GREEK: 896 Baal Baal
HEBREW: 1120 twmb Bamowth 1168 leb Ba`al 1170 tyrb leb Ba`al B@riyth 1171 dg leb Ba`al Gad 1174 Nwmh leb Ba`al Hamown 1187 rwep leb Ba`al P@`owr 6465 rwep P@`owr
NAVE: Baal Baal-berith Baal-gad Baal-hamon Baal-peor Bamoth Peor
EBD: Baal Baal-berith Baal-gad Baal-hamon Baal-peor Bamoth Bamoth-baal Peor
SMITH: BAAL PEOR
ISBE: BAAL (1) BAAL (2) BAAL (3) BAAL-BERITH BAAL-GAD BAAL-HAMON BAAL-PEOR BAMOTH; BAMOTH-BAAL PEOR
BAKER: Baal
BRIDGEWAY: BAAL
Baal
In Bible versions:
Baal: NET AVS NIV NRSV NASB TEVBaal Gad: NET NIV
Baal Hamon: NIV
Baal of Peor: NIV NRSV TEV
Baal-Berith: NET NIV TEV
Baal-berith: NRSV NASB
Baal-gad: NRSV NASB
Baal-Gad: TEV
Baal-Hamon: NET TEV
Baal-hamon: NRSV NASB
Baal-peor: NET
Baal-Peor: TEV
Baals: NET NIV
Bamoth: NET AVS NIV NRSV NASB TEV
Bamoth Baal: NET NIV
Bamoth-Baal: AVS TEV
Bamoth-baal: NRSV NASB
Peor: NET AVS NIV NRSV NASB TEV
idol of the covenant
idol of fortune or felicity
who rules a crowd
master of the opening
hole; opening
a pagan god
a title of a pagan god
a town in the Negeb on the border of Simeon and Judah
son of Reaiah son of Micah; a descendant of Reuben
the forth son of Jeiel, the Benjamite
a pagan god associated with Mount Peor
a pagan god of the Canaanites associated with Shechem
a place in the Valley of Lebanon near Mount Hermon (OS, YC)
a place in Mount Ephraim near Samaria (YC)
a place near Mount Peor where God punished Israel
a place of Israelite encampment in Moab NE of the Dead Sea
a mountain in Moab NW of Mt. Nebo
a place near Mount Peor where God punished Israel for idolatry
(31° 45´, 35° 43´); Bamoth (31° 45´, 35° 43´); Bamoth-baal (31° 45´, 35° 43´); Peor (31° 45´, 35° 43´); OpenBible: (Flickr/Panoramio) Baal-peor; Bamoth; Bamoth-baal; Peor;
Greek
Strongs #896: Baal Baal
Baal = "lord"1) the supreme male divinity of the Phoenician and Canaanitish
nations, as Ashtoreth was their supreme female divinity
896 Baal bah'-al
of Hebrew origin (1168); Baal, a Phoenician deity (used as a symbol of idolatry): KJV -- Baal.see HEBREW for 01168
Hebrew
Strongs #01120: twmb Bamowth
Bamoth = "high places" or "great high place"1) a town on the river Arnon in Moab
1120 Bamowth baw-moth'
plural of 1116; heights; or (fully) Bamowth Bahal {baw-moth' bah'-al}; from the same and 1168; heights of Baal; Bamoth or Bamoth-Baal, a place East of the Jordan: KJV -- Bamoth, Bamoth-baal.see HEBREW for 01116
see HEBREW for 01168
Strongs #01168: leb Ba`al
Baal = "lord"n pr m
1) supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites
2) a Reubenite
3) the son of Jehiel and grandfather of Saul
n pr loc
4) a town of Simeon, probably identical to Baalath-beer
1168 Ba`al bah'-al
the same as 1167; Baal, a Phoenician deity: KJV -- Baal, (plural) Baalim.see HEBREW for 01167
Strongs #01170: tyrb leb Ba`al B@riyth
Baal-berith = "lord of the covenant"1) a god of the Philistines
1170 Ba`al Briyth bah'-al ber-eeth'
from 1168 and 1285; Baal of (the) covenant; Baal-Berith, a special deity of the Shechemites: KJV -- Baal-berith.see HEBREW for 01168
see HEBREW for 01285
Strongs #01171: dg leb Ba`al Gad
Baal-gad = "lord of fortune"1) a city noted for Baal-worship, located at the most northern
or northwestern point to which Joshua's victories extended
1171 Ba`al Gad bah'-al gawd
from 1168 and 1409; Baal of Fortune; Baal-Gad, a place in Syria: KJV -- Baal-gad.see HEBREW for 01168
