John W. Ritenbaugh The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God. They were Phoenicians. Notably, an impressed handle found near a Canaanite grave at the site depicts Sidons storm god and a ship. They were primarily devoted to the worship of Baal and Asherah (or Asherim, Asheroth). Possibly even more treacherous than this was a parallel development: mixing the worship of Yahweh and Baal. 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. Baal's sister-consort Anath demanded that Mot release her brother. 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). Omissions? 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. The divine child was named Demarous, one of the cognomens of Zeus-Baal-Hadad. Because of their self-procured wealth and affluence, they think they are being blessed with material things. ( The first is the Assyrian crisis, discussed here.) 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). This time, Baal puts up a fight and holds Mot off in battle. Or about Yahweh? The Aztec people used two calendars. . 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. So the word Poeni can be rewritten as Peyeni or as Payani or as Payan. Before we explore what Scripture says about Baal, lets establish a brief depiction of the Canaanite deity. 2:13) and *Asherah (Judg. This second, universal interpretation is a better fit because, when we look at the whole passage, the events and personalities are worldwide in scope. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The Kingdom of Israel fell below the historian's radar. With human features as well as the eyebrows, nose and horns of a ram, this painted limestone figurine represents a deity and dates to c. 1650 B.C.E. Learn about the Canaanite-Phoenician deities who were called Baal, which means Lord. Portions of ancient Baal liturgy were adapted to the praise of Israel's God, as the Ugaritic poems have shown. He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. Does the Bible Mention What to Give Up for Lent? For this reason, God shows that the preacher, not the civil authority, is the most vital part of the community. They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, and pervert the way of the humble." A complex religion with traditions and gods from all over the ancient Middle East, Baal worship offered something for everyone. Speech is completely original and produced exclusively by Grace Digital Network Music licensed through Artlist.io Footage licensed through Filmpac.com and S. Baal worship spread rapidly when the king of Israel, Ahab, married Jezebel, the princess of Tyre (1 Kings 16:31-32). 19:5ff.). Thus, according to Sakkunyaton, Baal's natural father was Ouranos and Dagn became his foster-father, while El-Kronos effected the transfer. He views them as personally rejecting Him and His Word. 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." Whoever is missing shall not live.". Baal's resurrection followed Mot's demise, the good news being transmitted through a dream of El: The fields were still parched from the drought and again Anath and Shapsh set out to find Baal. Searching for Israel (Part Six): Israel Is Fallen, Is Fallen. Baal worship was rooted in sensuality and involved ritualistic prostitution in the temples. Baal Worship The Battle for the Israelites' Hearts For nearly a thousand years, a battle raged for the hearts of the Israelite nation. What will happen will affect the entire world, even though the world will not grasp the spiritual significance. As such, Baal designated the universal god of fertility, and in that capacity his title was Prince, Lord of the Earth. The word bal, common Semitic for "owner, master, husband," became the usual designation of the great weather-god of the Western Semites. Baal persuaded Asherah to intercede with her husband El, the head of the pantheon, to authorize the construction of a palace. See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. 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. Before descending to the realm of death, Baal copulates with a heifer and begets a male offspring. 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." Baal's 450 prophets worked themselves into a frenzy, cutting themselves, dancing, and chanting to their god. Rejection of God's Law. . Your email address will not be published. Baal remains silent during the exchange, whereas God showers a sopping-wet altar with fire. 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). 30 Verses to Reflect on in the Book of Hebrews. Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/ggenova. The Israelites displayed a pandemic failure to love their fellow man. In Ugaritic and Hebrew, Baal's epithet as the storm god was He Who Rides on the Clouds. 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. "Whatever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). The judge Gideon was also named Jerubbaal (Judges 6:32), and King Saul had a son named Ishbaal (I Chronicles 8:33). The motifs of these myths were adopted and adapted in Jewish and Christian eschatology. Because such people are drunk through riches' deceptive promise, their judgment is in danger of being radically altered. A biblical pharaoh's border monument. 