Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

BAAL

(Heb. baʿal)

DEITY

The Canaanite storm- and fertility-god. As an epithet for various West Semitic deities, especially Hadad, the name means “lord,” designating a legal state of ownership or social superiority. With the obvious exception of Yahweh, Baal is the most significant deity in the OT.

In a land dependent upon rain-fed agriculture, the storm-god is the most significant deity in the culture. Baal does serve as the most powerful god of the Canaanite pantheon, though his progenitor El is its head. Further, the cult plays a major role in the daily and ritual lives of societal members, given the paramount need for rain and its continuous impact upon the population.

Various derived epithets and functions of this deity are attested. An extension of the concept of rain is that of fertility. Baal is represented iconographically by a bull, underscoring the fructative powers of the god. Ugaritic myths record at length the struggle of Baal against his nemesis, Mot (“death”). Baal alone among the pantheon is powerful enough to engage Mot, as these two antithetical powers collide mythologically. Baal’s descent into Mot (who swallows him) is representative of the agricultural cycle, as life in a dry-summer subtropical climate entails months of aridity, theologically understood as the absence of the rain-god.

The power inherent in a thunderstorm lends itself to association with warring prowess. Baal is the warrior par excellence in Ugaritic literature. His defeat of the forces of chaos, represented by the god Yamm (“sea”), saved order in the divine realm. The king of a society which revered him was to imitate Baal in this aspect, to protect mundane society from the forces of chaos (as were virtually all ancient Near Eastern kings, imitating their respective warrior gods who defeated forces of chaos). Iconographically, Baal is represented as a warrior clutching lightning as a weapon.

A number of elements of the Baal cult are attested in the OT. Ecstatic prophets are depicted in the confrontation of Elijah with 400 prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel (1 Kgs. 18; ; cf. also the Egyptian work Wen-amon). The cutting mentioned in the ritual (1 Kgs. 18:28) was probably related to the cult of the dead, as the death of Baal is equated with drought. Baal’s association with this cult is implied in the biblical prohibition against cutting the hair or body in mourning (Lev. 19:28; Deut. 14:1; cf. Jer. 16:6; 41:5; 47:5; Hos.7:14).

Baalistic cultic practices deeply affected Israelite and Judahite society on two levels. First, a number of liturgical themes, images, and phrases were adapted by the Israelites. Although actual worship of Baal was completely forbidden, there was naturally theological overlap between Yahweh and deities of other pantheons. That Yahweh and Baal are both pictured as storm-deities (Job 38; Ps. 29) is expected in similar ecological niches, with similar epithets. Both are warriors who “ride the clouds” (Ps. 18:10[MT 11] = 2 Sam. 22:11; Ps. 77:18[19]). The two share common enemies, Leviathan (e.g., Job 3:8; 41:1[40:25]; Ps. 74:14; Isa. 27:1), Tannin (e.g., Job 7:12; Ps. 74:13; Isa. 51:9; Ezek. 29:3), and Yamm (Ps. 89:9). The latter examples best exemplify the Israelite demythologization of the events, as the mythic battle of Baal and Yamm is reduced in an act of creation. Order is a part of creation for the Israelites, as the universe was created and controlled by Yahweh from void to completion. His enemies in the OT are mortals, who reject him or try to thwart his plans in the mundane realm.

Second, the syncretistic tendencies of the Israelites generally focus upon the Baal cult. Again, the rationale for the association stems from the overlapping theological functions within the same ecological niche. These practices begin with the wilderness narrative of events at Baal-peor (Num. 25; ; the orgiastic nature of Baal worship, not unusual among fertility deities, is probably reflected in Hos. 4:14; 1 Kgs. 14:24; 2 Kgs. 23:6-7). The cycles of foreign political oppression in Judges center upon worship of this deity (e.g., Judg. 2:11, 13). Indeed, Gideon is nearly killed by the village men for destroying the altar of Baal and its accompanying Asherah pole (Judg. 6:25-32; the association of Asherah with Baal in the OT may flesh out a fragmentary myth, in which this goddess, the consort of El, seems to be trying to seduce Baal). The degree of syncretism is underscored by the townspeople’s decision to allow Baal to deal with Gideon (hence the folk etymology of his name, Jerubaal). This syncretistic practice plagued the Israelites to the exile (Jer. 2:8). It may be reflected in Baal names, although baʿal may simply be interpreted as an epithet of Yahweh. The substitution of bōšeṯ (“shame”) for the Baal element in names is a theological statement by later biblical editors (e.g., 2 Sam. 2:10).

Baal worship was also sponsored by the monarchies of Israel and Judah. Ahab built a temple for Baal (1 Kgs. 16:31-33), and indeed worshipped him (22:53), doubtless spurred on by his Tyrian wife Jezebel. The cultic structure, including the priesthood and temple, was eradicated in Jehu’s bloody coup (2 Kgs. 10:18-27). Official sanction of Baal worship in Judah was credited to Manasseh (2 Kgs. 21:3). Josiah’s reform completely eradicated Baal worship from the land during his reign (2 Kgs. 23:4-5). However, the practice persisted among the masses. It was blamed for Yahweh’s implementation of the covenant curses, in retribution for Israel’s infidelity (cf. Deut. 30:15-20).

Mark Anthony Phelps

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

BAAL

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)