Ginsberg, Kitvei Ugarit (1936); J. Oberman, Ugaritic Mythology (1948); A.S. Kapelrud, Baal in the Ras Shamra Texts (1952); M. Dahood, in: Studi Semitici, 1 (1958), 7578; N. Habel, Yahweh Versus Baal: A Conflict of Religious Cultures (1964); J. This time, Baal puts up a fight and holds Mot off in battle. 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. They too had blended the worship of the true God with outright paganism, utterly corrupting the relationship He had established with them. 57:310), perhaps including copulation with animals (Hos. 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. No one answered; no one paid attention" (v. 29 ESV). The Israelites fell into the worship of this idol(Numbers 25:3,5,18; Deuteronomy 4:3; Psalm 106:28; Hosea 9:10). He may have replaced the Sabbath with Sunday worship. Even those who have vaguely heard of the name Baal in the Bible know it doesnt have a good connotation. It indeed produces great material prosperity, but it is consumed through self-indulgent gorging. Some suppose Baal to correspond to the sun and Ashtoreth to the moon; others that Baal was Jupiter and Ashtoreth Venus. Baal worship was the bane of the Ancient Israelites. Either you are going to be committed to Him or not. 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. The beliefs and practices of the Canaanites were not only detestable, but they also . Some of Judah's kings spent years tearing down shrines and high places to foreign gods (II Chronicles 34:1-7). Reuben Alcalay, a famous Hebrew lexicographer, stated that Yehoshua is closely related to Let there be So, lets be intellectually honest and start using the proper English translation: Joshua. Verse 15 points out that the people "rejected [God's] statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them." Baal was a cruel, sensuous, and revolting false god whose worship involved sexual degradation and lewdness. Elijah prepared the way for Elisha, who had a double portion of Elijah's spirit and did many more miracles. Huffmon, Amorite Personal Names in the Mari Texts (1965), 174; W.F. 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. Recall God's prophecy in Deuteronomy 32:15, predicting that when Israel prospered, then it would rebel. Because such people are drunk through riches' deceptive promise, their judgment is in danger of being radically altered. Since you mentioned John baptizing Jesus. Elijah says disturbing things. He replaced the Levitical priesthood with men of his own choosing. So it was that, about 250 years after it was established, the ten-tribed northern kingdom became extinct as a sovereign nation. 28:2); Hezekiah attempted to eliminate it; Manasseh his son again gave it royal support (II Kings 21:3); and Josiah in his turn purged the Temple of YHWH of the utensils made for Baal and Asherah (II Kings 23:4). One such deity who gripped Israel for a period of time was Baal. In the Bible, Jezebel is notorious for persecuting the worship of Yahweh and for demanding that the Israelites worship Baal. 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). For this reason, God shows that the preacher, not the civil authority, is the most vital part of the community. Apparently in anticipation of developments the artisan god Koshar had cast furnishings of gold and silver. Child sacrifice was a fundamental aspect of Baal worship. How many pagan ideas have we let seep in? "Whatever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). As such, Baal designated the universal god of fertility, and in that capacity his title was Prince, Lord of the Earth. This viewpoint was developed as the basic and final argument against Baalism. The Assyrians deported the population en masse from its homeland in Canaan, transplanting it virtually in toto to the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. 29:35, 32:26; Nah. El and Anath mourn violently, mutilating their faces and bodies. Now that He has announced Israel's imminent calamity, God begins to show how His punishment would alter the lives of the people. Sidons Storm God. Blending the lies of this world with the truth of God produces a foul mixture called syncretism (James 3:10-13). Worshipers of Baal Killed. These Israelites were lethargic in terms of true, spiritual matters. There are several ideas as to exactly what Elijah meant by "How long will you falter between two opinions?" He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. For a while, both sidesthe Confederate and the Unionaccepted those turncoats and took their information. The Canaanites often worshipped her via trees (Asherah poles) because of her association with the tree of life. Whoever is missing shall not live.". In spite of the fact that the word is used as the theophorous element in personal names, such as Eshbaal, Merib-Baal, Jerub Baal, it was long believed that the term remained an appellation and did not become a proper name, except in the case of the Mesopotamian Bel and in late theological speculation. Baal was the god of agriculture and fertility in Canaan, becoming a fallen angel and a demon. The Bible is full of colorful characters, from Noah to Moses to Jesus. This god also, apparently according to Canaanite lore, defeated El and had associations with the sun and thunder. The Name] instead of prouncing the YHWH word even though the Masoretes added the sheva below the Y and the Qamats below the W. Our god is what we give our lives over to. a little T-shaped mark that stands for the long-A vowel (like a in father). Ashtoreth was the fertility goddess consort of Molech. Indeed, religion flourished, as Amos, Hosea's contemporary, clearly reports (see Amos 5:21-27). What do we know about the religion surrounding this Canaanite deity, and how did it affect those in the Old Testament? 