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. Though it hurts, the pain is indicative of rescue and cure. Payment of the full tithe to the food stores of the Temple, some thought, would guarantee that YHWH would open the windows of heaven and pour down overflowing blessings (Mal. For instance, Hezekiahs son rebuilds the shrines of Baal and the Canaanite goddess Asherah that Hezekiah had torn down: He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. Indeed, throughout its history, the most important god at Sidon was the storm godknown during the Phoenician period as Baal or Bel. Indeed, religion flourished, as Amos, Hosea's contemporary, clearly reports (see Amos 5:21-27). The longest of the texts deals with the construction of Baal's house on top of Mount apn. Baal was the title of the "god" worshiped in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia. But Baal was not exclusively a fertility god. Blending the lies of this world with the truth of God produces a foul mixture called syncretism (James 3:10-13). Sidons Phoenician Temple. He sends someone long before the real crisis reaches its peak, while it is building. 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. . The principal pillars of Baalism were child sacrifice, sexual immorality (both heterosexual and homosexual) and pantheism . Nevertheless, despite the biblical tendency to avoid the use of the word as a proper name, it is now quite clear that by pre-Israelite times the term had become the usual name of the weather-god of Syria-Palestine. Even as the Canaanite religion waned, Baal took on a new role as Zeus in the Ancient Greek pantheon. Everything Joshua* (Yehoshua) did was in accordance with the TaNaKh, which is an acrostic for Torah (=Law/Instruction), Neviim (=Prophets), and Ketuvim (=Writings). 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! . He just goes to sleep as he is freezing to death. After a textual gap, there is a report that Baal's corpse has been found. The Semitic word Baal means lord or master, and the ancient people believed he was in charge of all of nature and humans. 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. ; Job 3:8, 7:12, 9:13, 26:1213, 38:811, 40:25). The proposition for the concept is as follows: The Latins called the Phoenicians as Poeni. (Iron Age) temple. Baal's objection to the window somehow concerned his three daughters and the sea-god (Yamm), but the text is broken at this point. It was a corruption of that religion, for the Israelites syncretized that holy way with Baalism and other idolatries. Prepare to Meet Your God! 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." They simply evolve. A second interpretation is that since the falling away contains the definite article, it refers to a unique event in man's history, far greater than anything that has happened before. Child sacrifice was a fundamental aspect of Baal worship. 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." Baal's abode was Mount apn, identified as Jebel el-Aqra ("Mount Baldy") some 30 mi. 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. . If anyone could get an award for Having the Worst Neighbors, it would most likely go to the ancient Israelites. (The suggestion that Jer. COPYRIGHT 2023 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY 5614 Connecticut Ave NW #343, Washington DC 20015-2604. A falling away is taking place right now. The practice of Baal worship was wide spread in Bible times and was very evil. 33 Bible Verses about Baal Worship, History So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry against Israel. But who is Baal? Sometimes the leadership of the nation of Israel tolerated and embraced the deities of other nations. 27:1). Archaeologists at Sidon have uncovered a 12th-11th-century B.C.E. In other words, prosperity turns people's heads. Check out her books at hopebolinger.comfor clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. A prophet's life is not a happy situation. 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). For those early Hebrews, Baal designated the Lord of Israel, just as Baal farther north designated the Lord of Lebanon or of Ugarit. All through the Old Testament, the people of Israel fell into Baal and Asherah worship, and it is no different for us today. 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. Yet, he was in trouble his whole life, from his teenage years on. With the help of wonder weapons supplied and blessed by the versatile Koshar (the craftsman god), Baal was able to defeat and rout the sea-god. What Is the Significance of Not the Letter but of the Spirit? 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. At Shittim they attached themselves to Baal-Peor, ate sacrifices for the dead, and indulged in sacred sexual orgies (Num. (From Forerunner Commentary). For example, Christmas and Easter are traditions of men, but they are lies. . This is a prophet's job, a hallmark of a prophet of God. There was tremendous evil to overcome. She's most famously the mother of Baal, another god who shows up throughout the Old Testament when the Israelites stray after other idols. Take the word isabel; it can be split as isa bel or as isai bel. 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. 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. Baal's worshipers appeased him by offering sacrifices, usually animals such as sheep or bulls (1 Kings 18:23). you didnt even mention her horrible daughter Athaliah, the only killer queen * Jesus is a transliteration of the Latin; it is NOT a translation! There are several ideas as to exactly what Elijah meant by "How long will you falter between two opinions?" 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 association of the name Baal-Zephon with Israel's exit from Egypt (Ex. 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. In the Bible, the followers of the one true God encounter other gods, or previously worshipped idols themselves. People like to feel comfortable. Further, they "followed idols, became idolaters, and . In the Bible, Jezebel is notorious for persecuting the worship of Yahweh and for demanding that the Israelites worship Baal.