Baal

Baal, a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord' in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity, was associated with the storm and fertility god Hadad and his local manifestations. The Hebrew Bible includes use of the term in reference to various Levantine deities, often with application towards Hadad, who was decried as a false god. This use was taken over into Christianity and Islam, sometimes under the form Beelzebub in demonology. The spelling of the English term "Baal" derives from the Greek Báal (Bάαλ) which appears in the New Testament and Septuagint, and its Latinized form Baal, which appears in the Vulgate. These forms derive from the vowel-less Northwest Semitic form bʿl (Phoenician and Punic: 𐤁𐤏𐤋).
The word's biblical senses as a Phoenician deity and false gods generally were extended during the Protestant Reformation to denote any idols, icons of the saints, or the Catholic Church generally. In close transliteration of the Semitic name, the ayin is represented, as Baʿal.
In the Northwest Semitic languages, baʿal signified 'owner' and, by extension, 'lord', a'master', or 'husband'. Cognates include the Akkadian Bēlu (𒂗), Amharic bal (ባል), and Arabic baʿl (بعل). Báʿal and baʿl still serve as the words for 'husband' in modern Hebrew and Arabic respectively.
== Background ==
=== Semitic Religion ===
==== Generic ====
The Akkadian bēlu and Northwest Semitic baʿal, along with its feminine form baʿalah, were used to name various deities in Mesopotamian and Semitic pantheons, but only a definitive article, genitive, epithet, or context could determine the god's meaning.
=== Hadad ===
Baʿal, also known as "The Lord" or "Ha Baʿal," was a deity in the third millennium BC. He was believed to be identical to the storm and fertility god Hadad, also known as Baʿal Haddu. As Hadad's cult became more significant, his true name became too holy for high priests to speak aloud, leading to the use of the alias "Lord" ("Baʿal") instead. Some scholars suggest Baʿal was a native Canaanite deity whose cult was influenced by Adad's. By the 1st millennium BCE, Hadad was worshipped by the Aramaeans, while Baʿal was worshipped by the Phoenicians and other Canaanites.
==== Ba'al ====
Baʿal, a weather god in the Levant, was often mentioned alongside other gods and was associated with the region's dependence on rainfall for agriculture. His worship in Canaan, where he eventually replaced El as the leader of the gods and patron of kingship, was connected to the regions' anxiety about water availability for crops and trees. Baʿal was also called upon during battle, showing that he was thought to intervene actively in the world of man, unlike the more aloof El. The Lebanese city of Baalbeck was named after Baal.
The Baʿal of Ugarit was the epithet of Hadad, but as time passed, the epithet became the god's name while Hadad became the epithet. Both Baʿal and El were associated with the bull in Ugaritic texts, symbolizing strength and fertility. Baʿal held special enmity against snakes, both on their own and as representatives of Yammu, the Canaanite sea god and river god. He fought the Tannin, the "Twisted Serpent" (Bṭn ʿqltn), "Lotan the Fugitive Serpent" (Ltn Bṭn Brḥ, the biblical Leviathan), and the "Mighty One with Seven Heads" (Šlyṭ D.šbʿt Rašm).
From Canaan, worship of Baʿal spread to Egypt by the Middle Kingdom and throughout the Mediterranean following the waves of Phoenician colonization in the early 1st millennium BCE. He was described with diverse epithets, often referring to distinct local gods. In inscriptions, he is frequently described as "Victorious Baʿal", "Mightiest one", "Mightiest of the Heroes", "The Powerful One", and "Baʿal of Ugarit".
==== Ba'al Hammon ====
Baʿal Hammon, a fertility god, was worshipped in the Tyrian colony of Carthage as their supreme god in the 5th century BCE. He was associated with the ram and depicted with his horns, and was worshipped as Baʿal Karnaim ("Lord of the Two Horns") at an open-air sanctuary at Jebel Bu Kornein. His consort was the goddess Tanit. The epithet Hammon is obscure, often connected to the NW Semitic ḥammān ("brazier") and a role as a sun god. Renan and Gibson linked it to Hammon, modern Umm el-‘Amed between Tyre and Acre in Israel, and Cross and Lipiński to Haman or Khamōn, the classical Mount Amanus and modern Nur Mountains.
=== Judaism ===
Baʿal, a Hebrew term, appears around 90 times in the Bible, referring to various gods. The priests of the Canaanite Baʿal are mentioned numerous times, particularly in the First Book of Kings. Some scholars believe this is Jezebel's attempt to introduce the worship of the Baʿal of Tyre, Melqart, to Samaria in the 9th century BCE. However, Day argues that Jezebel's Baʿal was more likely Baʿal Shamem, the Lord of the Heavens, often applied to Hadad. In 1 Kings 18, a contest between prophet Elijah and Jezebel's priests involved both offering sacrifices to their respective gods. Ba'al failed to light his followers' sacrifice, and Yahweh's mastery over the weather was demonstrated. Other references to Baʿal priests include their burning of incense in prayer and offering of sacrifice while adorned in special vestments.
