The songs of His Temple would ordinarily be happy and joyous songs of praise to God, but He will turn the songs of their templesung to Baal in the name of the Lordto wailing, for the numbers of the dead will be unimaginable. Molech worship included sexual worship of Ashtoreth, his consort. 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. In correlating the sequence of events, Baal's victory over the sea-god, Yamm, is probably to be placed near the beginning of the action, since it was presumably this exploit which gained him the dominant position among the gods, just as *Marduk achieved preeminence by defeating the sea-monster Tiamat. . And she has taken over many so-called churches. 2 Kings 10:18-28 NKJV - Worshipers of Baal Killed - Bible Gateway Avot 5:11 on the connection between tithing and rain). 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 response to Mot's invitation to come and be devoured is abject surrender: "Thy slave am I, thine eternal." What the Bible says about Baal Worship - Bible Tools The tablets, although closely attached to the worship of Baal at his local temple, probably represent Canaanite belief generally. The Semitic word "baal" (meaning '"Lord") was also used to refer to various deities of the Levant. (II Kings 17:35-38). Canaanite Religion in the Bible - wilrens.org As an example, notice Amos 2:6-7, where Amos chides the Israelites: ". Nevertheless, he was still faithful, and he did his job. linked to Molech (also called Milcom in the Bible). In Judah the murder of the queen mother, *Athaliah , and of Mattan, priest of Baal, and the smashing of the altars and cult images in the Baal temple (II Kings 11:18) did not wipe out the cult (II Kings 12:34). 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). 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. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Yet such fluidity in the use of the term baal did not prevent it from being attached to a god of distinct character. It seemed they couldnt border a single person who didnt try to destroy them or convince them to worship their own gods. The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God (I Kings 12:26-33). 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 Worship in the Old Testament - CRI/Voice He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. In artistic depictions and archeological finds, Baal took the shape of a bull or ram and had associations with fertility. Everything Joshua* (Yehoshua) did was in accordance with the TaNaKh, which is an acrostic for Torah (=Law/Instruction), Neviim (=Prophets), and Ketuvim (=Writings). The Cult of Moloch - Jewish Virtual Library As such, Baal designated the universal god of fertility, and in that capacity his title was Prince, Lord of the Earth. They also worshiped him as a fertility god who provided children. It indeed produces great material prosperity, but it is consumed through self-indulgent gorging. Ashtoreth in the Bible - Definition, Meaning and References The word bal, common Semitic for "owner, master, husband," became the usual designation of the great weather-god of the Western Semites. 55:613; Jer. They were not committed to the side that they were supposed to be on. 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. Sun worship came from the ancient pagan religion of Baal. You have a cuddly little Baal idol in your child's bedroom without even suspecting it. Since El and Dagn are distinct deities, this seeming confusion over Baal's paternity needs explanation. Whether it turns out to be the falling away remains to be seen. A general understanding about the bamah and . The Name] instead of prouncing the YHWH word even though the Masoretes added the sheva below the Y and the Qamats below the W. 3:23). Updated: 12/07/2022 We must understand that our god is not what we say we worship but what we serve. 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. 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. Evil practices never go away. Next both Mot and Baal appear reconstituted and reactivated and again in conflict. 1:21), would be catastrophic. JezaBel can be respelLt as JezaVel ~ JezaVAl ~ IezaVAL ~ Isaval-lavi ~ an expert in music. Isai is music in Tamil and Vallavi means an expert. The Hebrew scriptures speak frequently of the Baal of a given place or refers to Baalim in the plural, suggesting the evidence of local deities, or lords, of various locales. When Ashtoreth is mentioned in scripture, she is linked to Molech, (also called Milcom in the Bible). Prophets and Prophecy (Part 1). Your email address will not be published. 410; reconstructed text) which after the great "Weather-god, Lord of Mount azi" presents six other "weather-gods," numbered two through seven. The spectacular victory for Yahwism did not have a lasting effect. II Kings 17:7-17 catalogs the sins of Israel: Widespread idolatry. It proved extremely hard for a monotheistic faith to compete against the Canaanite fertility cult. The divine child was named Demarous, one of the cognomens of Zeus-Baal-Hadad. 