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Ba'al (pronounced: [baʕal]; Arabic,بعل; Hebrew: בעל) (ordinarily spelled Baal in English) is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant, cognate to Assyrian Bēlu. The Northwest Semitic languages form a medium-level division of the Semitic language family. See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the The East Semitic languages constitute one of the three major subdivisions of Semitic languages, the other being West Semitic and South Semitic. Bel (beɪl from Akkadian bēlu) signifying "lord" or "master" is a Title rather than a genuine name applied to various gods A Baalist means a worshipper of Baal.

"Ba'al" can refer to any god and even to human officials; in some texts it is used as a substitute for Hadad, a god of the rain, thunder, fertility and agriculture, and the lord of Heaven. Haddad בעל הדד (in Ugaritic Haddu) was a very important northwest Semitic storm and rain god, cognate in name and origin with the The Sky has important religious significance Most Polytheistic religions have a Deity whose portfolio includes or is even limited Since only priests were allowed to utter his divine name Hadad, Ba'al was used commonly. Nevertheless, few if any Biblical uses of "Ba'al" refer to Hadad, the lord over the assembly of gods on the holy mount of Heaven, but rather refer to any number of local spirit-deities worshipped as cult images, each called ba'al and regarded in that context as a false god. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Haddad בעל הדד (in Ugaritic Haddu) was a very important northwest Semitic storm and rain god, cognate in name and origin with the In the practice of Religion, a cult image is a man-made object that is venerated for the Deity, spirit or Daemon that it embodies or represents

Contents 1 Deities called Ba'al and Ba'alath 1.1 Baal of Tyre 1.2 Ba'al of Carthage 1.3 Priests of Ba'al 2 Ba‘al as a divine title in Israel and Judah 3 Multiple Ba‘als and ‘Ashtarts 3.1 Common confusion over Ba'al 4 The demon entitled Baal 4.1 Ba'al Zebûb 5 Non-religious usage of Ba'al 6 Ba'al in Judaism 7 Ba'al in Fiction 8 See also 9 Notes 10 External links

Deities called Ba'al and Ba'alath

Because more than one god bore the title "Ba'al" and more than one goddess bore the title "Ba'alat" or "Ba``alah," only the context of a text can indicate which Ba'al 'lord' or Ba'alath 'Lady' a particular inscription or text is speaking of. Ugarit ( Ugaritic: ʼugrt; Hebrew:; Arabic:) (modern Ras Shamra رأس شمرة ("top/head/cape of the wild Fennel The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France

Though the god Hadad (or Adad) was especially likely to be called Ba'al, Hadad was far from the only god to have that title. Haddad בעל הדד (in Ugaritic Haddu) was a very important northwest Semitic storm and rain god, cognate in name and origin with the The Ugaritic texts (mainly preserved in the Ba'al cycle) place the dwelling of Baal on Mount Saphon,^[1] so references to Baal Zephon in the Tanach and in inscriptions and tablets referring to the Baal of Mount Saphon may indicate the storm-god Hadad. The Ugaritic language, discovered by French archaeologists in 1928 is known only in the form of writings found in the lost city of Ugarit, near the modern The Baal cycle was an Ugaritic cycle of stories about the Canaanite god Baal, also known as Hadad the god of storm and fertility See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is It is said that Ba'al Pe’or, the lord of Mount Pe’or, whom Israelites were forbidden from worshipping (Numbers 25:3) was also Hadad. The heresy of Peor is an event related in the Torah at Numbers 251-15 In the Canaanite pantheon, Hadad was the son of El, who had once been the primary god of the Canaanite pantheon. Canaanites redirects here For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement. Eli (Hebrew אל is the Northwest Semitic word and name either translated into English as "god" or "God" or left untranslated as Eli, depending

Baal of Tyre

Melqart is the son of El in the Phoenician triad of worship, He was the god of Tyre and was often called the Ba'al of Tyre. Melqart, properly Phoenician Milk-Qart "King of the City" less accurately Melkart, Melkarth Tyre ( Arabic صور Ṣūr, Phoenician Phoenician wawsvg|12px|ו]] Ṣur, Hebrew Tyre ( Arabic صور Ṣūr, Phoenician Phoenician wawsvg|12px|ו]] Ṣur, Hebrew 1 Kings 16:31 relates that Ahab, king of Israel, married Jezebel, daughter of Ethba’al, king of the Sidonians, and then served habba’al ('the Ba'al'. Ahab (or Ach'av or) was king of Israel and the son and successor of Omri ( 1 Kings 1629-34 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Jezebel ( is the name of two women in the Bible. In the Hebrew Scriptures In the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures and Ithobaal I (or Ethbaal) (reigned 887 - 856 BC) was a king of Tyre who founded a new dynasty Sidon,or Saïda, ( Arabic ar صيدا; Phoenician phoenician yodh ) The cult of this god was prominent in Israel until the reign of Jehu, who put an end to it (2 Kings 10:26):

