Many of the practices mentioned were most probable common to the worship of all the Baals; a few others are certainly specific. Baal was the title of the "god" worshiped in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia. 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. For example, Christmas and Easter are traditions of men, but they are lies. He was considered superior to his father, El, the chief of the deities. Baal in Smith's Bible Dictionary Baal (2) the supreme male divinity of the Phoenician and Canaanitish nations, as Ashtoreth was their supreme female divinity. II Kings 17:33 illustrates their worship: "They feared the LORD, yet served their own gods - according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away." Two practices in particular are mentioned in Scripture. Baal Worship But Baal was not exclusively a fertility god. They were afraid of God, but they did not really change their way of life. Who Was Baal? A Bible Study | Jack Wellman - Christian Crier The myths also tell of Baals struggle to obtain a palace comparable in grandeur to those of other gods. Canaanite Religions and Baal Worship by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson Audio (12:51) Free E-mail Bible Study Grace: Favor for the Undeserving. We need to be reminded of it because it can have a detrimental effect on us. Given Jezebels religious fervor in the Bible, one would expect to find evidence of Baal worship at Sidon. Ashtoreth is mentioned three times in scripture, in 1 Kings 11:5 & 33, 2 Kings 23:13. Matthew 5:17Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. It may seem easy to point the finger at the ancient Israelites and say, How could you let a bull statue into Israel? It seemed they couldnt border a single person who didnt try to destroy them or convince them to worship their own gods. The word bal, common Semitic for "owner, master, husband," became the usual designation of the great weather-god of the Western Semites. Note the name of her father, King of the Sidoneans and apparently (Josephus) a priest of Baal as well. By submitting to Him, we take a small step in being transformed into what He is. Because Canaan depended on rain to grow crops and survive, he was numero uno. He established a feast in the eighth month to replace the true Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh. The Macedonian Cleopatra planned to send her son to India through the Red Sea. 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.). Who Was Baal? - Topical Studies - Bible Study Tools What will happen will affect the entire world, even though the world will not grasp the spiritual significance. Baal transformed into Zeus, who transformed into Jupiter, etc. This is no different from what Israel was doing when Amos wrote back in 760 BC. We must understand that our god is not what we say we worship but what we serve. Murder and sexual immorality was a part of Baal worship. With Baal's functions accredited to YHWH, it was natural and fitting that some of Baal's titles would also be taken over. Some become discouraged with the church because we are always being toldto some measure anywaydisturbing things about ourselves. 33 Bible verses about Baal Worship, History - Knowing Jesus The prophet Haggai attributed the drought and scarcity in his day to the failure to rebuild the Temple (Hag. After a textual gap, there is a report that Baal's corpse has been found. It Is So Painful to Care: How Do I Conquer Apathy? Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. Despite Gods efforts to dissuade them, the Israelites engaged with the Canaanite culture a little too much and adopted their practices, including Baal worship. Baal remains silent during the exchange, whereas God showers a sopping-wet altar with fire. For this reason, God shows that the preacher, not the civil authority, is the most vital part of the community. He did not like the position God put him in. *Romans 1:25 "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and WORSHIPPED AND SERVED THE CREATURE MORE THAN THE CREATOR". Biblical Archaeology's Top 10 Discoveries of 2021 - News & Reporting The worship of Baal was popular in Egypt from the later New Kingdom in about 1400 bce to its end (1075 bce). Baal Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY - JW.ORG Portions of ancient Baal liturgy were adapted to the praise of Israel's God, as the Ugaritic poems have shown. 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). The triumph of Baal recounted in the myths and perhaps reenacted in ritual drama gave assurance of help in the present and the future as in the past. The Israelites displayed a pandemic failure to love their fellow man. In the El-Amarna letters Canaanite clients addressed the Egyptian king as "My Baal, my Addu." But when a falling away happens around us, perhaps even beginning before we were born, it is easy for our minds to adjust to the point that we almost forget the continuing rebellion against God and His way. The right remedy, according to Israel's prophets, was to repudiate Baal completely and to seek and return to Israel's true God (Isa. Alan, how said anything about John baptizing Jesus? In other words, prosperity turns people's heads. What was Baal Peor in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org A falling away is taking place right now. Because such people are drunk through riches' deceptive promise, their judgment is in danger of being radically altered. Omissions? To become moral, we must kill our selfish egos through the use and guidance of God's Holy Spirit. ), from an original Baal-Zebul, which is preserved in this form in the New Testament (Matt. This is typical Israeliltish syncretism, but it will not work. In some cases, they attempted to attach this practice to worship of the Lord (Ezek 23:39). In daily life, they conformed to and reflected the Babylonish system just as Israel does today. 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. 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. 2008 The Gale Group. Most often, it condemns Baal worship. 2 Kings 10:18-28 NKJV - Worshipers of Baal Killed - Bible Gateway They believed by their actions they could control and manipulate the Gods. 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. 18 Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. In this regard, Elijah was a type of John the Baptist, and Elisha, a type of Christ. 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 . She's most famously the mother of Baal, another god who shows up throughout the Old Testament when the Israelites stray after other idols. 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. Sign up to receive our email newsletter and never miss an update. Recall the mention in Hosea 10:1 of increasing and embellishing altars just before Israel fell to Assyria. 11:17; I Kings 8:3536; Jer. The Hebrew word suggests "smoothness" or "flattering," describing people who "talk the talk" but do not "walk the walk.". Some scholars believe that the Canaanites also sacrificed pigs and that God prohibited his people from eating pork in part to prevent this horrible cult from being established among them. Baal Worship is Alive and Well in the World! | The Bible Stop . Today Jezebel has built Baal altars in the name of 'church' and led many to Baal worship. The name is more likely derived from the god Baal. 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. They become "settled on their lees," as it says in Zephaniah 1:12. Separating Fact from Myth: Asherah and Idol Worship - Steppes of Faith Your email address will not be published. Your email address will not be published. Baal - Wikipedia Baal was different from his adherents merely in that he was above them. 106:28). Who was the Canaanite god Molech? - CompellingTruth.org Baal worship spread rapidly when the king of Israel, Ahab, married Jezebel, the princess of Tyre (1 Kings 16:31-32). Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan (1968); Albright, Arch Rel; S.M. 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. 4:12; Hos. 7:1416). 29:35, 32:26; Nah. 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. With the help of the sun-goddess Shapsh, Anath locates the dead Baal, carries him to the height of apn, and weeping buries him with funerary sacrifices. Despite having the power and support of the king of Israel and his . 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). The Masoretic text has the 4 letters YHWH with a sheva under the Y, pronounced yuh, and a Qamats below the W, i.e. Or about Yahweh? High Places, Altars and the Bamah - Biblical Archaeology Society Our god is what we give our lives over to. Baal's abode was Mount apn, identified as Jebel el-Aqra ("Mount Baldy") some 30 mi. Indeed, religion flourished, as Amos, Hosea's contemporary, clearly reports (see Amos 5:21-27). He then merely floats, going through the motions, even feeling good about himself as he neglects so great salvation (Hebrews 2:3). (the Middle Bronze Age), this impressed handle depicts a ship and a leonine dragon, which is the symbol of the Mesopotamian storm god Adad. What Is the Significance of Not the Letter but of the Spirit? It has been suggested that this clash was indirectly a conflict between Baal and El, with Yamm serving as champion for the venerable El, as the Titans fought on behalf of Kronos in the Greek version of the myth and the stone colossus Ulikummi for Kumarbi in the Hurrian-Hittite version which is roughly contemporary with the Ugaritic texts.
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