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. Yet, he was in trouble his whole life, from his teenage years on. Discovered in a farmer's field in northeastern Egypt, this inscribed monument bears the name of one of the few pharaohs actually named in the Old . Sidons Phoenician Temple. Baal - World History Encyclopedia In the Bible, Baal (also rendered Baal) was an important Canaanite god, often portrayed as the primary enemy of the Hebrew God Yahweh. What do we know about the religion surrounding this Canaanite deity, and how did it affect those in the Old Testament? So it was that, about 250 years after it was established, the ten-tribed northern kingdom became extinct as a sovereign nation. Who Is Baal in the Bible - History and Mythology - Crosswalk.com Baal Worship Idolatry Part 2 - YouTube The association of the name Baal-Zephon with Israel's exit from Egypt (Ex. 3:10; cf. He wanted people to like him, which is understandable. Worship of Baal was also carried out right on the housetops of the people, from where sacrificial smoke to their god was frequently seen to rise. Thus, IF one is to pronounce the Tetragrammaton according to the masoretic vowel-markings, then it should probably be pronounced something like yuh-WAH or yuh-HWAH. 114) or with eschatological victory (Isa. Human-Ram Deity from Sidon. In the Bible, Baal is spoken of in a negative light, as an idol and a false god, and is associated with idolatry and paganism. The god Baal was the heathen sun-god spoken of in the Old Testament. What was the rationale behind this perverse, immoral act? 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. 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. Ashtoreth was the fertility goddess consort of Molech. We may not sacrifice our children on altars for everyone to see; instead, we sacrifice them behind closed doors at a doctor's . O. Eissfeldt, Beitraege zur Religionsgeschichte des Altertums I (1932); H.L. 131; Sanh. Given Sidons position on the coast, it is not surprising that the storm god is Sidons most important god. Baal worship spread rapidly when the king of Israel, Ahab, married Jezebel, the princess of Tyre (1 Kings 16:31-32). Moffatt renders this, "They worshipped the Eternal, and they also served their own gods.". 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. Elijah had to take drastic measures to prevent Baal worship from completely eradicating the worship of the true God (I Kings 18:20-40). This is exactly what God warns us to flee, and the only way to come out of it is by developing and maturing in our relationship with God. (Iron Age) temple. The word is used as the name of a town in ancient Israel in Deuteronomy 1:4, Joshua . Tamil is connected with the Phoenician. 27:1, 30:7, 51:910; Ezek. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them (2 Kings 21:3). This is no different from what Israel was doing when Amos wrote back in 760 BC. There was, therefore, continuity in Sidons population from the Bronze to the Iron Age. 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). Characteristics of Jezebel Churches (Baal Churches) The ancient Tamils had connections with the Syrians and Sidon. 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. In some cases, they attempted to attach this practice to worship of the Lord (Ezek 23:39). PDF WE ARE PRACTICING BAAL-PEOR WORSHIP LIKE ISRAEL OF OLD WE - Numbers1317 Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. Separating Fact from Myth: Asherah and Idol Worship - Steppes of Faith As such, Baal designated the universal god of fertility, and in that capacity his title was Prince, Lord of the Earth. This god also, apparently according to Canaanite lore, defeated El and had associations with the sun and thunder. The prophet Haggai attributed the drought and scarcity in his day to the failure to rebuild the Temple (Hag. God sends a prophet to people who are cold in their relationship with Godspiritually freezing to deaththough they want to stay that way. The continued worship of Baal was given as one of the causes for the destruction of Judah (Jer. 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. Sacred sex was a key component. That afon designated the "north" in Hebrew is presumably due to the fact that Mount Casius lies directly north of Palestine. Who was Baal? | GotQuestions.org Ashtaroth is mentioned 12 times in the Old Testament. He could, and did, withhold the rain from one city and lavish it on another (Amos 4:7). Nyberg had restored it in Deuteronomy 33:12; I Samuel 2:10; II Samuel 23:1; Isaiah 59:18, 63:7; and Hosea 7:16. 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. 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. Baal was the title of the "god" worshiped in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia. Christ's purpose is to cure, not merely to comfort, so pain will be often involved when dealing with a prophet. 29:35, 32:26; Nah. And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. Ashtoreth is mentioned three times in scripture, in 1 Kings 11:5 & 33, 2 Kings 23:13. In the Judeo-Christian tradition Asherah is considered a false Canaanite deity and a major source of temptation to the Israelites. Some of Judah's kings spent years tearing down shrines and high places to foreign gods (II Chronicles 34:1-7). 