalm 106:28; Hosea 9:10). He was considered superior to his father, El, the chief of the deities. When the Israelites, following Moses to the Promised Land, were in the vicinity of Peor, some of them fell into idolatry and worshiped Baal Peor. Baal & Asherah. This time, Baal puts up a fight and holds Mot off in battle. 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 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 ). At the foundation of every community is a way of life that its people live and teach their children. To accommodate Baal ideology to Yahwism required some radical transformations. Kings Ahaz and Manasseh, COPYRIGHT 2023 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY 5614 Connecticut Ave NW #343, Washington DC 20015-2604. 3:8; Ps. If you will not be committed to Him, you are going to die.". They also worshiped him as a fertility god who provided children. The myth may refer in part to the construction of Baals own temple in the city of Ugarit. When a person is freezing to death, he feels a pleasant numbness that he does not want to end. Jun 2. Who were the Sidonians of the Iron Age (c. 1200586 B.C.E.)? 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." Child sacrifice was a fundamental aspect of Baal worship. It indeed produces great material prosperity, but it is consumed through self-indulgent gorging. In an Akkadian catalogue of Ugaritic deities Baal apn is listed as dIM be-el hurn a-zi, "Storm-God, Lord of Mount azi" (see above; az [z] i being the Hurrian name of Mount apn which survives in the Greek and Latin Kasios/Casius as the name of the storied mountain of the gods). In Psalms 48:23, Mount Zion is equated with "the recesses of afon" (the phrase quoted above from Isa. Assyria, a kingdom known as much for its innovative weapons as for their brutal implementation, conquered the Kingdom of Israel in 718 BC. The Israelites displayed a pandemic failure to love their fellow man. 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). 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. In Hebrew, it is rendered Yehoshua, and in Aramaic, Yeshua. In Phoenician he was called Baal Shamen, Lord of the Heavens. Baal worship is something I associated only with Old Testament Bible days. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Observing Christmas and Easter in the name of Christ is no different. With Baal's functions accredited to YHWH, it was natural and fitting that some of Baal's titles would also be taken over. Some extraordinary discoveries from recent excavations have allowed us to partially reconstruct Sidonian religion during the Bronze and Iron Agesshowing that Baal worship at the site had deep roots. The word bel can be transformed into vel or val. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 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). Figs and grapes ripen during the dry season and the grain harvest also takes place before the rains resume. "like a bird in a tree. Baal's 450 prophets worked themselves into a frenzy, cutting themselves, dancing, and chanting to their god. 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. Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica. 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. Child sacrifice was even practiced in the Valley of Hinnom just outside of Jerusalem. Adad roughly equates with the later Phoenician storm god Baal, the worship of whom is championed by the nefarious queen Jezebel in the Bible. 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. because they sell the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals. This article is about Baal worship in the Bible. Baal worship spread rapidly when the king of Israel, Ahab, married Jezebel, the princess of Tyre (1 Kings 16:31-32). Their commitment went one way, and then it went the other way. 114) or with eschatological victory (Isa. We must understand that our god is not what we say we worship but what we serve. 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. Since the Ugaritic verified the antiquity and authenticity of this divine name, additional instances have been alleged in the Psalter and in Job. (The Book of Amos) (Part Two). Because of their self-procured wealth and affluence, they think they are being blessed with material things. Possibly even more treacherous than this was a parallel development: mixing the worship of Yahweh and Baal. He could, and did, withhold the rain from one city and lavish it on another (Amos 4:7). When we see that our thoughts and ways are not His, we should reform and repent. This is no different from what Israel was doing when Amos wrote back in 760 BC. 2:13) and *Asherah (Judg. Thus, according to Sakkunyaton, Baal's natural father was Ouranos and Dagn became his foster-father, while El-Kronos effected the transfer. 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. Fertility was envisaged in terms of seven-year cycles. Check out her books at hopebolinger.comfor clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. 