see HEBREW for 01409
Strongs #01174: Nwmh leb Ba`al Hamown
Baal-hamon = "lord (possessor) of abundance"1) the site of Solomon's vineyard
1174 Ba`al Hamown bah'-al haw-mone'
from 1167 and 1995; possessor of a multitude; Baal-Hamon, a place in Palestine: KJV -- Baal-hamon.see HEBREW for 01167
see HEBREW for 01995
Strongs #01187: rwep leb Ba`al P@`owr
Baal-peor = "lord of the gap"1) the deity worshipped at Peor with probable licentious rites
1187 Ba`al P`owr bah'-al peh-ore'
from 1168 and 6465; Baal of Peor; Baal-Peor, a Moabitish deity: KJV -- Baal-peor.see HEBREW for 01168
see HEBREW for 06465
Strongs #06465: rwep P@`owr
Peor = "cleft"n pr loc
1) a mountain peak in Moab belonging to the Abarim range and near Pisgah
n pr deity
2) a false god worshipped in Moab; corresponds to Baal
6465 P`owr peh-ore'
from 6473; a gap; Peor, a mountain East of Jordan; also (for 1187) a deity worshipped there: KJV -- Peor. See also 1047.see HEBREW for 06473
see HEBREW for 01187
see HEBREW for 01047
Baal [nave]
BAAL1. An idol of the Phoenicians, god of the sun. Wickedly worshiped by the Israelites in the time of the judges, Judg. 2:10-23; 1 Sam. 7:3, 4; by the kingdom of Israel, 2 Kin. 17:16; Jer. 23:13; Hos. 1; 2; 13:1; under Ahab, 1 Kin. 16:31-33; 18:18; 19:18; Jehoram, 2 Kin. 3:2; by the Jews, 2 Kin. 21:3; 2 Chr. 22:2-4; 24:7; 28:2; 33:3.
Jeremiah reasons against the worship of, Jer. 2:8, 23; 7:9.
Altars of, destroyed by Gideon, Judg. 6:25-32; by Jehoiada, 2 Kin. 11:18; by Josiah, 2 Kin. 23:4, 5.
Prophets of, slain by Elijah, 1 Kin. 18:40.
All worshipers of, destroyed by Jehu, 2 Kin. 10:18-25.
2. A Benjamite, 1 Chr. 8:30; 9:36.
3. A Reubenite, 1 Chr. 5:5.
4. A city in the tribe of Simeon, 1 Chr. 4:33.
Called Baalath-beer, Josh. 19:8.
Baal-berith [nave]
BAAL-BERITHA god of the Shechemites, Judg. 9:4.
Worshiped by Israelites, Judg. 8:3.
Called Berith, Judg. 9:46.
Baal-gad [nave]
BAAL-GADA city of the Canaanites, Josh. 11:17; 12:7; 13:5.
Probably identical with Baal-hermon, Judg. 3:3; 1 Chr. 5:23.
Bamoth [nave]
BAMOTHA camping place of the Israelites, Num. 21:19, 20.
Called Bamoth-baal, a city of Reuben, Josh. 13:17.
Peor [nave]
PEOR, a mountain in Moab. Balak builds altars on, Num. 23:28-30.Baal [ebd]
lord. (1.) The name appropriated to the principal male god of the Phoenicians. It is found in several places in the plural BAALIM (Judg. 2:11; 10:10; 1 Kings 18:18; Jer. 2:23; Hos. 2:17). Baal is identified with Molech (Jer. 19:5). It was known to the Israelites as Baal-peor (Num. 25:3; Deut. 4:3), was worshipped till the time of Samuel (1 Sam 7:4), and was afterwards the religion of the ten tribes in the time of Ahab (1 Kings 16:31-33; 18:19, 22). It prevailed also for a time in the kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 8:27; comp. 11:18; 16:3; 2 Chr. 28:2), till finally put an end to by the severe discipline of the Captivity (Zeph. 1:4-6). The priests of Baal were in great numbers (1 Kings 18:19), and of various classes (2 Kings 10:19). Their mode of offering sacrifices is described in 1 Kings 18:25-29. The sun-god, under the general title of Baal, or "lord," was the chief object of worship of the Canaanites. Each locality had its special Baal, and the various local Baals were summed up under the name of Baalim, or "lords." Each Baal had a wife, who was a colourless reflection of himself.