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). guilty of adopting the ghastly Canaanite practice of child sacrifice. How could you worship Baal? But if we dont exercise extreme discernment, we may find ourselves doing the same with modern-day baals. Sidons Storm God. Prepare to Meet Your God! Asherah - New World Encyclopedia And that happened with the Canaanites and Baal. Archaeologists at Sidon have uncovered a 12th-11th-century B.C.E. . Rejection of God's Law. I appreciate your consideration, and Im sure the Most High does as well! 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. . Child Sacrifice, Transgender Issues and Baal Worship The bulk of the Ugaritic mythological texts is concerned with the activities of Baal. Baal - the pagan idol in your garden. By Pat Franklin . * Jesus is a transliteration of the Latin; it is NOT a translation! 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 . Though it hurts, the pain is indicative of rescue and cure. Baal is a Canaanite and Phoeniciandeity and the son of the chief god El. It will be far more terrible than anything ever seen on this earth! In popular and syncretistic religion in Israel, Yahweh could be equated with both El and Baal. They were primarily devoted to the worship of Baal and Asherah (or Asherim, Asheroth). 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). Historical Background of HoseaBaal and Idolatry Child sacrifice was even practiced in the Valley of Hinnom just outside of Jerusalem. Psalms 106:28-33 - bible.com But God has a different perspective; He says they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17). A religion with such a beginning was doomed to fail, bringing the nation down with it. They clash violently until both are prostrate and the Sungoddess warns Mot not to fight with Baal lest El hear and overthrow him. If anyone could get an award for Having the Worst Neighbors, it would most likely go to the ancient Israelites. The Hebrew word suggests "smoothness" or "flattering," describing people who "talk the talk" but do not "walk the walk.". Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/ggenova. Your email address will not be published. Baalbek Temple and Human Sacrifice worship to Baal In the formative stages of Israels history, the presence of Baal names did not necessarily mean apostasy or even syncretism. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. At the foundation of every community is a way of life that its people live and teach their children. Elijah was sent by God, and he was fulfilling the responsibility of a prophet, to prod the people to whom he was sent to their responsibilities. How Is Harry Potter a Literary Christ Figure? Can we stop with the Yahweh pronunciation once and for all? Baal worship was the bane of the Ancient Israelites. The sequel to this action is furnished by the group of texts which recount Baal's confrontations with Mot. 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. The Israelites fell into the worship of this idol(Numbers 25:3,5,18; Deuteronomy 4:3; Psalm 106:28; Hosea 9:10). 6:30; II Kings 16:3233) are associated with him. That the World May Know | Fertility Cults of Canaan BAAL Worship: Mass Satanic Ritual at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Baal was considered the supreme. 14:2). The worship of Baal extended in this region to the Jews, Canaanites and the Phoenicians. (the Iron Age). Possibly even more treacherous than this was a parallel development: mixing the worship of Yahweh and Baal. It is not known to what extent the Canaanites considered those various Baalim identical, but the Baal of Ugarit does not seem to have confined his activities to one city, and doubtless other communities agreed in giving him cosmic scope. In exchange, they would offer information about their unit. In the Aztec religion, life existed before humans, and civilization was built after the destruction of the fourth sun. If Baal triumphed, a seven-year cycle of fertility would ensue; but, if he were vanquished by Mot, seven years of drought and famine would ensue. With Baal's functions accredited to YHWH, it was natural and fitting that some of Baal's titles would also be taken over. 14:13). He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. That made God so angry that a plague spread through their ranks; Phinehas stood up and pled their case and the . 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. Val is related to valimai in Tamil. BAAL the Religion of SATANISM - Loren Davis This is the crux of our salvation through Jesus Christ. Dated to c. 1750 B.C.E. Let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. The second major background factor that we need to grasp somewhat to read Hosea well is the worship of the Canaanite god Baal (s). 22:816). Adad roughly equates with the later Phoenician storm god Baal, the worship of whom is championed by the nefarious queen Jezebel in the Bible. Biblical Archaeology's Top 10 Discoveries of 2021 - News & Reporting Canaanite Religions and Baal Worship by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson Audio (12:51) Free E-mail Bible Study Grace: Favor for the Undeserving. Most modern translations use "false," "deceitful," or "faithless," and none of these are wrong, including "divided." A biblical pharaoh's border monument. Did the Carthaginians Really Practice Infant Sacrifice? They too had blended the worship of the true God with outright paganism, utterly corrupting the relationship He had established with them. Photo: Courtesy of Claude Doumet-Serhal. So-called from Mount Peor, where this worship was celebrated, the Baal of Peor. The lesson for us becomes clear, because Jesus says the same thing (Matthew 6:24; 12:25). See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. But church is where we come to have our minds stretched and measured against Christ's standard. The written form Moloch (in the Septuagint Greek translation of the Old Testament), or Molech (Hebrew), is the word Melech or king, transformed by interposing the vowels of bosheth or 'shameful thing'. 