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Bible Encyclopedias
Baal (1)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
I. Name and Character of Baal
II. Attributes of Baal
III. Baal-Worship
IV. Temples, etc.
V. Use of the Name
VI. Forms of Baal
1. Baal-berith
2. Baal-gad
3. Baal-hamon
4. Baal-hermon
5. Baal-peor
6. Baal-zebub
I. Name and Character of Baal
In Babylonia it was the title specially applied to Merodach of Babylon, which in time came to be used in place of his actual name. As the word in Hebrew also means "possessor," it has been supposed to have originally signified, when used in a religious sense, the god of a particular piece of land or soil. Of this, however, there is no proof, and the sense of "possessor" is derived from that of "lord." The Babylonian Bel-Merodach was a Sun-god, and so too was the Can Baal whose full title was Baal-Shemaim, "lord of heaven." The Phoenician writer Sanchuniathon (
II. Attributes of Baal
As the Sun-god, Baal was worshipped under two aspects, beneficent and destructive. On the one hand he gave light and warmth to his worshippers; on the other hand the fierce heats of summer destroyed the vegetation he had himself brought into being. Hence, human victims were sacrificed to him in order to appease his anger in time of plague or other trouble, the victim being usually the first-born of the sacrificer and being burnt alive. In the Old Testament this is euphemistically termed "passing" the victim "through the fire" (2 Kings 16:3; 2 Kings 21:6 ). The forms under which Baal was worshipped were necessarily as numerous as the communities which worshipped him. Each locality had its own Baal or divine "Lord" who frequently took his name from the city or place to which he belonged. Hence, there was a Baal-Zur, "Baal of Tyre"; Baal-hermon, "Baal of Hermon" (Judges 3:3 ); Baal-Lebanon, "Baal of Lebanon"; Baal-Tarz, "Baal of Tarsus." At other times the title was attached to the name of an individual god; Thus we have Bel-Merodach, "the Lord Merodach" (or "Bel is Merodach") at Babylon, Baal-Melkarth at Tyre, Baal-gad (Joshua 11:17 ) in the north of Palestine. Occasionally the second element was noun as in Baal-Shemaim, "lord of heaven," Baalzebub (2 Kings 1:2 ), "Lord of flies,"
III. Baal-Worship
In the earlier days of Hebrew history the title Baal, or "Lord," was applied to the national God of Israel, a usage which was revived in later times, and is familiar to us in the King James Version. Hence both Jonathan and David had sons called Merib-baal (1 Chronicles 8:31; 1 Chronicles 9:40 ) and Beeliada (1 Chronicles 14:7 ). After the time of Ahab, however, the name became associated with the worship and rites of the Phoenician deity introduced into Samaria by Jezebel, and its idolatrous associations accordingly caused it to fall into disrepute. Hosea (Hosea 2:16 ) declares that henceforth the God of Israel should no longer be called Baali, "my Baal," and personal names like Esh-baal (1 Chronicles 8:33; 1 Chronicles 9:39 ), and Beelinda into which it entered were changed in form, Baal being turned into
IV. Temples, Etc
Temples of Baal at Samaria and Jerusalem are mentioned in 1 Kings 1:18; where they had been erected at the time when the Ahab dynasty endeavored to fuse Israelites and Jews and Phoenicians into a single people under the same national Phoenician god. Altars on which incense was burned to Baal were set up in all the streets of Jerusalem according to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 11:13 ), apparently on the flat roofs of the houses (Jeremiah 32:29 ); and the temple of Baal contained an image of the god in the shape of a pillar or Bethel (2 Kings 10:26 , 2 Kings 10:27 ). In the reign of Ahab, Baal was served in Israel by 450 priests (1 Kings 18:19 ), as well as by prophets (2 Kings 10:19 ), and his worshippers wore special vestments when his ritual was performed (2 Kings 10:22 ). The ordinary offering made to the god consisted of incense (Jeremiah 7:9 ) and burnt sacrifices; on extraordinary occasions the victim was human (Jeremiah 19:5 ). At times the priests worked themselves into a state of ecstasy, and dancing round the altar slashed themselves with knives (1 Kings 18:26 , 1 Kings 18:28 ), like certain dervish orders in modern Islam.
V. Use of the Name
In accordance with its signification the name of Baal is generally used with the definite art.; in the Septuagint this often takes the feminine form, ἀισχύνη ,
VI. Forms of Baal
1. Baal-Berith
Baal-berith בּעל בּרית ,
2. Baal-Gad
Baal-gad בּעל גּד ,
3. Baal-Hamon
Baal-hamon בּעל המון ,
4. Baal-Hermon
Baal-hermon בּעל חרמון ,
5. Baal-Peor
Baal-peor בּעל פעור ,
6. Baal-Zebub
Baal-zebub בּעל זבוּב ,
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Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. Entry for 'Baal (1)'. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​isb/​b/baal-1.html. 1915.