And they brought out the pillars (massebahs) of the house of the Ba'al and burned them. This article does not discuss "cult" in the original sense of "veneration" or "religious practice" for that usage see Cult (religious practice ' Yehu redirects here for the instrument see Yehu (instrument. And they pulled down the pillar (massebah) of the Ba'al and pulled down the house of the Ba'al and turned it into a latrine until this day.

Some scholars claim it is uncertain whether "Ba'al" 'the Lord' refers to Melqart in Kings 10:26, they point out that Hadad was also worshipped in Tyre. However this position negates the real possibility that Hadad and Melqart are one in the same god, only having different names because of different languages and cultures. Hadad being Canaanite and Meqart being Phoenician. Both Hadad and Melqart are professed to be the son of El both carrying the same secondary position in the pantheons of each culture. This fact reveals them to be the same deity with different names due to different languages. A contemporary example of this would be God in English and Dios in Spanish.

Josephus (Antiquities 8. Josephus (AD 37 – c 100 also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu (Joseph son of Matthias and after he became a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus 13. 1) states clearly that Jezebel "built a temple to the god of the Tyrians, which they call Belus" which certainly refers to Melqart. Jezebel ( is the name of two women in the Bible. In the Hebrew Scriptures In the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures and

In any case, King Ahab, despite supporting the cult of this Ba'al, had a semblance of worship to Yahweh (1Kings 16-22). Ahab still consulted Yahweh's prophets and cherished Yahweh's protection when he named his sons Ahaziah ("Yahweh holds") and Jehoram ("Yahweh is high. This entry is not about King Ahaziah of Judah. Ahaziah (אחזיהו המלך was king of Israel and the son of Ahab and Jezebel ")

Ba'al of Carthage

The worship of Ba'al Hammon flourished in the Phoenician colony of Carthage. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun Carthage (Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Carthago from the Phoenician קרת חדשת phn-Latn Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers Ba'al Hammon was the supreme god of the Carthaginians and is generally identified by modern scholars either with the northwest Semitic god El or with Dagon, and generally identified by the Greeks with Cronus and by the Romans with Saturn. Eli (Hebrew אל is the Northwest Semitic word and name either translated into English as "god" or "God" or left untranslated as Eli, depending Dagon was a major northwest Semitic god reportedly of grain and agriculture Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Cronus or Kronos, ( Ancient Greek Κρόνος Krónos) was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Saturn ( Latin: Saturnus) was a major Roman God of agriculture and harvest

The meaning of Hammon or Hamon is unclear. In the 19th century when Ernest Renan excavated the ruins of Hammon (Ḥammon), the modern Umm al-‘Awamid between Tyre and Acre, he found two Phoenician inscriptions dedicated to El-Hammon. Ernest Renan ( February 28, 1823 &ndash October 12, 1892) was a French Philosopher and writer deeply attached to his native Tyre ( Arabic صور Ṣūr, Phoenician Phoenician wawsvg|12px|ו]] Ṣur, Hebrew Since El was normally identified with Cronus and Ba‘al Hammon was also identified with Cronus, it seemed possible they could be equated. More often a connection with Hebrew/Phoenician ḥammān 'brazier' has been proposed. Phoenician was a language originally spoken in the coastal region then called Pūt in Ancient Egyptian Canaan in Phoenician, Hebrew, and Frank Moore Cross argued for a connection to Khamōn, the Ugaritic and Akkadian name for Mount Amanus, the great mountain separating Syria from Cilicia based on the occurrence of an Ugaritic description of El as the one of the Mountain Haman. The Ugaritic language, discovered by French archaeologists in 1928 is known only in the form of writings found in the lost city of Ugarit, near the modern Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Geography Cilicia extended along the Aegean coast east from Pamphylia, to Mount Amanus ( Gavurdağı Mount) which separated it from Syria

Classical sources relate how the Carthaginians burned their children as offerings to Ba'al Hammon. See Moloch for a discussion of these traditions and conflicting thoughts on the matter. Moloch, Molech, Molekh, or Molek, representing Hebrew מלך mlk, (translated directly into king is either the name of a Such a devouring of children fits well with the Greek traditions of Cronus. Prostitution as a form of worship also may have been done, especially when the Carthaginians began to recognize Ba'al as a fertility god.

