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." Today,. But Baal was not exclusively a fertility god. This is typical Israeliltish syncretism, but it will not work. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT 2023 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY 5614 Connecticut Ave NW #343, Washington DC 20015-2604. 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." The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God. Fertility was envisaged in terms of seven-year cycles. Certainly not those of east Asia. Prepare to Meet Your God! . 55:613; Jer. In the El-Amarna letters Canaanite clients addressed the Egyptian king as "My Baal, my Addu." Their spiritual lethargy for the true God made them uncommitted. Its prosperity played a part in corrupting the Israelites' hearts, which is why Hosea mentions the divided or disloyal heart in context with its bountiful fruit. 3:23). The Semitic original of this name has been recognized in one of Baal's names in Ugaritic: (The name is to be connected with the root dmr, "be strong, brave," and is probably the same as that of Abraham's son Zimrn (damarn), the -n afformative being preserved in the genitive case of the Greek form Demarountos). Figs and grapes ripen during the dry season and the grain harvest also takes place before the rains resume. 74:1314, 89:910, 93:1ff. He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. The Semitic word "baal" (meaning '"Lord") was also used to refer to various deities of the Levant. The worship of Baal in Syria-Palestine was inextricably bound to the economy of the land which depends on the regularity and adequacy of the rains. The Kingdom of Israel fell below the historian's radar. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Silapadikaram, a Tamil Classic, mentions more than 200 musical instruments. As an example, notice Amos 2:6-7, where Amos chides the Israelites: ". A DSS fragment has it spelled Iaw in Greek (iota-alpha-omega), which is consistent with Yahoah; see ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/lxxjewpap/4QLevB.jpg. Through the influence of the Aramaeans, who borrowed the Babylonian pronunciation Bel, the god ultimately became known as the Greek Belos, identified with Zeus. When we see that our thoughts and ways are not His, we should reform and repent. In Ugaritic and Hebrew, Baals epithet as the storm god was He Who Rides on the Clouds. With Baal's functions accredited to YHWH, it was natural and fitting that some of Baal's titles would also be taken over. That afon designated the "north" in Hebrew is presumably due to the fact that Mount Casius lies directly north of Palestine. In their ignorance, the people do not realize the terrible calamity that is coming soon upon modern Israel. The name is more likely derived from the god Baal. In Hebrew, it is rendered Yehoshua, and in Aramaic, Yeshua. 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. 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. Or about Yahweh? They believed by their actions they could control and manipulate the Gods. If the rains failed and drought and death came upon the land and people, it was not because Mot had mangled Baal and made the glowing sun-goddess destructive; it was rather YHWH's way of meting out merited punishment to a faithless and sinful people (Deut. Horrendous and repulsive aspects of the worship sexual excesses and perversions (Isa. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 6:30; II Kings 16:3233) are associated with him. Murder and sexual immorality was a part of Baal worship. Historical Background of HoseaBaal and Idolatry. 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 Worship Baal-Berith Berbers Bet (Ha)-Midrash Bet Din Bethar Bibliophiles Bloodletting Chronicles of Kings of Israel Episcopus Judaeorum Essenes Exile Fable Flood Forced Baptism Garden of Eden Glass Golden Calf Goliath Great Revolt Great Synagogue Hannah and her Seven Sons Hasmoneans/Maccabees Hebrew Printing Hekdesh Herod Herodian Dynasty "Whatever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). That made God so angry that a plague spread through their ranks; Phinehas stood up and pled their case and the . The Israelites fell into the worship of this idol(Numbers 25:3,5,18; Deuteronomy 4:3; Psalm 106:28; Hosea 9:10). 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 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. The ancient Tamils had connections with the Syrians and Sidon. The god of arts and crafts, Kothar, then proceeded to build for Baal the most beautiful of palaces which spread over an area of 10,000 acres. Who Was Baal? The latter title has a biblical echo in the corrupted form Baal-Zebub (II Kings 1:2ff. Baal's sister-consort Anath demanded that Mot release her brother. The prophet Amos particularizes the epidemic of social injustice in the Kingdom of Israel. The worship of this idol consisted in exposing that part of the body which all persons usually take the utmost care to conceal. The Israelites displayed a pandemic failure to love their fellow man. Scott Broberg Fig Tree Ministries. II Kings 17:5-6 relates the ultimate consequence. 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. Indeed, religion flourished, as Amos, Hosea's contemporary, clearly reports (see Amos 5:21-27). 