Editing Baal (section)

==Judaism==
[[File:Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 116.png|thumb|''Slaughter of the Prophets of Baal'', 1860 woodcut by [[Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld]]]]
Baʿal (בַּעַל) appears about 90 times in the [[Hebrew Bible]] in reference to various gods.{{sfnp|Herrmann|1999a|p=132}} The priests of the Canaanite Baʿal are mentioned numerous times, most prominently in the [[First Book of Kings]]. Many scholars believe that this describes [[Jezebel]]'s attempt to introduce the worship of the Baʿal of [[Ancient Tyre|Tyre]], [[Melqart]],<ref name="Josephus">[[Josephus]], ''[[Antiquities (Josephus)|Antiquities]]'', 8.13.1.</ref> to the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Israelite]] capital [[Samaria]] in the 9th century&nbsp;BCE.{{sfnp|''BEWR''|2006|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dbibAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA102 "Baal"]}} Against this, [[John Day (Old Testament scholar)|Day]] argues that Jezebel's Baʿal was more probably [[Baʿal Shamem]], the Lord of the Heavens, a title most often applied to Hadad, who is also often titled just Ba‘al.{{sfnp|Day|2000|p=75}}

[[1 Kings]] 18 records an account of a contest between the [[prophet (Bible)|prophet]] [[Elijah]] and Jezebel's priests. Both sides offered a [[sacrifice]] to their respective gods: Ba'al failed to light his followers' sacrifice while [[Yahweh]]'s heavenly fire burnt Elijah's altar to ashes, even after it had been soaked with water. The observers then followed Elijah's instructions to slay the priests of Baʿal,<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Kings|18|HE}}</ref> after which it began to rain, showing Yahweh's mastery over the weather.

Other references to the priests of Baʿal describe their burning of [[incense]] in [[prayer]]<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Kings|23:5|HE}}.</ref> and their offering of [[sacrifice]] while adorned in special [[vestment]]s.<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Kings|10:22|HE}}</ref>

===Yahweh===
{{main|Yahweh|Names of God in Judaism}}
The title ''baʿal'' was a synonym in some contexts of the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''[[adon]]'' ("Lord") and ''[[adonai]]'' ("My Lord") still used as aliases of the Lord of Israel [[Yahweh]]. According to some scholars, the [[Hebrew people|early Hebrews]] did use the names Baʿal ("Lord") and Baʿali ("My Lord") in reference to the Lord of Israel, just as Baʿal farther north designated the Lord of [[Ugarit]] or Lebanon.{{sfnp|''BEWR''|2006|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dbibAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA102 "Baal"]}}{{sfnp|Smith|1878|pp=175–176}} This occurred both directly and as the divine element of some Hebrew [[theophoric name]]s. However, according to others 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.{{sfnp|Herrmann|1999a|p=136}} Names including the element Baʿal presumably in reference to Yahweh{{sfnp|Ayles|1904|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=nwQ9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA103 103]}}{{sfnp|Smith|1878|pp=175–176}} include the [[judge (Judaism)|judge]] [[Gideon]] (also known as Jerubaʿal, {{abbr|lit.|literally}}&nbsp;"The Lord Strives"), [[Saul the King|Saul]]'s son [[Ish-bosheth|Eshbaʿal]] ("The Lord is Great"), and [[David]]'s son Beeliada ("The Lord Knows"). The name [[Bealiah]] ("The Lord is [[Jah]]"; "Yahweh is Baʿal"){{sfnp|''AYBD''|1992|loc="Baal (Deity)"}} combined the two.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Chron.|12:5|HE}}.</ref>{{sfnp|Easton|1893|loc="[https://archive.org/stream/illustratedbible00east#page/86/mode/2up Beali′ah]"}} However John Day states that as far as the names Eshba’al, Meriba’al, and Beeliada (that is Baaliada), are concerned it is not certain whether they simply allude to the Canaanite god Ba’al, or are intended to equate Yahweh with Ba’al, or have no connection to Ba’al.{{sfnp|Day|2000|p=72}}