Scholars tend to see Ba'al Hammon as more or less identical with the god El, who was also generally identified with Cronus and Saturn. However, Yigal Yadin thought him to be a moon god. Edward Lipinski identifies him with the god Dagon in his Dictionnaire de la civilisation phenicienne et punique (1992: ISBN 2-503-50033-1). Dagon was a major northwest Semitic god reportedly of grain and agriculture Inscriptions about Punic deities tend to be rather uninformative.

In Carthage and North Africa Ba'al Hammon was especially associated with the ram and was worshiped also as Ba'al Qarnaim ("Lord of Two Horns") in an open-air sanctuary at Jebel Bu Kornein ("the two-horned hill") across the bay from Carthage.

Ba'al Hammon's female cult partner was Tanit. Tanit was a Phoenician lunar Goddess, worshiped as the Patron goddess at Carthage where from the fifth century BCE onwards her name is associated He was probably not ever identified with Ba'al Melqart, although one finds this equation in older scholarship. Melqart, properly Phoenician Milk-Qart "King of the City" less accurately Melkart, Melkarth

Ba'alat Gebal ("Lady of Byblos") appears to have been generally identified with ‘Ashtart, although Sanchuniathon distinguishes the two. Sanchuniathon is the purported Phoenician author of three lost works originally in the Phoenician language, surviving only in partial paraphrase and summary of a

Priests of Ba'al

The Priests of Ba'al are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible numerous times, including a confrontation with the Prophet Elijah (1 Kings 18:21-40), the burning of incense symbolic of prayer (2 Kings 23:5), and rituals followed by priests adorned in special vestments (2 Kings 10:22) offering sacrifices similar to those given to honor YaHWeH (Jehovah in English). The confrontation with the Prophet Elijah is also mentioned in the Qur'an (37:123-125)

Ba‘al as a divine title in Israel and Judah

At first the name Ba'al was used by the Jews for their God without discrimination, but as the struggle between the two religions developed, the name Ba'al was given up in Judaism as a thing of shame, and even names like Jerubba'al were changed to Jerubbosheth: Hebrew bosheth means "shame". PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Zondervan's Pictorial Bible Dictionary (1976) ISBN 0-310-23560-X

The sense of competition between the priestly forces of Yahweh and of Ba'al in the ninth century is nowhere more directly attested than in 1 Kings 18, where, Elijah the prophet offering a sacrifice to Yahweh, Ba'al's followers did the same. Elijah or Elias ( was a Prophet in Israel in the 9th century BC Ba'al in the Hebrew text did not light his followers' sacrifice, but Yahweh sent heavenly fire to burn Elijah's sacrifice to ashes, even after it had been soaked with water.

Since Ba‘al simply means 'Lord', there is no obvious reason for which it could not be applied to Yahweh as well as other gods. In fact, Hebrews generally referred to Yahweh as Adonai ('My Lord') in prayer (the word Hashem - 'The Name' - is substituted in everyday speech). The judge Gideon was also called Jeruba'al, a name which seems to mean 'Ba‘al strives' though it is written in Judges 6:32 that the name was given to mock the god Ba‘al, whose shrine Gideon had destroyed, the intention being to imply: "Let Ba‘al strive as much as he can . . . it will come to nothing. "

After Gideon's death, according to Judges 8:33, the Israelites went astray and started to worship the Ba‘alîm (the Ba‘als) especially Ba‘al Berith ("Lord of the Covenant. Death is the termination of the biological functions that define living Organisms It refers both to a specific ") A few verses later (Judges 9:4) the story turns to all the citizens of Shechem — actually kol-ba‘^alê š^əkem another case of normal use of ba‘al not applied to a deity. Shechem ( Sichem, Shkhem or Shachmu, Hebrew: שְׁכֶם‎ / שְׁכָם, Standard These citizens of Shechem support Abimelech's attempt to become king by giving him 70 shekels from the House of Ba‘al Berith. Abimelech or Avimelech ( was a common name of the Philistine kings. It is hard to dissociate this Lord of the Covenant who is worshipped in Shechem from the covenant at Shechem described earlier in Joshua 24:25, in which the people agree to worship Yahweh. It is especially hard to do so when Judges 9:46 relates that all "the holders of the tower of Shechem" (kol-ba‘^alê midgal-š^əkem) enter bêt ’ēl b^ərît 'the House of El Berith', that is, 'the House of God of the Covenant'. Was "Ba‘al" here a title for El? Or did the covenant of Shechem perhaps originally not involve El at all but some other god who bore the title Ba‘al? Or were there different viewpoints about Yahweh, some seeing him as an aspect of Hadad, some as an aspect of El, some with other perceptions? — Again, there is no clear answer.