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'. If it is of men, it will not work very long. When Elijah preached his message, it put the people in a bind because they knew their conscience was telling them that they had to commit themselves to God or to Baal. The building materials, gold, silver, and lapis lazuli, were procured and the architect-builder Koshar was invited to dinner and consultation. Recall the mention in Hosea 10:1 of increasing and embellishing altars just before Israel fell to Assyria. As a result of their sin, the men of Israel were judged by God. It was a corruption of that religion, for the Israelites syncretized that holy way with Baalism and other idolatries. God set up the Levites within Israel to function as the teachers of His way of life, and He sent the prophets as watchdogs on the Levites and civil leaders. They also worshiped him as a fertility god who provided children. Scholars previously associated the theonym with solar cults and with a variety of unrelated patron deities, but inscriptions have . At Shittim they attached themselves to Baal-Peor, ate sacrifices for the dead, and indulged in sacred sexual orgies (Num. Second was passing their babies through the fire. Smith, The Ugaritic Baal Cycle (1994). There was tremendous evil to overcome. Dated to c. 1750 B.C.E., the handle pictures the storm god as a leonine dragon. The Septuagint (LXX) rendered Joshua, the son of Nun, in Greek as Iesous; the same was used for Christs name in the NT. The word is used as the name of a town in ancient Israel in Deuteronomy 1:4, Joshua . 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.. When Ashtoreth is mentioned in scripture, she is linked to Molech, (also called Milcom in the Bible). Baal, of course, could not talk to them, but if he could, he would probably have said basically the same thing, so the people were in a very uncomfortable situation. The continued worship of Baal was given as one of the causes for the destruction of Judah (Jer. 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). There are several ideas as to exactly what Elijah meant by "How long will you falter between two opinions?" In the Bible, Jezebel is notorious for persecuting the worship of Yahweh and for demanding that the Israelites worship Baal. Everything Joshua* (Yehoshua) did was in accordance with the TaNaKh, which is an acrostic for Torah (=Law/Instruction), Neviim (=Prophets), and Ketuvim (=Writings). Sidons Phoenician Temple. Although they lived in Israel, Jezebel and her retainers were free to worship Baal. They too had blended the worship of the true God with outright paganism, utterly corrupting the relationship He had established with them. Consequently, during this tumultuous time, most Jews kept their faith and identity outwardly but bowed to Baal when necessary to appease Jezebel as well as mainstream culture. Baal was the title of the "god" worshiped in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia. Israel "feared other gods" (verse 7). They clash violently until both are prostrate and the Sungoddess warns Mot not to fight with Baal lest El hear and overthrow him. Jun 2. And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. 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 . 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. 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. Corrections? The worship of Baal was popular in Egypt from the later New Kingdom in about 1400 bce to its end (1075 bce). For a while, both sidesthe Confederate and the Unionaccepted those turncoats and took their information. Lastly, he replaced God with golden calves in Bethel and Dan. Baal's response to Mot's invitation to come and be devoured is abject surrender: "Thy slave am I, thine eternal." I appreciate your consideration, and Im sure the Most High does as well! Meaning of Jezebel: This word can be also pronounced as Isabel. Actually, there were two gods which were essentially worshiped the same way, Baal and Ashtoreth. A solution has been supplied by a tradition ascribed to the ancient Phoenician priest Sakkunyaton (Greek Sanchuniathn) that when El-Kronos defeated Ouranos, he captured in the battle Ouranos' pregnant concubine and gave her to Dagn. He replaced the Levitical priesthood with men of his own choosing. 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. They see themselves as following the way of God, but their religion has deceived them by failing to teach them His truth. No one answered; no one paid attention" (v. 29 ESV). Anyway she changed her mind and sent his son to Libya etc 11:17; I Kings 8:3536; Jer. Paul, then, is letting the church know that it need not be concerned about missing the end time. Sun worship came from the ancient pagan religion of Baal. Baal worship is something I associated only with Old Testament Bible days. It is related that on one occasion a strange ruler came to the place where Peor was worshiped, to sacrifice to him; but when he heard of this silly practise, he caused his soldiers to attack and kill the worshipers of the god (Sifre, Num. All this was part of his fertility role, which, when fulfilled, meant an abundance of crops and fertility for animals and mankind.
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