It was the program of [[Jezebel]], in the 9th century&nbsp;BCE, to introduce into Israel's capital city of Samaria her Phoenician worship of Baal as opposed to the worship of [[Yahweh]] that made the name anathema to the Israelites.{{sfnp|''BEWR''|2006|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dbibAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA102 "Baal"]}}
{{blockquote|At first the name Baal<!--sic--> was used by the [[Jews]] for their God without discrimination, but as the struggle between the two religions developed, the name Baal was given up by the Israelites as a thing of shame, and even names like Jerubbaal<!--sic--> were changed to Jerubbosheth: Hebrew ''bosheth'' means "shame".{{sfnp|''ZPBD''|1963}}}} Eshbaʿal became [[Ish-bosheth]]{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} and Meribaʿal became [[Mephibosheth]],<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Chron.|9:40|HE}}.</ref>{{original research inline|date=March 2022}} but other possibilities also occurred. Gideon's name Jerubaʿal was mentioned intact but glossed as a mockery of the Canaanite god, implying that he strove in vain.<ref>{{bibleverse|Judges|6:32|HE}}.</ref>{{original research inline|date=March 2022}} Direct use of Baʿali continued at least as late as the time of the [[prophet (Judaism)|prophet]] [[Hosea]], who reproached the Israelites for doing so.<ref>{{bibleverse|Hosea|2:16|HE}}</ref>

Brad E. Kelle has suggested that references to cultic sexual practices in the worship of Baal, in Hosea 2, are evidence of an historical situation in which Israelites were either giving up Yahweh worship for Baal, or blending the two.  Hosea's references to sexual acts being metaphors for Israelite "apostasy".{{sfnp|Kelle|2005|p=137}}

Brian P. Irwin argues that "Baal" in northern Israelite traditions is a form of Yahweh that was rejected as foreign by the prophets. In southern Israelite traditions, "Baal" was a god that was worshipped in Jerusalem. His worshippers saw him as compatible or identical with Yahweh and honored him with human sacrifices and fragrant meal offerings. Eventually, the [[The Chronicler|Chronicler(s)]] disapproved of both "Baals" whilst the [[Deuteronomist]]s used "Baals" for any god they disapproved of.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Irwin |first=Brian P. |date=1999 |title=Baal and Yahweh in the Old Testament: A Fresh Examination of the Biblical and Extra-Biblical Data |url=https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/73647 |journal=University of St. Michael's College|type=Thesis }}</ref>

Likewise, Mark S. Smith believes Yahweh was more likely to be inspired by Baal rather than El, since both are stormy divine warriors and lack the pacifistic traits of El according to the Ugaritic texts and Hebrew Bible.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=van Oorschot |first1=Jürgen |title=The Origins of Yahwism |last2=Witte |first2=Markus |date=2019 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3110656701 |pages=23–43}}</ref>

{{anchor|Baal Berith|Ba'al Berith}}

===Baʿal Berith===
{{main|Baʿal Berith}}
[[Baʿal Berith]] ("Lord of the [[Biblical covenant|Covenant]]") was a god worshipped by the [[Israelites]] when they "went astray" after the death of [[Gideon]] according to the [[Hebrew Scriptures]].<ref name=jdg8>{{bibleverse|Jgs.|8:33–34|HE}}.</ref> The same source relates that Gideon's son [[Abimelech (Judges)|Abimelech]] went to his mother's kin at [[Shechem]] and received 70 [[shekel]]s of [[silver]] "from the House of Baʿal Berith" to assist in killing his 70 brothers from Gideon's other wives.<ref>{{bibleverse|Jgs.|9:1–5|HE}}.</ref> An earlier passage had made Shechem the scene of [[Joshua]]'s covenant between all the [[tribes of Israel]] and "[[El (god)|El]] [[Yahweh]], our [[El (god)|god]] of [[Israelites|Israel]]"<ref>{{bibleverse|Josh.|24:1–25|HE}}.</ref> and a later one describes it as the location of the "House of El Berith".<ref>{{bibleverse|Jgs.|9:46|HE}}.</ref> It is thus unclear whether the false worship of the "Baʿalim" being decried<ref name=jdg8/> is the worship of a new idol or rites and [[henotheism|teachings]] placing Yahweh as a mere local god within a larger pantheon. The Hebrew Scriptures record the worship of Baʿal threatening [[Israelites|Israel]] from the time of the [[Judge (Judaism)|Judges]] until the [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|monarchy]].{{sfnp|Smith|2002|loc=Ch.&nbsp;2}} However, during the period of Judges such worship seems to have been an occasional deviation from a deeper and more constant worship of Yahweh:
{{blockquote|Throughout all the stories of Judges the popular faith in YHWH runs as a powerful current. This faith raises the judges, and inspires 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. Baal prophets appeared in Israel centuries later; but during the age of the judges when Israel is supposed to have been most deeply affected by the religion of Canaan, there are no Baal priests or prophets, nor any other intimation of a vital effect of polytheism in Israel’s life.<ref>[[Yehezkel Kaufmann]], ''The Religion of Israel: From Its Beginnings to the Babylonian Exile'' (1972), p.138-139:</ref>}}