Ba'al appears in theophoric names. See technical note on viewing special characters A theophoric name (Greek "bearing a deity" embeds the name of a god both invoking One also finds Eshba'al (one of Saul's sons) and Be'eliada (a son of David). Saul (שאול המלך (or Sha'ul) ( Arabic: طالوت,Tālūt ( (reigned 1047 - 1007 BCE is identified in the Books of Samuel, 1 Chronicles David, Arabic: داوود or داود dawud, "beloved" was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible The last name also appears as Eliada. This might show that at some period Ba‘al and El were used interchangeably; even in the same name applied to the same person. More likely a later hand has cleaned up the text. Editors did play around with some names, sometimes substuting the form bosheth 'abomination' for ba‘al in names, whence the forms Ishbosheth instead of Eshba'al and Mephibosheth which is rendered Meriba'al in 1 Chronicles 9:40. 1 Chronicles 12:5 mentions the name Be'aliah (more accurately b^e‘alyâ) meaning "Yahweh is Ba‘al. "

It is difficult to determine to what extent the 'false worship' which the prophets stigmatize is the worship of Yahweh under a conception and with rites, which treated him as a local nature god, or whether particular features of gods more often given the title Ba‘al were consciously recognized to be distinct from Yahwism from the first. A rite is an established ceremonious usually Religious act or Process art. Certainly some of the Ugaritic texts and Sanchuniathon report hostility between El and Hadad, perhaps representing a cultic and religious differences reflected in Hebrew tradition also, in which Yahweh in the Tanach is firmly identified with El and might be expected to be somewhat hostile to Ba'al/Hadad and the deities of his circle. Sanchuniathon is the purported Phoenician author of three lost works originally in the Phoenician language, surviving only in partial paraphrase and summary of a The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written in Biblical Hebrew (and the related Biblical Aramaic But for Jeremiah and the Deuteronomist it also appears to be monotheism against polytheism (Jeremiah 11:12):

Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go and cry to the gods to whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble. Jeremiah ( jirmɛ'jahu; Septuagint Greek: Ἰερεμίας was one of the 'greater prophets ' of the Hebrew Bible. Deuteronomy (Greek deuteronomion, Δευτερονόμιον "second law" is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament For the Celtic Frost album see Monotheist (album In Theology, monotheism (from Greek grc [[wiktμόνος μόνος]] Polytheism is belief in or worship of multiple Gods (usually assembled in a pantheon) together with associated Mythology and Rituals Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the For according to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars to the abominination, altars to burn incense to the Ba‘al.

Multiple Ba‘als and ‘Ashtarts

One finds in the Tanach the plural forms b^ə‘ālîm 'Ba‘als' or 'Lords' and ‘aštārôt '‘Ashtarts', though such plurals don't appear in Phoenician or Canaanite or independent Aramaic sources.

One theory is that the people of each territory or in each wandering clan worshipped their own Ba‘al, as the chief deity of each, the source of all the gifts of nature, the mysterious god of their fathers. As the god of fertility all the produce of the soil would be his, and his adherents would bring to him their tribute of first-fruits. Fertility is the natural capability of giving life As a measure "Fertility Rate" is the number of children born per couple person or population He would be the patron of all growth and fertility, and, by the use of analogy characteristic of early thought, this Ba'al would be the god of the productive element in its widest sense. Originating perhaps in the observation of the fertilizing effect of rains and streams upon the receptive and reproductive soil, Ba'al worship became identical with nature-worship. Joined with the Ba'als there would naturally be corresponding female figures which might be called 'Ashtarts, embodiments of 'Ashtart. Astarte (from Greek Ἀστάρτη ( Astártē) is the name of a Goddess as known from Northwestern Semitic regions cognate in name origin Ba'al Hadad is associated with the goddess "Virgin" Anat, his sister and lover. Anat, also ‘Anat is a major northwest Semitic goddess ‘Anat in Ugarit In the Ugaritic Ba‘al / Hadad cycle ‘Anat