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. At Shittim they attached themselves to Baal-Peor, ate sacrifices for the dead, and indulged in sacred sexual orgies (Num. Unlike Egypt and Mesopotamia, which depend on irrigation, the Promised Land drinks water from the rain of heaven (Deut. All 450 prophets of Baal do not escape the slaughter that takes place after that. For those early Hebrews, Baal designated the Lord of Israel, just as Baal farther north designated the Lord of Lebanon or of Ugarit. Historical Background of HoseaBaal and Idolatry. Baal worship was rooted in sensuality and involved ritualistic prostitution in the temples. "But there was no voice. The Canaanites often worshipped her via trees (Asherah poles) because of her association with the tree of life. As such, Baal designated the universal god of fertility, and in that capacity his title was Prince, Lord of the Earth. This is a prophet's job, a hallmark of a prophet of God. Looking at these two definitions we can say . The bird cannot make up its mind where it wants to settle down, so it just keeps hopping around. Take the word isabel; it can be split as isa bel or as isai bel. In the formative stages of Israels history, the presence of Baal names did not necessarily mean apostasy or even syncretism. . Depending on the tradition, she was either Baal's mother, lover, or both. The Sovereign Creator is not a God who allows His favor to be bought with crumbs. Today, some evangelicals attempt to prepare the people for what is to come, but their teaching is a mixture of right and wrong. It seemed they couldnt border a single person who didnt try to destroy them or convince them to worship their own gods. And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods. 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. One interpretation is that it is a localized occurrence, in the sense of it happening just within the little flockthe church. The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. Gray, The Legacy of Canaan (rev. However, before the war was over, both sides were summarily executing anybody who did this because those traitors could not be trusted. 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. Nevertheless, he was still faithful, and he did his job. 1:711). 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. 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 Sidonians were the inhabitants of ancient Sidon, a seaport on the Mediterranean Sea in modern Lebanon. They used the name of God frequently, saying they trusted Him, but they filled the nation with stealing, lying, and murder. In some cases, they attempted to attach this practice to worship of the Lord (Ezek 23:39). I know the firstborn of Creation through and for Him everything was made would appreciate it! 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. Israel "walked in the statutes of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel." 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.). 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? After we accept His calling, He commands us to become moral as He is. Isai is music in Tamil and Vallavi means an expert. 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. For a while, both sidesthe Confederate and the Unionaccepted those turncoats and took their information. Ashtaroth is mentioned 12 times in the Old Testament. Yet if you asked most people who believe and follow this new morality, I suspect few would have ever heard of Baal. Before we explore what Scripture says about Baal, lets establish a brief depiction of the Canaanite deity. What Is the Significance of Not the Letter but of the Spirit? A falling away is taking place right now. Or about Yahweh? 4:12; Hos. This corrupt blending of a holy God with a pagan goddess became part of everyday religious practice, which is why evil king Manasseh put an Asherah pole . 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. But Jezebels religion is not Jewish whereas the religion of the Tamils is more like that of the Jews. However, it was not the religion God gave through Moses, but idolatry that flourished! This is the crux of our salvation through Jesus Christ. 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. So it was that, about 250 years after it was established, the ten-tribed northern kingdom became extinct as a sovereign nation. During the summer months the rains cease, but the temporary drought is no threat unless it is abnormally prolonged. 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. Canaanite worship often took place in open-air sites at the tops of hills, referred to in the Bible as "high places." . 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. 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. Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. We may not sacrifice our children on altars for everyone to see; instead, we sacrifice them behind closed doors at a doctor's . 25:111; Ps. Dated to c. 1750 B.C.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. 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. These soldiers would surrender themselves to the other side to be given a bit of favor and put into prison. The rains were fully controlled by YHWH who called them from the sea and poured them out on the surface of the earth (Amos 5:8b; 9:6b). In distress some would naturally revert to the old ways of reviving or reactivating the rain-god prayer, mourning, self-laceration, dancing, and water-pouring (I Kings 18:2628; Hos. Baal remains silent during the exchange, whereas God showers a sopping-wet altar with fire. We need to be reminded of it because it can have a detrimental effect on us. The Aztec people used two calendars. What the Bible says about Baal Worship ( From Forerunner Commentary ) 1 Kings 12:26-33 The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God. linked to Molech (also called Milcom in the Bible). This establishes the fact that the Cannanites (Phoenicians) has connections with the Tamil speaking ancient Kerala mariners. By submitting to Him, we take a small step in being transformed into what He is. Did the Carthaginians Really Practice Infant Sacrifice? Lastly, he replaced God with golden calves in Bethel and Dan. 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). Remember, this falling away sets the stage for the man of sin, who will have tremendous influence over humanity. This is typical Israeliltish syncretism, but it will not work. He wanted people to like him, which is understandable. There was, therefore, continuity in Sidons population from the Bronze to the Iron Age. 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.
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