This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. Dated to c. 1750 B.C.E., the handle pictures the storm god as a leonine dragon. As such, Baal designated the universal god of fertility, and in that capacity his title was Prince, Lord of the Earth. Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/ggenova. We may not sacrifice our children on altars for everyone to see; instead, we sacrifice them behind closed doors at a doctor's . 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 could, and did, withhold the rain from one city and lavish it on another (Amos 4:7). Their spiritual lethargy for the true God made them uncommitted. The word is used as the name of a town in ancient Israel in Deuteronomy 1:4, Joshua . 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. 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. The latter name (Amarna, Addu) is to be related to Arabic hadda ("break," "crash") with reference to thunder. The violence and injustice in Israelite society ultimately stemmed from the false teaching proclaimed from the pulpits. 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. Revelation 2:14 "THE DOCTRINES OF . Molech was an ancient god worshiped by the people neighboring Israel during Old Testament times. Archaeologists at Sidon have uncovered a 12th11th-century B.C.E. When the rain failed, it was inevitable that some would question YHWH's power and resort to Baal. 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. 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. The handle displays an impression of a ship with the leonine dragon Uumgal, the storm god Adads attendant, next to it. Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1998 - 2023 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Historical Background of HoseaBaal and Idolatry. 19:5ff.). Fertility was envisaged in terms of seven-year cycles. II Kings 17:5-6 relates the ultimate consequence. The Septuagint (LXX) rendered Joshua, the son of Nun, in Greek as Iesous; the same was used for Christs name in the NT. Baal Worship in the Old Testament - CRI/Voice 30 Verses to Reflect on in the Book of Hebrews. ( The first is the Assyrian crisis, discussed here.) 3:23). I know the firstborn of Creation through and for Him everything was made would appreciate it! Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Elijah says disturbing things. Who were the Sidonians of the Iron Age (c. 1200586 B.C.E.)? 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). Whoever is missing shall not live.". The prophet comes along and troubles people by awakening them to their sins, making them feel guilty about their relationships with God and each other. Baal's response to Mot's invitation to come and be devoured is abject surrender: "Thy slave am I, thine eternal." 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. 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. Commentaries are at odds over what the Hebrew word translated divided means. Baal's objection to the window somehow concerned his three daughters and the sea-god (Yamm), but the text is broken at this point. For example, Christmas and Easter are traditions of men, but they are lies. 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. Such evil cunning. The Macedonian Cleopatra planned to send her son to India through the Red Sea. If you will not be committed to Him, you are going to die.". Christ warned the Pharisees: "For laying aside the commandments of God, you hold the traditions of men." Paul, in: Biblica, 49 (1968), 3436; U. Oldenburg, The Conflict Between El and Bal in Canaanite Religion (1969). Elijah had to take drastic measures to prevent Baal worship from completely eradicating the worship of the true God (I Kings 18:20-40). 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). The myth may refer in part to the construction of Baals own temple in the city of Ugarit. In those God calls outthose who, by faith, will voluntarily yield to HimHe is building character based on outgoing love. Indeed, throughout its history, the most important god at Sidon was the storm godknown during the Phoenician period as Baal or Bel. (Iron Age) temple. God's pattern is being established. Alternate titles: Baal Shamen, Baal Shemin, Baalim. Today, music performers entice young and old in the practice of the worship of Baal-Peor 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! 14:2). 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). 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. BAAL-PEOR - JewishEncyclopedia.com Baal's house was constructed in an extraordinary fashion. But church is where we come to have our minds stretched and measured against Christ's standard. The Israelites rejected the law of God and relied on the traditions of Gentile nations. Sign up to receive our email newsletter and never miss an update. Elijah is quite instructive here. 11:17; I Kings 8:3536; Jer. 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. Even now some ancient Jews (white and black) live in Cochin, Kerala, India. 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. They simply evolve. Today, some evangelicals attempt to prepare the people for what is to come, but their teaching is a mixture of right and wrong. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Israel "feared other gods" (verse 7). What the Bible says about Baal Worship - Bible Tools Scott Broberg Fig Tree Ministries. Isaiah 29:13 clarifies what God means: "Therefore the LORD said: 'Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.'" 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.. 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.). Gen. 41; II Sam. The biblical allusions to YHWH's victory over the sea preserve echoes of the older exploit of Baal (cf. The events leading up to the Day of the Lord will be unmistakable to those with eyes to see. 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). A religion with such a beginning was doomed to fail, bringing the nation down with it. Through the window, a cleft in the clouds, Baal gave forth his holy voice which convulsed the earth and sent his enemies scurrying to the hills and woods. Human-Ram Deity from Sidon. This is typical Israeliltish syncretism, but it will not work. 1:21), would be catastrophic. 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. John W. Ritenbaugh In their spiritually unaware state, they will be incredulous at God's punishment for "such a little bit of sin." 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. This connects with the curse of Laodiceanism because God shows in the Laodiceans what can happen spiritually as people increase materially. Anyway she changed her mind and sent his son to Libya etc The spectacular victory for Yahwism did not have a lasting effect. Adad roughly equates with the later Phoenician storm god Baal, the worship of whom is championed by the nefarious queen Jezebel in the Bible. Meaning of Jezebel: This word can be also pronounced as Isabel. This god also, apparently according to Canaanite lore, defeated El and had associations with the sun and thunder. The god Baal was the heathen sun-god spoken of in the Old Testament. People like to feel comfortable.