(2.) A Benjamite, son of Jehiel, the progenitor of the Gibeonites (1 Chr. 8:30; 9:36).
(3.) The name of a place inhabited by the Simeonites, the same probably as Baal-ath-beer (1 Chr. 4:33; Josh. 19:8).
Baal-berith [ebd]
covenant lord, the name of the god worshipped in Shechem after the death of Gideon (Judg. 8:33; 9:4). In 9:46 he is called simply "the god Berith." The name denotes the god of the covenant into which the Israelites entered with the Canaanites, contrary to the command of Jehovah (Ex. 34:12), when they began to fall away to the worship of idols.
Baal-gad [ebd]
lord of fortune, or troop of Baal, a Canaanite city in the valley of Lebanon at the foot of Hermon, hence called Baal-hermon (Judge. 3:3; 1 Chr. 5:23), near the source of the Jordan (Josh. 13:5; 11:17; 12:7). It was the most northern point to which Joshua's conquests extended. It probably derived its name from the worship of Baal. Its modern representative is Banias. Some have supposed it to be the same as Baalbec.
Baal-hamon [ebd]
place of a multitude, a place where Solomon had an extensive vineyard (Cant. 8:11). It has been supposed to be identical with Baal-gad, and also with Hammon in the tribe of Asher (Josh. 19:28). Others identify it with Belamon, in Central Palestine, near Dothaim.
Baal-peor [ebd]
lord of the opening, a god of the Moabites (Num. 25:3; 31:16; Josh. 22:17), worshipped by obscene rites. So called from Mount Peor, where this worship was celebrated, the Baal of Peor. The Israelites fell into the worship of this idol (Num. 25:3, 5, 18; Deut. 4:3; Ps. 106:28; Hos. 9:10).
Bamoth [ebd]
heights, the forty-seventh station of the Israelites (Num. 21:19,20) in the territory of the Moabites.
Bamoth-baal [ebd]
heights of Baal, a place on the river Arnon, or in the plains through which it flows, east of Jordan (Josh. 13:17; comp. Num. 21:28). It has been supposed to be the same place as Bamoth.
Peor [ebd]
opening. (1.) A mountain peak (Num. 23:28) to which Balak led Balaam as a last effort to induce him to pronounce a curse upon Israel. When he looked on the tribes encamped in the acacia groves below him, he could not refrain from giving utterance to a remarkable benediction (24:1-9). Balak was more than ever enraged at Balaam, and bade him flee for his life. But before he went he gave expression to that wonderful prediction regarding the future of this mysterious people, whose "goodly tents" were spread out before him, and the coming of a "Star" out of Jacob and a "Sceptre" out of Israel (24:14-17).
(2.) A Moabite divinity, called also "Baal-peor" (Num. 25:3, 5, 18; comp. Deut. 3:29).
BAAL [smith]
(lord).- A Reubenite (1Â Chronicles 5:5)
- The son of Jehiel, and grandfather of Saul. (1Â Chronicles 8:30; 9:36)
PEOR [smith]
(cleft), a mountain peak in Moab belonging to the Abarim range, and near Pisgah, to which, after having ascended Pisgah, the prophet Balaam was conducted by Balak that he might look upon the whole host of Israel and curse them. (Numbers 23:14,28) In four passages -- (Numbers 25:18) twice; Numb 31:16; Josh 22:17 --Peor occurs as a contraction for Baal-peor. [BAAL (1) [isbe]
BAAL (1) - ba'-al: (ba`al; or Baal): The Babylonian Belu or Bel, "Lord," was the title of the supreme god among the Canaanites.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 (Philo Byblius, Fragmenta II) accordingly says that the children of the first generation of mankind "in time of drought stretched forth their hands to heaven toward the sun; for they regarded him as the sole Lord of heaven, and called him Beel-samen, which means `Lord of Heaven' in the Phoenician language and is equivalent to Zeus in Greek" Baal-Shemaim had a temple at Umm el-Awamid between Acre and Tyre, and his name is found in inscriptions from the Phoenician colonies of Sardinia and Carthage.
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 Ki 16:3; 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" (Jdg 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 (Josh 11:17) in the north of Palestine. Occasionally the second element was noun as in Baal-Shemaim, "lord of heaven," Baalzebub (2 Ki 1:2), "Lord of flies," Baal-Hamman, usually interpreted "Lord of heat," but more probably "Lord of the sunpillar," the tutelary deity of Carthage. All these various forms of the Sun-god were collectively known as the Baalim or "Baals" who took their place by the side of the female Ashtaroth and Ashtrim. At Carthage the female consort of Baal was termed Pene-Baal, "the face" or "reflection of Baal."
