Baal

Published September 5, 2011 |

Baal was a spurious god of the
Old Testament and an idol of the Phoenicians. He was the son of the pagan god
Dagon and introduced to the Hebrews by the Tyrians. The children of Israel were
inclined to forsake the commandments of Jehovah and worship Baal, make idols of
him and kiss his image. The name Baal means Lord and is used for the master of
the house or the owner of the property, like a landlord. He would be the god of
the house or of the local land and neighboring vicinity. Baal was worshiped as
the god of vineyards and groves, the god of nature and fertility bringing
thunder and winter rains. He was the warrior god who champions divine order and
opposes chaos. One would imagine him coming in the clouds, holding a thunderbolt
in his hand and bringing refreshing rain.

The word Baalim is plural of Baal. Baalim are worshipped under many names as
the Sun god and god of fertility and by Beelzebub as the lord of flies. The
people would build houses, shrines and altars to Baalim and make images of them
and burn incense to them. Sacrificing to Baal would bless the produce of the
land and increase of the cattle. Baal is often associated with the goddess
Ashtaroth. As early as the third millennium BC, the ancient priest Berosus
served lord “Belus” or “Bel”, as he was called then and it was Berosus that
partially erected the Tower of Babel in his honor on the plain of Shinar. These
early writings of Berosus also are among the historical documents that relate
the story of the great flood.

Elijah protected the true prophets of God and opposed the false prophets of
Baal. The worshippers of Baal in Israel were far more numerous than the prophets
of the Lord but existed side by side with the true worshippers. “And Elijah came
unto all the people and said, ‘How long halt you between two opinions? If the
Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him’. And the people answered
him not a word.” The message of Elijah was to forsake the worship of Baal, in
whom they called Lord, and worship the true God. ” And it came to pass when Ahab
saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Are you he that troubles Israel? And he
answered, I have not troubled Israel; but you and your father’s house in that
you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed Baalim.”

The practice of the Baal worshippers included aberrant sexual behavior and
religious rites of sexual union in disobedience to the commandments of Jehovah.
They would sacrifice their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto him. This
would explain why Elijah was so opposed to the prophets of Baal and hated them
so much.
[380, BD, Judges 2, I Kings 18, 19, Jeremiah 19]

Several Baals enjoyed special attributions: as per the Biblical texts, there was
a Baal of the Covenant (Bá`ál Berîth (Judges, viii, 33; ix 4); cf. ‘El Berîth
(ibid., ix, 46); one of the flies (Bá`ál Zebub, IV Kings, i, 2, 3, 6, 16,);
there also probably was one of dance (Bá`ál Márqôd); perhaps one of medicine
(Bá`ál Márphê), and so on.

Among all the
Semites, the word, under one form or another (Bá`ál in the West and South; Bel
in Assyria; Bal, Bol, or Bel in Palmyra) constantly recurs to express the
deity’s lordship over the world or at least some aspect of it.

The different Baals
from various tribes, places and sanctuaries were not necessarily conceived as
identical. Each might have had its own nature and its own name: the fish-like
Baal of Arvad was probably Dagan; Baal, also called Hadad, is regularly
denominated as “the son of Dagan” (the Biblical Dagon); the Baal of Lebanon was
possibly Cid “the hunter”; and the Baal of Harran was the moon god. In several
Sabean Minaean cities, and in many Canaanite, Phoenician, or Palmyrene shrines,
Baal was worshipped as the Sun god, although Hadad seems to have been the chief
Baal among the Syrians.

The diversity of
the Old Testament intimates the many Baals by speaking of Baalim (Baal in the
plural), and specifying the singular Baal either by the article or by the
addition of another word.

It was believed
that the fertility of the region depended upon the activity of the Baal god
manifested in the autumn and winter rains and heralded by thunder. The Canaanite
“lord” or Baal, was also known by the names Hadad or Rimmon, “the Thunderer”.
Baal was also thought to be the male principle of life and reproduction and
therefore was celebrated with acts of extreme sensuality.

It is interesting
to note that the term Baal-land was regarded as being distinctly different from
irrigated land. These concepts have survived down to the present day in Muslim
law when making tax assessment for poor relief. But it’s interesting to note
lots of things, isn’t it.

The roots of monotheism
Some academics argue that these
beliefs led to the monotheistic conception of supreme deity, the Lord of Heaven,
of whom the various Baals would be different manifestations of the same deity.
Some deem that the Bible favours this view, for its language frequently implies
the belief of a supreme Baal.

Baal bore the
titles “Rider of the Clouds”, “Almighty”, and “Lord of the Earth”. Other
interpretations have Baal as the “god of the thunderstorm, the most vigorous and
aggressive of the gods, the one on whom mortals most immediately depend”.

It was believed
that Baal resided on Mount Zaphon, north of Ugarit, and is usually depicted
holding a thunderbolt. The Ugarit tablets make him out to be chief of the
Canaanite pantheon. He is the source of life and fertility, the mightiest hero,
and the lord of war.

With such grand
titles, there obviously there were many temples for Baal-worship in Canaan, and
the name Baal was often added to that of a locality, e.g. Baal-peor, Baal-hazor,
Baal-hermon. Ancient documents speak of the Baal of Tyre, of Harran, of Tarsus,
of Herman, of Lebanon, of Tamar (a river south of Beirut), and of
heaven.

Yahweh vs. Baal
Baal worship was prolific
throughout much of the ancient Middle East. In the land of Canaan, the worship
of Baal was found among the Moabites and their allies Midinites during Moses’s
time and was also introduced to the Israelites. The Phoenicians became the
greatest seafaring culture of the time, thereby spreading the cult of Baal
throughout the Mediterranean.

The Baal cult
venerated Israel, and at times led to a syncretism — a combination of different
forms of belief or practice. The cult of Baal was initially widely accepted by
the ancient Jews. Baal was once worshipped by the
royalty of the ten Biblical tribes of Israel and by all who depended upon the
sun god for the prosperity of their crops and livestock. Within the religion
there appeared to be numerous priests and various classes of devotees.
Ceremonies of
tribute often included the burning of incense, burnt sacrificial offerings, and
human sacrifice.

The practices of
holy prostitution and child sacrifice were especially abhorrent to the Hebrew
prophets, who denounced the cult and its temples as described in the Bible. This
abhorrence probably explains the substitution of Ish-bosheth for Esh-baal, of
Jerubbesheth for Jerubbaal (a name of Gideon), and of Mephibosheth for
Merib-baal with the substituted term probably meaning “shame”. Although heavy-handed
censorship was enforced, Baal worship was never permanently stamped out.

There is some
uncertainty as to the derivation of the name “Beelzebub”. Note that Beelzebub is
the patron god of the Philistines in ancient Palestine and is also identified
with the god of Ekron, Baal-Zebub.

Some believe that
the term is a deliberate mocking perversion by the Jewish religious leaders of
the Canaanite Baal-Zebul (“Prince Baal”), one of the standard titles of the god
Baal. In the Bible (which was derived from the Jewish Torah — writings that
were obviously aligned with Jewish interests), Beelzebub is debased as the
prince of evil spirits. He is also called “Lord of the Flies”, derived from the
Hebrew “Baal-Zevuv”.

Since Judaism
became the basis for monotheistic worship in much of the world, “Beelzebub” is
now synonymous with evil. In early English literature, Beelzebub becomes Satan’s
chief lieutenant in Milton’s Paradise Lost.