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. 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. Study the god Baal, Baal worship, and the presentation of Baal in the Bible. No doubt, we cant cover the breadth of verses on Baal here, but we should make a 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. Even as the Canaanite religion waned, Baal took on a new role as Zeus in the Ancient Greek pantheon. What will happen will affect the entire world, even though the world will not grasp the spiritual significance. In many cases, when the king or the nation had wandered from the way, the prophets were sent to correct them (e.g., II Samuel 12:1-15; I Kings 18:17-19; II Kings 21:10-15). you didnt even mention her horrible daughter Athaliah, the only killer queen Now that He has announced Israel's imminent calamity, God begins to show how His punishment would alter the lives of the people. This chapter reports on the behavior of the people placed in Israel after Israel's conquest and deportation by Assyria between 722-720 BC. In the El-Amarna letters Canaanite clients addressed the Egyptian king as "My Baal, my Addu." Baal was a god of prosperity, god of harvest, sex and fertility. Ashtar the Awful (ttrr) was then nominated to replace Baal, but when he ascended the throne, his feet did not reach the footstool nor his head the top and so he declined to reign on the heights of apn and descended from Baal's throne, but ruled over all El's earth. Recall the mention in Hosea 10:1 of increasing and embellishing altars just before Israel fell to Assyria. It disturbed them. They believed by their actions they could control and manipulate the Gods. At Ras-Shamar, Baal was referred to as the son of Dagon, the Philistines chief god. In the mythology of Canaan, Baal, the god of life and fertility, locked in mortal combat with Mot, the god of death and sterility. Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1998 - 2023 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Then stood up Phinehas, and exe Then they linked up with Baal Peor, attending funeral banquets and eating idol food. The Devil is behind a. A series of bad years, which were apparently believed to come in seven-year cycles (cf. Christ warned the Pharisees: "For laying aside the commandments of God, you hold the traditions of men." "But there was no voice. Their spiritual lethargy for the true God made them uncommitted. But Jezebels religion is not Jewish whereas the religion of the Tamils is more like that of the Jews. Scholars previously associated the theonym with solar cults and with a variety of unrelated patron deities, but inscriptions have . Although Baal is mentioned almost 100 times in the Bible, he is best known from the narratives of I and II Kings which include the story of the Phoenician princess Jezebel (d. c. 842 BCE), who encouraged his worship, and her struggle with the prophet Elijah, champion of the cult of Yahweh. Many of the practices mentioned were most probable common to the worship of all the Baals; a few others are certainly specific. The Israelites displayed a pandemic failure to love their fellow man. By submitting to Him, we take a small step in being transformed into what He is. 8. Sidon is the birth place of Jezabel. The violence and injustice in Israelite society ultimately stemmed from the false teaching proclaimed from the pulpits. A major question about II Thessalonians 2 is the scope of the described events. north of Ugarit. He sends someone long before the real crisis reaches its peak, while it is building. 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. Unlike Egypt and Mesopotamia, which depend on irrigation, the Promised Land drinks water from the rain of heaven (Deut. Elijah prepared the way for Elisha, who had a double portion of Elijah's spirit and did many more miracles. 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. He did not like the position God put him in. There was tremendous evil to overcome. Since the root tr in Arabic is connected with artificial irrigation, it is apparent that Ashtar's failure to measure up to Baal represents the inadequacy of irrigation as a substitute for natural rainfall. 26:1920). 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 . Whatever the case, there is no doubt about Elijah's intent: "How long will you keep shifting from one opinion to the other?" How many pagan ideas have we let seep in? 30 Verses to Reflect on in the Book of Hebrews. They also worshiped him as a fertility god who provided children. 1:4; Hab. What was Baal Peor in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org However, it was not the religion God gave through Moses, but idolatry that flourished! 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).
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