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 Ch 8:31; 9:40) and Beeliada (1 Ch 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 (2:16) declares that henceforth the God of Israel should no longer be called Baali, "my Baal," and personal names like Esh-baal (1 Ch 8:33; 9:39), and Beelinda into which it entered were changed in form, Baal being turned into bosheth which in Heb at any rate conveyed the sense of "shame."
IV. Temples, etc.:
Temples of Baal at Samaria and Jerusalem are mentioned in 1 Ki 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 (11:13), apparently on the flat roofs of the houses (Jer 32:29); and the temple of Baal contained an image of the god in the shape of a pillar or Bethel (2 Ki 10:26,27). In the reign of Ahab, Baal was served in Israel by 450 priests (1 Ki 18:19), as well as by prophets (2 Ki 10:19), and his worshippers wore special vestments when his ritual was performed (2 Ki 10:22). The ordinary offering made to the god consisted of incense (Jer 7:9) and burnt sacrifices; on extraordinary occasions the victim was human (Jer 19:5). At times the priests worked themselves into a state of ecstasy, and dancing round the altar slashed themselves with knives (1 Ki 18:26,28), 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, aischane "shame" being intended to be read. We find the same usage in Rom 11:4. The feminine counterpart of Baal was Baalah or Baalath which is found in a good many of the local names (see Baethgen, Beltrage zur semitischen Religionsgeschichte, 1888).
VI. Forms of Baal.
1. Baal-berith:
Baal-berith ba`al berith; Baalberith, "Covenant Baal," was worshipped at Shechem after the death of Gideon (Jdg 8:33; 9:4). In Jdg 9:46 the name is replaced by El-berith, "Covenant-god." The covenant was that made by the god with his worshippers, less probably between the Israelites and the native Canaanites.
2. Baal-gad:
Baal-gad ba`al gadh; Balagada, "Baal [lord] of good luck" (or "Baal is Gad") was the god of a town called after his name in the north of Palestine, which has often been identified with Baalbek. The god is termed simply Gad in Isa 65:11 the Revised Version, margin; where he is associated with Meni, the Assyrian Manu (King James Version "troop" and "number").
3. Baal-hamon:
Baal-hamon ba`al hamon; Beelamon is known only from the fact that Solomon had a garden at a place of that name (Song 8:11). The name is usually explained to mean "Baal of the multitude," but the cuneiform tablets of the Tell el-Amarna age found in Palestine show that the Egyptian god Amon was worshipped in Canaan and identified there with the native Baal. We are therefore justified in reading the name Baal-Amon, a parallel to the Babylonian Bel-Merodach. The name has no connection with that of the Carthaginian deity Baal-hamman.
4. Baal-hermon:
Baal-hermon ba`al chermon; Balaermon is found in the name of "the mountain of Baal-hermon" (Jdg 3:3; compare 1 Ch 5:23), which also bore the names of Hermort, Sirion and Shenir (Saniru in the Assyrian inscriptions), the second name being applied to it by the Phoenicians and the third by the Amorites (Dt 3:9). Baal-hermon will consequently be a formation similar to Baal-Lebanon in an inscription from Cyprus; according to the Phoenician writer Sanchuniathon (Philo Byblius, Fragmenta II) the third generation of men "begat sons of surprising size and stature, whose names were given to the mountains of which they had obtained possession."
5. Baal-peor:
Baal-peor ba`al pe`or; Beelphegor was god of the Moabite mountains, who took his name from Mount Peor (Nu 23:28), the modern Fa`ur, and was probably a form of Chemosh (Jerome, Comm., Isa 15). The sensual rites with which he was worshipped (Nu 25:1-3) indicate his connection with the Phoenician Baal.
6. Baal-zebub:
Baal-zebub ba`al zebhubh; Baalmuia Theos ("Baal the fly god") was worshipped at Ekron where he had famous oracle (2 Ki 1:2,3,16). The name is generally translated "the Lord of flies," the Sun-god being associated with the flies which swarm in Palestine during the earlier summer months. It is met with in Assyrian inscriptions. In the New Testament the name assumes the form of Beelzebul Beelzeboul, in King James Version: BEELZEBUB (which see).