==== Yahweh ====
The title baʿal was a synonym in some contexts of the Hebrew names adon ("Lord") and adonai ("My Lord") used as aliases of the Lord of Israel Yahweh. Some scholars suggest that early Hebrews used the names Baʿal ("Lord") and Baʿali ("My Lord") in reference to the Lord of Israel, similar to Baʿal farther north referring to the Lord of Ugarit or Lebanon. However, it is not certain that the name Baal was definitely applied to Yahweh in early Israelite history. The component Baal in proper names is mostly applied to worshippers of Baal or descendants of the worshippers of Baal. Names including the element Baʿal presumably in reference to Yahweh include the judge Gideon, Saul's son Eshbaʿal, and David's son Beeliada. The name Bealiah ("The Lord is Jah"; "Yahweh is Baʿal") combined the two.
The name Baal was anathema to the Israelites when Jezebel introduced Phoenician worship of Baal into Israel's capital city of Samaria in the 9th century BCE. At first, Baal was used without discrimination by the Jews for their God without discrimination. However, as the struggle between the two religions developed, the name Baal was given up by the Israelites as a thing of shame. Direct use of Baʿali continued at least as late as the time of the prophet Hosea, who reproached the Israelites for doing so.
==== Ba'al Berith ====
Baʿal Berith, also known as the Lord of the Covenant, was a god worshipped by the Israelites after Gideon's death. According to the Hebrew Scriptures, Gideon's son Abimelech received 70 shekels of silver from the House of Baʿal Berith to assist in killing his 70 brothers from Gideon's other wives. The Hebrew Scriptures record the worship of Baʿal threatening Israel from the time of the Judges until the monarchy. However, during the period of Judges, such worship seemed to be an occasional deviation from a deeper and more constant worship of Yahweh.
Throughout the stories of Judges, the popular faith in Yahweh runs as a powerful current, raising the judges and inspiring poets, prophets, and Nazirites. Worship of Baals and Ashtoreths has been schematically interspersed between these chapters, but no trace of a vital, popular belief in any foreign gods can be detected in the stories themselves.
The struggle between monolatry and polytheism is referred to as monolatry or monotheism against polytheism. Yahweh is frequently identified in the Hebrew scriptures with El Elyon, but this was after a conflation with El in a process of religious syncretism. ’El became a generic term meaning "god," and epithets such as El Shaddai came to be applied to Yahweh alone. Baal's nature as a storm and weather god became assimilated into Yahweh's own identification with the storm.
In the next stage, the Yahwistic religion separated itself from its Canaanite heritage, first rejecting Baal-worship in the 9th century, then through the 8th to 6th centuries with prophetic condemnation of Baal, sun-worship, worship on the "high places," and practices pertaining to the dead.
==== Beelzebub ====
Baʿal Zebub, the Philistine god of Ekron, is mentioned in the First Book of Kings. Ahaziah, the king of Israel, consults the priests of Baʿal Zebub about his survival after a fall. The prophet Elijah foretells his death, causing heavenly fire on the soldiers. The title "Lord of the Flies" is interpreted as a reference to Baʿal's power over causing and curing pestilence, which is suitable for Ahaziah's question. The Septuagint and Ebionite versions of the name, Baälzeboúb and Beëlzeboúl, have different interpretations, with some suggesting it was B‘l Zbl, Ugaritic for "Prince Baal."
=== Classical Sources ===
In classical sources, Baʿal was often referred to as Belus outside of Jewish and Christian contexts. Josephus mentions Jezebel building a temple to the god of Tyrians, which is referred to as the Baʿal of Tyre, Melqart. Philo Byblius also mentions Baʿal, while Baʿal Hammon was associated with the Greek Cronos and Roman Saturn, Zabul Saturn, although this was likely never equated with Melqart.
=== Christianity ===
The New Testament writers identified Beelzebub as Satan, the "prince" of demons. In John Milton's Paradise Lost, fallen angels gather around Satan, acquiring new names as false gods. Baalim and Ashtaroth are collective names for male and female demons from the Euphrates and Brook. Baal and derived epithets were used as slurs during the English Reformation for saints and their devotees. The demons were believed to acquire new names as false gods.
=== Islam ===
The Quran warns against Baʿal worship, a term used by Arabs to denote everything lord over anything. Prophet Elijah warned his people against Baʿal worship, warning them not to fear Allah and call upon Ba'l. If they denied him, they would be punished, except for the chosen servants of Allah. The Quran leaves a favorable mention for Ba'l among later generations, stating that peace be upon Ilyāseen. Baal is an idol of gold, twenty cubits tall, and had four faces. The trilateral root baʿl appears seven times in the Qur'an, with its common Semitic usage of "owner" or "husband," particularly husband. Sarah, wife of Abraham, refers to her husband using the term.
Category:Religion
Category:Hell
Category:God
Category:Antagonist
__NOTOC__