Through analogy and through the belief that one can control or aid the powers of nature by the practice of magic, particularly sympathetic magic, sexuality might characterize part of the cult of the Ba'als and 'Ashtarts. Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a Conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events objects people and Sympathetic magic, also known as imitative magic, is a type of magic based on imitation or correspondence Post-Exilic allusions to the cult of Ba‘al Pe'or suggest that orgies prevailed. On the summits of hills and mountains flourished the cult of the givers of increase, and "under every green tree" was practised the licentiousness which was held to secure abundance of crops. Human sacrifice, the burning of incense, violent and ecstatic exercises, ceremonial acts of bowing and kissing, the preparing of sacred cakes (see also Asherah), appear among the offences denounced by the post-Exilic prophets; and show that the cult of Ba'al (and 'Ashtart) included characteristic features of worship which recur in various parts of the Semitic (and non-Semitic) world, although attached to other names. Human sacrifice is the act of Homicide (the Killing of one or several Human beings in the context of a Religious ritual ( ritual killing Incense is composed of Aromatic biotic materials It releases fragrant Smoke when burned Asherah (from Hebrew אשרה generally taken as identical with the Ugaritic goddess Athirat (more accurately transcribed as ʼAṯirat) was But it is also possible that such rites were performed to a local Ba'al 'Lord' and a local 'Ashtart without much concern as to whether or not they were the same as that of a nearby community or how they fitted into the national theology of Yahweh who had become a ruling high god of the heavens, increasingly disassociated from such things, at least in the minds of some worshippers.

Another theory is that the references to Ba'als and 'Ashtarts (and Asherahs) are to images or other standard symbols of these deities, that is statues and icons of Ba'al Hadad, 'Ashtart, and Asherah set up in various high places as well as those of other gods, the author listing the most prominent as types for all. The Deuteronomistic editor is as angered and saddened by worshiping of images as by worshiping divinities other than Yahweh and wishes to emphasize the plurality of false deities as opposed to true worship of Yahweh at his single temple in Jerusalem as called for in the reforms of Josiah. Josiah or Yoshiyahu ( was king of Judah, and son of Amon and Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.

A reminiscence of Ba'al as a title of a local fertility god (or referring to a particular god of subterraneous water) may occur in the Talmudic Hebrew phrases field of the ba'al and place of the ba'al and Arabic ba'l used of land fertilised by subterraneous waters rather than by rain. The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language

Common confusion over Ba'al

Because the word Ba'al is used as a common substitute for the sacred name Hadad, confusion often arises when the same word is used for other deities, physical representations of gods and even people.

Historically, this confusion was resolved in the nineteenth century as new archaeological evidence indicated multiple gods bearing the title Ba'al and little about them that connected them to the sun. In 1899, the Encyclopædia Biblica article Baal by W. Robertson Smith and George F. Moore states:

That Baal was primarily a sun-god was for a long time almost a dogma among scholars, and is still often repeated. This doctrine is connected with theories of the origin of religion which are now almost universally abandoned. The worship of the heavenly bodies is not the beginning of religion. Moreover, there was not, as this theory assumes, one god Baal, worshipped under different forms and names by the Semitic peoples, but a multitude of local Baals, each the inhabitant of his own place, the protector and benefactor of those who worshipped him there. Even in the astro-theology of the Babylonians the star of Bēl was not the sun: it was the planet Jupiter. Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq There is no intimation in the OT that any of the Canaanite Baals were sun-gods, or that the worship of the sun (Shemesh), of which we have ample evidence, both early and late, was connected with that of the Baals ; in 2 K. 2₃₅ cp ₁₁ the cults are treated as distinct.

The demon entitled Baal

Main article: Baal (demon)

Other spellings: Bael, Baël (French), Baell.

Baal is sometimes seen as a demon in Christianity. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings This is a potential source of confusion.

Until archaeological digs at Ras Shamra and Ebla uncovered texts explaining the Syrian pantheon, the demon Ba‘al Zebûb was frequently confused with various Semitic spirits and deities entitled Baal, whereas in some Christian writings, it might refer to a high-ranking devil or to Satan himself. Ugarit ( Ugaritic: ʼugrt; Hebrew:; Arabic:) (modern Ras Shamra رأس شمرة ("top/head/cape of the wild Fennel Ebla ( Arabic: عبيل، إيبلا modern Tell Mardikh, Syria) was an ancient city about 55 km southwest of Aleppo. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Satan, ( Standard Hebrew Satan'el, English accuser) is a term that originates from the Abrahamic faiths, being traditionally

In the ancient world of the Persian Empire, as monotheistic strains of thought were gaining steam, from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, worship of inanimate idols of wood and metal was being rejected in favor of the one living God. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia For the Celtic Frost album see Monotheist (album In Theology, monotheism (from Greek grc [[wiktμόνος μόνος]] The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface In the Levant the idols were called "ba'als", each of which represented a local spirit-deity or "demon". See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the Worship of all such spirits was rejected as immoral, and many were in fact considered malevolent and dangerous.