A. H. Sayce
BAAL (2) [isbe]
BAAL (2) - ba'-al ba`al, "lord," "master," "possessor"):(1) A descendant of Reuben, Jacob's first-born son, and the father of Beerah, prince of the Reubenitcs, "whom Tiglath-pileser (1 Ch 5:5,6) king of Assyria carried away captive."
(2) The fourth of ten sons of Jeiel (King James Version "Jehiel"), father and founder of Gibeon. His mother was Maacah; his brother Kish father o? Saul (1 Ch 8:29 f; 9:35,36,39; compare 1 Sam 14:50 f). These passages identify Jeiel and Abiel as the father of Kish and thus of Baal. For study of confusions in the genealogical record, in 1 Ch 9:36,39, see KISH; ABIEL; JEIEL.
(3) In composition often the name of a man and not of the heathen god, e.g. Baal-hanan, a king of Edom (Gen 36:38; 1 Ch 1:49); also a royal prefect of the same name (1 Ch 27:28). Gesenius thinks that Baal in compound words rarely refers to the god by that name.
See BAAL (deity).
(4) A city of the tribe of Simeon (1 Ch 4:33).
See BAALATH-BEER.
Dwight M. Pratt
BAAL-BERITH [isbe]
BAAL-BERITH - ba-al-be'-rith ba`al berith = "Baal of the Covenant"): An idol worshipped by the Shechemites after Gideon's death (Jdg 8:33), as protector and guardian of engagements. His temple is also referred to in Jdg 9:4.See BAAL. (1).
BAAL-GAD [isbe]
BAAL-GAD - ba'-al-gad ba`al gadh; Balagada, Balgad: Joshua in his conquest reached as far north as `Baal-gad in the valley' of Lebanon, under Mount Hermon (Josh 11:17). This definitely locates it in the valley between the Lebanons, to the West or Northwest of Hermon. It must not be confused with Baal-hermon. Conder thinks it may be represented by `Ain Jedeideh.
BAMOTH; BAMOTH-BAAL [isbe]
BAMOTH; BAMOTH-BAAL - ba'-moth, ba'-moth-ba'-al (bamoth-ba'al, "high places of Baal"): Bamoth is referred to in Nu 21:19,20, as a station in the journeyings of Israel North of the Arnon. It is probably the same place as the Bamoth-baal of Nu 22:41 (Revised Version margin), whither Balak, king of Moab, conducted Balaam to view and to curse Israel. Bamoth-baal is named in Josh 13:17 as one of the cities given to Reuben. Mesha, on the Moabite Stone, speaks of having "rebuilt" Beth-bamoth.
PEOR [isbe]
PEOR - pe'-or (ha-pe`or; Phogor):(1) A mountain in the land of Moab, the last of the three heights to which Balaam was guided by Balak in order that he might curse Israel (Nu 23:28). It is placed by Eusebius, Onomasticon on the way between Livias and Heshbon, 7 Roman miles from the latter. Buhl would identify it with Jebel el-Mashaqqar, on which are the ruins of an old town, between Wady A`yun Musa and Wady Chesban.
(2) A town in the Judean uplands added by Septuagint (Phagor) to the list in Josh 15:9. It may be identical with Khirbet Faghur to the South of Bethlehem.
(3) Peor, in Nu 25:18; 31:16; Josh 22:17, is a divine name standing for "Baal-peor."
(4) In Gen 36:39, Septuagint reads Phogor for "Pau" (Massoretic Text), which in 1 Ch 1:50 appears as "Pai."
W. Ewing
Baal [baker]
[N] [E] [H] [S]See Gods and Goddesses, Pagan
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[N] indicates this entry was also found in Nave's Topical Bible
[E] indicates this entry was also found in Easton's Bible Dictionary
[H] indicates this entry was also found in Hitchcock's Bible Names
[S] indicates this entry was also found in Smith's Bible Dictionary
BAAL [bridgeway]
Canaanite and Phoenician gods were known as Baals, or Baalim (the plural form of Baal in Hebrew; Judg 2:11; 10:10; 1 Kings 16:31). Goddesses were known as Ashtaroth (plural of Ashtoreth; Judg 2:13; 1 Sam 7:3-4; 12:10) or Asherim (plural of Asherah; 1 Kings 15:13; 18:19; 2 Kings 23:4).The word baal was a common Hebrew word meaning ‘master’, ‘husband’ or ‘owner’. When the Israelites entered Canaan and found that the local people believed every piece of land had a god as its ‘owner’, baal developed a particular use as a proper noun. It became the title or name of the god of the land, whether of the land as a whole or of a particular area of land. In some cases the local Baal took its name from the locality (Num 25:3; Deut 4:3), and in other cases a locality was named after the Baal (Josh 11:17; Judg 3:3; 2 Sam 5:20, 13:23). A locality may also have been named after the Ashtaroth (Josh 12:4).