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. If you will not be committed to Him, you are going to die.". 19 Now therefore, call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. JezaBel can be respelLt as JezaVel ~ JezaVAl ~ IezaVAL ~ Isaval-lavi ~ an expert in music. I know the firstborn of Creation through and for Him everything was made would appreciate it! Asherah, along with Astarte and Anath, was one of the three great goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon. In Canaanite religion her primary role was that of mother goddess. Required fields are marked *. l /), or Baal (Hebrew: baal), was a title and honorific meaning 'owner', 'lord' in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity.From its use among people, it came to be applied to gods. (From Forerunner Commentary). But who is Baal? 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. 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. Theoretically, the Israelites did not believe in idols, but in reality, they did. Yet, he was in trouble his whole life, from his teenage years on. Whether it turns out to be the falling away remains to be seen. The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God. ADD. 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). When religion is ungodly, its power is destructive, and every institution in the nation suffers. The latter name (Amarna, Addu) is to be related to Arabic hadda ("break," "crash") with reference to thunder. The Semitic word "baal" (meaning '"Lord") was also used to refer to various deities of the Levant. Baal's house was constructed in an extraordinary fashion. 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. . A vivid description of theophany in a thunderstorm is found in Psalms 18:715 (= II Sam. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Today Jezebel has built Baal altars in the name of 'church' and led many to Baal worship. Certainly not those of east Asia. . The events leading up to the Day of the Lord will be unmistakable to those with eyes to see. Baal and Asherah were two giant stumbling blocks for the people of Israel. Your email address will not be published. Such evil cunning. 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. That made God so angry that a plague spread through their ranks; Phinehas stood up and pled their case and the . 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. 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. 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 . 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. The open-air altar shrine, called a bamah (plural bamot), is known through several books of the Biblical canonbut none more so than the Book of Kings, where they play a prominent role in assessing the performance of a king.Often referred to as "high places" in translations of the Bible, bamot were worship sites that usually contained an altar. Paul, in: Biblica, 49 (1968), 3436; U. Oldenburg, The Conflict Between El and Bal in Canaanite Religion (1969). 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 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. (The Book of Amos) (Part Two), Searching for Israel (Part Six): Israel Is Fallen, Is Fallen, He established a feast in the eighth month to replace the true. After a sortie against the sea-god, Baal returned to his house and ordered Koshar to install a window; Koshar laughed, reminded Baal of the debate, and complied. Baal worship is something I associated only with Old Testament Bible days. For Constantine, the acceptance of Christianity was done solely TO UNIFY TERRITORY, RELIGIONS, AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS. Lastly, he replaced God with golden calves in Bethel and Dan. All Rights Reserved. Canaanite Religions and Baal Worship by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson Audio (12:51) Free E-mail Bible Study Grace: Favor for the Undeserving. 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. Bible Study Hosea Old Testament. Since El and Dagn are distinct deities, this seeming confusion over Baal's paternity needs explanation. 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. He may have replaced the Sabbath with Sunday worship. So-called from Mount Peor, where this worship was celebrated, the Baal of Peor. This describes to a T what Israel did then and their descendants are continuing to do today. They were not committed to the side that they were supposed to be on. And Asherah and Baal led the way together (Judges 3:7, 1 Kings 18:19, 2 Kings 23:4). Most of them were just saving themselves and making themselves comfortable in their situation. Recall the mention in Hosea 10:1 of increasing and embellishing altars just before Israel fell to Assyria. He was overseeing a tevilah (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_washing_in_Judaism#Full-body_immersion_.28Tvilah.29) in a mikveh (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikveh). At one point in A Stillness at Appomattox by Bruce Catton, he deals with soldiers who left the service of their armyeither the Confederate army or the Union army.
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