Early demonologists, unaware of Hadad or that "Ba'al" in the Bible referred to any number of local spirits, came to regard the term as referring to but one personage. Demonology (from Greek grc δαίμων daimōn, "demon" and grc -λογία -logia) is the systematic study of Baal (usually spelt "Bael" in this context; there is a possibility that the two figures are not connected) was ranked as the first and principal king in Hell, ruling over the East. Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering According to some authors Baal is a duke, with 66 legions of demons under his command.

During the English Puritan period, Baal was either compared to Satan or considered his main lieutenant. A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of Worship and Doctrine, According to Francis Barrett, he has the power to make those who invoke him invisible. Francis Barrett (born probably in London around 1770 - 1780) was an English Occultist Barrett an Englishman claimed himself to

While the Semitic high god Ba'al Hadad was depicted as a human, a ram, or a bull, the demon Bael was in grimoire tradition said to appear in the forms of a man, cat, toad, or combinations thereof. A grimoire (grɪˈmwɑr is a textbook of magic. Books of this genre typically giving instructions for invoking Angels or Demons performing An illustration in Collin de Plancy's 1818 book Dictionnaire Infernal rather curiously placed the heads of the three creatures onto a set of spider legs. Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy (1793-1887 was a French occultist demonologist and writer he published several works on Cultism and Demonology. The Dictionnaire Infernal (Infernal Dictionary is a book on Demonology, organised in hellish hierarchies. Spiders are Predatory Invertebrate Animals that have two body segments, eight legs no chewing mouth parts and no wings

In 1979, Jeff Rovin added to the confusion with The Fantasy Encyclopedia, in which Astaroth was given Baal's likeness, including in a new illustration. Jeff Rovin is an Author of many How to Play video game books which were popular in the 1980s and 1990s In Demonology Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot, and Asteroth) is a Prince of Hell. This error has been repeated elsewhere, such as a Baal-like Astaroth as #102 in the Monster in My Pocket series. Monster in My Pocket is a media franchise developed by Morrison Entertainment Group headed by Joe Morrison and John Weems (two former senior executives at Mattel)

Ba'al Zebûb

Main article: Beelzebub

Another version of the demon Baal is Beelzebub, or more accurately Ba‘al Zebûb or Ba‘al Z^əbûb (Hebrew בעל-זבוב, Ba'al zvuv), who was originally the name of a deity worshipped in the Philistine city of Ekron. Ba‘al Zebûb, Ba‘al Zəbûb or Ba‘al Zəvûv ( Hebrew בעל זבוב, with numerous variants appears as the The Philistines ( Hebrew פלשתים plishtim) (see "other uses" below were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan, The city of Ekron (עֶקְרוֹן ʿeqrōn, also transliterated Accaron) Ba‘al Zebûb might mean 'Lord of Zebûb', referring to an unknown place named Zebûb, a pun with 'Lord of flies', zebûb being a Hebrew collective noun meaning 'fly'. A pun (or paronomasia) is a Phrase that deliberately exploits confusion between similar-sounding Words for humorous or Rhetorical This may mean that the Hebrews were derogating the god of their enemy. Later, Christian writings referred to Ba‘al Zebûb as a demon or devil, often interchanged with Beelzebul. The Devil is the Either form may appear as an alternate name for Satan or may appear to refer to the name of a lesser devil. As with several religions, the names of any earlier foreign or "pagan" deities often became synonymous with the concept of an adversarial entity. Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "country dweller rustic" is a word used to refer to various religions and religious beliefs from across the world The demonization of Ba‘al Zebûb led to much of the modern religious personification of Satan as the adversary of the Abrahamic God. Demonization is the reinterpretation of polytheistic deities as Demons by other religions generally monotheistic and Henotheistic ones

Some scholars have suggested that Ba'al Zebul which means 'lord prince' was deliberately changed by the worshippers of Yahweh to Ba'al Zebub ('lord of the flies') in order to ridicule and protest the worship of Ba'al Zebul. (NIV Study Bible published by Zondervan)

Non-religious usage of Ba'al

Ba'al (Bet-Ayin-Lamed; בַּעַל / בָּעַל, Standard Hebrew Báʕal, Tiberian Hebrew Báʕal / Báʕal) is a northwest Semitic word signifying 'The Lord, master, owner (male), keeper, husband' cognate with Akkadian Bēl of the same meanings. Bet, Beth, or Vet is the second letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician For the village in Azerbaijan see Əyin. or is the sixteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Lamed or Lamedh is the twelfth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Lamed and Arabic Tiberian Hebrew is an extinct (yet very well documented Oral tradition of pronunciation for ancient Hebrew, especially the Hebrew of the Tanakh, that was The Semitic languages are a Language family whose living representatives are spoken by more than 467 million people across much of the Middle East, Bel (beɪl from Akkadian bēlu) signifying "lord" or "master" is a Title rather than a genuine name applied to various gods The feminine form is Phoenician בעלת Baʕalat, Hebrew בַּעֲלָה Baʕ^alah signifying 'lady, mistress, owner (female), wife'. Phoenician was a language originally spoken in the coastal region then called Pūt in Ancient Egyptian Canaan in Phoenician, Hebrew, and

