The Worship of Baal
The Worship of Baal
Baal-Zephon was worshiped in Egypt at the cities of Memphis, Ras Qasrun, and Tahpanhes, likely due to Phoenician influence. Eissfeldt has shown that Baal-Zephon and the Graeco-Roman Zeus Casios are the same, and the Graeco-Roman deity came to be identified with the Canaanite one (Eissfeldt, Baal Zephon, Zeus Kasios, 37).
The Wives of Esau 3, 4, 6
Esau’s family history is provided in three locations in the bible:
Baal, Son of Dagan: In Search of Baal's Double Paternity
656 Journal of the American Oriental Society 133.4 (2013)
Baal had two fathers
Baal Worship in the Divided Kingdom
Once the kingdom split, worship of Baal occurred in both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. In Israel, Baal worship was initially promoted by Ahab during the Dynasty of Omri; in Judah
Baal Worship in Israel. Together with his wife, Jezebel, Ahab and his successors made Baal worship the national religion of Israel. The people worshiped various Canaanite deities alongside the worship of Yahweh as represented by two golden calves (1 Kgs 12:28).
However, when Ahab married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Sidon, the couple established Baal worship (1 Kgs 16:30–31), and even persecuted those who worshiped Yahweh as prescribed by the Law (1 Kgs 19:10).
Since Baal was a storm god and bringer of rain, Elijah’s announcement that there would be three years of drought (1 Kgs 17:1) was a direct claim of Yahweh’s superiority over Baal. In fact, in the myths concerning Baal, drought is equated with the death of Baal. This explains the utter desperation of the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel in their attempts to induce Baal to send rain (1 Kgs 18:20–28).
Elijah Denounces Ahaziah
1 After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel.
2 Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” 3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Now therefore thus says the LORD, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ”
17 So he died according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken. Jehoram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son.
After sustaining a potentially fatal injury, Ahab’s son Ahaziah went to consult the god Baal-Zebub (בַּעַל זְבוּב, ba'al zevuv), literally, “Lord of the Flies” (2 Kgs 1:1–2), who had a temple in the Philistine city of Ekron.
This somewhat unusual title may have been a mocking version of his real name, זְבוּל בַּעַל (zevul ba'al), “Lord of the High Places,” or “Exalted Lord,” which the Hebrew writers may have deliberately parodied; the difference between “flies” (זְבוּב, zevuv) and “exalted” (זְבוּל, zevul) is small.
In Mark 3:22, the Jewish scribes called Jesus “Beelzebul” (Βεελζεβοὺλ, Beelzeboul), referring to the chief ruler of evil; this term had its origin with the name of this Philistine deity
Destroying the worship of Baal in Israel was an important part of Jehu’s coup overthrowing the Omride Dynasty (2 Kgs 10:1–28).
Worship of Baal first entered Judah because of an arranged marriage between King Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram, and Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel (2 Chr 18:1). Jehoram followed his wife in worshiping Baal (2 Kgs 8:18), and his son Ahaziah maintained the practice during his short reign (2 Kgs 8:27). Athaliah usurped the throne for six years; when Jehoiada, regent on behalf of Joash, overthrew her, he eliminated Baal worship for the moment (2 Kgs 11:18).
The worship of Baal was also associated with the practice of child sacrifice, connected in the Bible with the deities Molech or Milcom. A number of the kings of Judah, such as Ahaz and Manasseh, may have even burned their children in these sacrifices (2 Chr 28:2–3, 33:6; see also 2 Chr 36:14).
Baal Establishes His House (KTU 1.3–1.4)
No god in the ancient Near East was considered legitimate until he or she had a “house,” or temple. As the god of storm and agriculture, Baal chose Mount Zaphon (compare Hebrew צָפוֹן, tsaphon; “north”) as his home, since it offered a 360-degree view of his domain.
33 As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. 34 And the people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, 35
Some have suggested that Baal-Berith and El-Berith denote separate deities. This view is based on extrabiblical literary evidence of multiple gods, including Baal, entering into a covenant with humans (Lewis, Identity and Function, 401–13). However, some connection to Yahweh seems to exist—Joshua had earlier renewed the covenant with Yahweh at Shechem (Josh 24). Thus, some have suggested that Baal/El-Berith was simply an early, local title for Yahweh
BAAL-ZEPHON (בַּעַל צְפוֹן, ba'al tsephon;, בַּעַל צְפֹן, ba'al tsephon). The place where the Israelites camped before crossing the Red Sea (Exod 14:2, 9; Num 33:7).
Etymology
Baal-Zephon literally means “Lord of the North,” pointing to the Ugaritic storm god Hadad, often called Baal in Ugaritic texts and the Bible. The name Zephon derives from Mount Zephon, or Jebel el-Aqra, which is 25 miles (40 km) north of Ugarit on the coastal border of present-day Syria and Turkey. The mountain Baal-Zephon is where Baal supposedly led the pantheon of Canaanite gods, and it came to signify the direction north for the Israelites (see Isa 14:13; Gen 13:14; Deut 3:27).
Baal-Zephon was worshiped in Egypt at the cities of Memphis, Ras Qasrun, and Tahpanhes, likely due to Phoenician influence. Eissfeldt has shown that Baal-Zephon and the Graeco-Roman Zeus Casios are the same, and the Graeco-Roman deity came to be identified with the Canaanite one (Eissfeldt, Baal Zephon, Zeus Kasios, 37).
Baal-Zephon in the Bible
The Bible only mentions the place Baal-Zephon three times: Exod 14:2, 9; Num 33:7.