Characteristics of Baal worship
Baal and his associate goddesses were gods of nature who, according to popular belief, controlled the weather and had power to increase the fertility of soil, animals and humans. Since Israelites knew Yahweh as creator of nature and God of all life, they readily fell to the temptation to combine the Canaanite ideas with their own and so worship Yahweh as another Baal (Hosea 2:5-10; 4:7-10). This identification of Yahweh with Baal was probably also influenced by the fact that Yahweh was Israel’s husband and master (Heb: baal).
The Canaanites liked to carry out their Baal rituals at sacred hilltop sites known as ‘high places’. This name was later applied to all places of Baal worship, not just those in the hills (2 Kings 14:4; 17:9,32; 23:13; Jer 17:2-3; 32:35). Among the features of these high places were the sacred wooden or stone pillars known as Asherim (plural of Asherah, the goddess they represented) (Deut 12:3; Judg 6:25-26; 1 Kings 14:23; 2 Kings 10:27; 17:10; 21:3,7; 23:6; Isa 27:9).
Israelites had often gone up into the hills to worship God (Gen 22:2; Exod 17:8-15; 24:12-18; cf. 1 Sam 9:12-14; 10:5,13) and in Canaan they easily fell to the temptation to use the local high places in their worship of Yahweh. These disorders would not have arisen if the Israelites had, from the beginning, obeyed God’s command and destroyed all the high places in the land (Num. 33:52-53; Deut 12:2-3; 1 Kings 3:2; Jer 2:20; 3:6; Hosea 4:13).
Prostitutes, male and female, were available at the high places for fertility rites. These were religious-sexual ceremonies that people believed would persuade the gods to give increase in family, herds, flocks and crops (1 Kings 14:23-24; Jer 13:27; Hosea 4:10,14; 9:1-3,11-14; Amos 2:7-8). The people were also guilty of spiritual prostitution. Since the covenant bond between Israel and Yahweh was likened to the marriage bond, Israel’s association with Baal and other gods was a form of spiritual adultery (Isa 1:21; Jer 13:27; Hosea 1:2; 2:5,13; 4:12; Micah 1:7).
God’s judgment on Israel
Baal worship was a problem in Israel throughout most of the nation’s Old Testament history. It began soon after the people entered Canaan (Judg 2:11-13; 3:7; 8:33; 10:6,10) and resisted repeated attempts at reform by various leaders. It remained firmly fixed in Israel’s national life up till the captivity, when God’ inevitable judgment fell (1 Sam 7:3-4; 1 Kings 15:9-14; 22:51-53; 2 Kings 17:7-18; 18:1-4; 21:1-3; 23:26-27).
Possibly the most dangerous period during this history was the reign of the Israelite king Ahab and his Phoenician wife Jezebel, who attempted to make Phoenician Baalism the official religion of Israel (1 Kings 16:31-33). This form of Baalism, under the lordship of the Phoenician Baal deity Melqart, was a greater threat to Israel than the local Canaanite Baalism. To meet the threat, God raised up the prophets Elijah and Elisha. Their ministry preserved the faithful through the crisis and led to the eventual removal of Phoenician Baalism. It was wiped out by Jehu’s ruthless purge in the north, and by a similar, but less bloody, purge in the south (1 Kings 17-22; 2 Kings 1-11; see ELIJAH; ELISHA; JEHU).
Local Canaanite Baalism, however, was not removed. Israel’s persistence in Baal worship was the chief reason for God’s judgment in finally destroying the nation and sending the people into captivity (2 Kings 17:7-18 ; 21:10-15; Jer 9:12-16; 11:13-17; 19:4-9).
The time in captivity broke Israel’s relationship with Baalism. When the nation was later rebuilt, Baalism was no longer a serious problem (Ezek 36:22-29; 37:23). People were so determined to avoid any link between Baal and Yahweh that they refused to use the word baal when referring to God as their husband or master. They used the alternative word ish (Hosea 2:16-19). By New Testament times Jews had developed a thorough hatred of idolatry in all its forms (see IDOL, IDOLATRY).