The words themselves had no exclusively religious connotation, just as "father" or "lord" are used in religious meaning today—but they were not used in reference between a superior and an inferior or of a master to a slave. The words were used as titles in reference to one or various gods and goddesses, either in declaration of the deity as the Lord or Lady of a particular place (or rite), or standing alone as a term of reverence. Polytheism is belief in or worship of multiple Gods (usually assembled in a pantheon) together with associated Mythology and Rituals

Ba'al in Judaism

From the Tanach: Genesis 14:13 ba‘^alê b^ərît-’Abrām 'lords of the covenant of Abram', i. See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is e. 'holders of an agreement with Abram', i. e. 'confederates of Abram' or 'allies of Abram'; Genesis 20:3: b^ə‘ulat bā‘al 'lady of a lord', i. e. 'wife of a man'; Genesis 37:19: ba‘al haḥ^alōmôt 'lord of the dreams', i. e. 'the one who made himself important in his dreams' or simply 'the dreamer'; Exodus 21:3: ba‘al ’iššâ 'lord of a woman', i. e. 'married man'; Exodus 21:22: ba‘al hā’iššâ 'lord of the woman', i. e. 'husband of the woman'; Exodus 24:14: mî-ba‘al dəbārîm 'who (is) lord of matters', i. e. 'whoever possesses some matter', i. e. 'whoever has a problem'; Leviticus 21:4: ba‘al b^ə‘ēmmā^yw 'lord in his people', i. e. 'man of importance among his people'; Deuteronomy 24:4: ba‘lāh hāri^’šôn 'her lord the former', i. e. 'her former husband'; and so forth. But these should suffice to show the range of the words.

Rabbi Meir, one of Judaism's greatest second century Tannaim is known as “רבי מאיר בעל-הנס - Rabbi Meir Baal Haneis” (“Rabbi Meir, Master of Miracles”) due to miracles he performed to save people from harm. Rabbi Meir or Reb Meir Baal Haneis (or Hanes (lit Rabbi Meir Master of the Miracle) was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishna. word /š n/ and /t n/ -->

In medieval Judaism, a rabbi versed in mysticism was called Ba‘al Shem 'Master of the Name' with no perception of any connection with Ba‘al as a title for a pagan god. Rabbi (pronunciation, although in English usually) in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’ or more literally ‘my great one’ when addressing any master Baal Shem in Hebrew translates as "Master of the Name", and is almost always used in reference to Israel ben Eliezer the Rabbi who founded Hasidic Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (1698–1760) who founded the Hassidic movement, was commonly known during his later life as Ba‘al Shem Tov ("Good Master of the Name") and is still commonly called by that title today. Rabbi Yisroel (Israel ben Eliezer (רבי ישראל בן אליעזר August 27, 1698 (18 Elul &ndash May 22, 1760) often called Year 1760 ( MDCCLX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew Rabbi Yisroel (Israel ben Eliezer (רבי ישראל בן אליעזר August 27, 1698 (18 Elul &ndash May 22, 1760) often called

Ba'al in Fiction

Baal is the name of the amoral protagonist of Bertolt Brecht's first play (1918), itself made into an opera of the same name (1980) by Friedrich Cerha. Baal was the first full-length play written by the German modernist Playwright Bertolt Brecht. (born; 10 February 1898&ndash14 August 1956 was a German Poet, Playwright, and Theatre director. Friedrich Cerha (born February 17, 1926 in Vienna) is an Austrian composer and conductor

Baal is the antichrist in the Robert R. McCammon novel by the same name. For other uses see Antichrist (disambiguation In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist or anti-Christ means a person office Robert R McCammon (born July 11, 1952) is an American Novelist from Birmingham Alabama.

