Baal & Sun Worship

Baal (ba\'èl). [Heb. BaÔal, "lord," "possessor," "husband." The name is found in Akkadian as BeÆlu, in Ugaritic and Phoenician as bÔl, in Egyptian (13th cent. b.c. on) as bÔr Gr. Baal].

1. A Semitic god. The name Baal was (1) a designation for a local god in the sense of "lord," as in Baal-gad, Baal-peor, Baal-hermon; (2) the name of a Canaanite god. The Canaanites believed that Baals dwelt in holy trees, springs, mountain summits, rocks, etc., and spoke of each of these local gods as the Baal, i.e., "lord," of that particular locality. These local gods are often referred to in the OT, where Baal appears in its plural form Baalim (Jgs 2:11; 3:7; 8:33; etc.). These Baalim were considered nature deities who took care of the vegetation and the increase of cattle and flocks. Where the name appears in the singular it generally refers to the chief national god of the Canaanites.

In the *Ras Shamra texts the word Baal sometimes applies to gods as possessors of particular places and sanctuaries, but more generally it is the name of the highest of the gods. As head of the Canaanite pantheon he seems to have been a latecomer, for El had possessed prominence long before Baal arrived, and a temple was dedicated to Dagon before one was built for Baal. But when Baal emerged from the struggle for supremacy among the gods as the chief god, he held his position for many centuries. He was the storm god, and was therefore frequently identified with Adad (Hadad). Bringing the winter rains with storms and lightnings, he was held responsible for the fertility of the country. His sister was the virgin Anath, the ferocious goddess of bloodshed and war, and his antagonist was Mot, the god of drought and of the scorching heat. When Baal was killed (whether by Mot is not clear, since the text is broken), Anath implored Mot to raise him to life again, but when all her efforts failed, she became furious and in her rage overpowered and killed Mot, took her dead brother, and carried him to the mountain of the gods, where he was resurrected to a new life. After that Baal’s death and resurrection were supposed to occur annually, and resulted, the Canaanites believed, in the two main seasons of Syria-Palestine, summer and winter. Baal’s death at the hand of evil Mot at the end of each rainy season was observed by bitter mourning, and his annual resurrection at the end of the long, dry summer months when the rainy season began, bringing new life to fields and vineyards, was celebrated with joyous and licentious feasting.

Baal worship, universal throughout Syria and Palestine, seems to have held a great attraction for the Israelites. They repeatedly turned to it from the time they entered the land of Canaan until they were carried into exile. The first time that Baal is mentioned in the history of Israel is shortly before Moses’ death, when the Israelites encamped in the fields of Moab near a high place of Baal (Num 22:41, KJV; RSV "Bamoth-baal"). The "gods" to which the Israelites bowed down (Num 25:2) probably included Baal. Baal was worshiped again by the Israelites in the time of the judges (Jgs 2:13; 6:28–32) and frequently during the period of the kings of Judah and Israel. Baal almost supplanted Yahweh in the kingdom of Israel in the time of Ahab, when Jezebel, Ahab’s headstrong Tyrian wife, attempted to establish the religion of Baal as the only legitimate mode of worship. The story of Elijah’s fight against this cult and his contest with the Baal priests on Mount Carmel is well known (1 Ki 16:31, 32; 18:17–40). But this victory for Yahweh was short-lived. Even King Jehu’s ruthless crushing of Baal worship at his accession to the throne (2 Ki 10:18–28) resulted in only temporary reform. Baal worship thrived also for a time in Judah, where Athaliah, Ahab’s wicked daughter, had introduced it (ch 11:18).

The existence of Baal worship in the northern kingdom is attested by the ostraca found during the Harvard University excavations of Samaria, dated in the 8th cent. b.c. Among the many personal names of citizens of that kingdom in these texts there were found several Baal names, such as ÕAbibaÔal, "Baal is my father," BaÔalzamar, "Baal sings," BaÔalaÔzakar, "Baal remembers(?)," BaÔalmaÔanéÆ, "Baal is my answer," MeribaÔal, "My lord is Baal [if the name is Aramaic]," and BaÔala. These names prove that there were many followers of Baal among the common people during the generations living after Ahab’s reign. In the southern kingdom this cult was especially encouraged by Ahaz of Judah, who made images to the Baalim (2 Chr 28:2). These idols were removed during the reign of his good son Hezekiah, but altars to Baal were again erected by Manasseh, the next king (2 Ki 21:3). Good King Josiah in turn destroyed the vessels that had been used in the cult of Baal (ch 23:4, 5). The worship of Baal was one of the principal causes for the desolation of Judah (Jer 19:5).

The OT testifies also that the cult of Baal was accompanied by the burning of children in the fire (Jer 19:5) and the kissing of the image (1 Ki 19:18). It was probably also accompanied by gross lasciviousness. Associated frequently with Baal is the goddess *Ashtoreth (Jgs 2:13), and on the high places dedicated to Baal was usually found an *Asherah (Jgs 6:30; 1 Ki 16:32, 33; RSV).

In various places Baal came to be identified with Helios (the sun), with Hercules, or with the chief Greek god, *Zeus (the Roman Jupiter).

2. A village in the territory of Simeon otherwise known as *Baalath-beer.

3. A Reubenite (1 Chr 5:5, 6).

4. A Benjamite, son of King Saul’s ancestor Jehiel (1 Chr 8:30; 9:36).