The [[Deuteronomist]]<ref>{{bibleverse|Deut.|4:1–40|HE}}</ref> and the present form of [[Book of Jeremiah#Composition|Jeremiah]]<ref>{{bibleverse|Jer.|11:12–13|HE}}</ref> seem to phrase the struggle as [[monolatry]] or [[monotheism]] against [[polytheism]]. Yahweh is frequently identified in the Hebrew scriptures with [[Elyon|El Elyon]], however, this was after a conflation with El in a process of religious [[syncretism]].{{sfn|Smith|2002|page=8}} ''’El'' ({{langx|he|אל}}) became a generic term meaning "god", as opposed to the name of a worshipped deity, and epithets such as [[El Shaddai]] came to be applied to Yahweh alone, while Baal's nature as a storm and weather god became assimilated into Yahweh's own identification with the storm.{{sfn|Smith|2002|page=8, 135}} In the next stage the Yahwistic religion separated itself from its Canaanite heritage, first by 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", practices pertaining to the dead, and other matters.{{sfn|Smith|2002|page=9}}

[[File:Beelzebub.png|right|150px|thumb|alt=Paris, 1825|"Beelzebub" in the 1863 edition of [[Jacques Collin de Plancy]]'s ''[[Dictionnaire Infernal]]''.]]
{{anchor|Baal Zebub|Baʿal Zebub}}

===Beelzebub===
{{Main|Beelzebub}}
Baʿal Zebub ({{langx|he|{{linktext|בעל זבוב}}}}, <small>{{abbr|lit.|literally}}</small>&nbsp;"[[Fly]] Lord"){{sfnp|Arndt & al.|2000|p=173}}{{sfnp|Balz & al.|2004|p=211}}{{efn|"The etymology of Beelzebul has proceeded in several directions. The variant reading Beelzebub (Syriac translators and Jerome) reflects a long-standing tradition of equating Beelzebul with the Philistine deity of the city of Ekron mentioned in 2 Kgs 1:2, 3, 6, 16. Baalzebub (Heb ba˓al zĕbûb) seems to mean “lord of flies” (HALAT, 250, but cf. LXXB baal muian theon akkarōn, “Baal-Fly, god of Akkaron”; Ant 9:2, 1 theon muian)."{{sfnp|''AYBD''|1992|loc="Beelzebul"}}}} occurs in the first chapter of the [[Second Book of Kings]] as the name of the [[Philistines|Philistine]] god of [[Ekron]]. In it, [[Ahaziah of Israel|Ahaziah]], [[kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|king of Israel]], is said to have consulted the priests of Baʿal Zebub as to whether he would survive the injuries from his recent fall. The [[prophet (Judaism)|prophet]] [[Elijah]], incensed at this impiety, then foretold that he would die quickly, raining heavenly fire on the soldiers sent to punish him for doing so.<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Kings|1:1–18|HE}}.</ref> [[Jewish]] scholars have interpreted the title of "Lord of the Flies" as the Hebrew way of calling Baʿal a [[feces|pile of dung]] and his followers [[vermin]],{{sfnp|Kohler|1902}}{{sfnp|Lurker|1987|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Vtj0wSsw1JcC&pg=PA31 31]}} although others argue for a link to power over causing and curing [[infection|pestilence]] and thus suitable for Ahaziah's question.{{sfnp|Herrmann|1999b}} The [[Septuagint]] renders the name as ''Baälzeboúb'' ({{lang|grc|βααλζεβούβ}}) and as "Baʿal of Flies" ({{lang|grc|βααλ μυιαν}}, ''Baäl muian''). [[Symmachus the Ebionite]] rendered it as ''Beëlzeboúl'' ({{lang|grc|Βεελζεβούλ}}), possibly reflecting its original sense.{{sfnp|Souvay|1907}}{{efn|Arndt & al. reverse this, saying Symmachus transcribed ''Baälzeboúb'' for a more common ''Beëlzeboúl''.{{sfnp|Arndt & al.|2000|p=173}}}} This has been proposed to have been ''B‘l Zbl'', [[Ugaritic language|Ugaritic]] for "Prince Baal".{{sfnp|Wex|2005}}{{efn|"It is more probable that b‘l zbl, which can mean “lord of the (heavenly) dwelling” in Ugaritic, was changed to b‘l zbb to make the divine name an opprobrius epithet. The reading Beelzebul in Mt. 10:25 would then reflect the right form of the name, a wordplay on “master of the house” (Gk oikodespótēs)."{{sfnp|McIntosh|1989}}}}{{efn|"An alternative suggested by many is to connect zĕbûl with a noun meaning '(exalted) abode.'"{{sfnp|''AYBD''|1992|loc="Beelzebul"}}}}{{efn|"In contemporary Semitic speech it may have been understood as ‘the master of the house’; if so, this phrase could be used in a double sense in Mt. 10:25b."{{sfnp|Bruce|1996}}}}