Ba'al is a member of the fictional alien race, the Goa'uld, portrayed by Cliff Simon in the Science-Fiction television series Stargate SG-1 who makes appearances in seasons 5 through 10. This is a list of the Goa'uld characters that have appeared so far in Stargate, Stargate SG-1, and Stargate Atlantis. In the Science fiction Television series Stargate SG-1, the Goa'uld (pronounced go-ah-OOLD or, commonly mispronounced or shortened Cliff Simon (born 7 September, 1962) is a South African athlete and actor most famous for his portrayal of Ba'al in Stargate SG-1

Baal is the Lord of Destruction, one of the three brother demons and rulers of Hell called the 'Prime Evils' in the video game Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. Diablo II Lord of Destruction (commonly abbreviated LoD) is an Expansion pack for the Hack and slash Action role-playing

In the video game "Baldur's Gate", you play the role of one of the son of Bhaal. In Baldur's gate II and extension "Throne of Bhaal" you meet and fight all the other sons of Bhaal.

In the RPG In Nomine Satanis/Magna Veritas and its American remake In Nomine Baal is Hell's Demon Prince of War, and has a deep, but somewhat friendly, rivalry with the Archangel Michael. In Nomine Satanis/Magna Veritas is a French Role-playing game, created by Croc. In Nomine is a Role-playing game designed by Derek Pearcy and published in 1997 by Steve Jackson Games, based on the French game Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering Archangels are superior or higher-ranking Angels Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions including Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism Michael (מִיכָאֵל Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; Μιχαήλ Mikhaíl; Michael or Míchaël; ميخائيل Mikhā'īl) is an

Baal appears (along with Oribas, Gaap, Asmodeus, Astaroth, and Amon) as one of the six most powerful demon crests in the game Shadow Hearts: Covenant. In Demonology, Gaap is a mighty Prince and Great President of Hell, commanding sixty-six legions of Demons He is according to The Lesser Key In Demonology Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot, and Asteroth) is a Prince of Hell. Shadow Hearts Covenant is a Console role-playing game developed by Nautilus and published by Midway 2004 It is depicted with bird-like features and sadistic illusionist tendencies by pretending to be the character's deceased daughter/wife to get him to commit suicide. Ironically, he was depicted (with the other 63 demons available) to be controlled by King Solomon. King Solomon ( Ge'ez: ስለሞን Arabic: ar سليمان, Sulayman, all from the Triliteral root S-L-M, "peace"

Not directly referenced as Ba'al, but Beelzebub or 'The Lord of the Flies' was a demonic figure depicted as a sow's head planted on a stick sharpened at two ends, who speaks to the Jesus figure, Simon, in William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies. Ba‘al Zebûb, Ba‘al Zəbûb or Ba‘al Zəvûv ( Hebrew בעל זבוב, with numerous variants appears as the Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) See also Simeon Simon is a common name from Hebrew שִׁמְעוֹן Šimʿon, meaning "he has heard" Sir William Gerald Golding ( 19 September, 1911 – 19 June, 1993) was a British novelist poet and Nobel Prize for Literature Lord of the Flies is an allegorical Novel by Nobel Prize -winning author William Golding.

In multiple SRPG games made by Nippon Ichi Software (most notably, the Disgaea series), Baal often appears as an optional boss, and the strongest opponent in the game. is a tactical role-playing Video game developed by Nippon Ichi Software and published by Nippon Ichi Software in Japan, Atlus USA Inc

In the role-playing game Vampire: the Masquerade, a primarily antagonistic vampire clan called the Baali are said to be somehow connected the demonic Baal, a connection reinforced by the preponderance of infernal and demonic themes present in the clan. Created by Mark Rein·Hagen, Vampire The Masquerade was the first of White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness live-action

In Warhammer 40,000, Baal is the fictional home planet of the vampiristic Blood Angels

In the PlayStation game Grandia, Baal is the main antagonist. Grandia is a Console role-playing game series created by Game Arts.

See also

• Adon
• Adonis
• Ars Goetia
• Ba'al (Stargate)
• Ba‘al Shamîm
• Baal Peor
• Beelzebub
• Bel
• Belial
• Canaanite religion
• El-Gabal
• Hadad
• Melqart
• Moloch
• Set
• The Lesser Key of Solomon

Notes

External links

• The Catholic Encyclopedia, entry "Baal, Baalim"
• Jewish Encyclopedia, entries "Ba'al", "Ba'al-worship", "Ba'al-Ha-bayit" etc
• Article Baal by W. Robertson Smith and George F. Moore in Encyclopædia Biblica,(edited T. K. Cheyne and J. Sutherland Black), MacMillan: London, 1899) (PDF format. Still quite accurate. )
• Bartleby: American Heritage Dictionary: Semitic roots: b^cl.
• Punic images of Baal Hammon described.
• Iconography of Baal (PDF format)
• Rabbi Meir Baal Haneis

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