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(Hebrew Bá'ál;plural, Be'alîm.)
A word which belongs to the oldest stock of theSemite vocabulary and primarily means "lord", "owner". So in Hebrew, a man is styled baal of a house (Exodus 22:7;Judges 19:22), of a field (Job 21:39), of cattle (Exodus 21:28;Isaiah 1:3) of wealth (Eccles, v, 12), even of a wife (Exodus 21:3; cf.Genesis 3:16). Thewomen's position in the Oriental home explains why she is never calledBá'alah of her husband). So also we read of a ram, "baal" of two horns (Dan, viii, 6, 20), of a baal of two wings (i.e. fowl: Eccles., x, 20). Joseph was scornfully termed by his brother a baal of dreams (Genesis 37:19). And so on. (See2 Kings 1:8:Isaiah 41:15;Genesis 49:23;Exodus 24:14, etc.) Inscriptions afford scores of evidence of the word being similarly used in the otherSemitic languages. In the Hebrew Bible, the plural,be'alîm, is found with the various meanings of the singular; whereas in ancient and modern translations it is used only as a referringdeities. It has been asserted by several commentators that bybaalim the emblems or images of Baal (hámmanîm, máççebhôth, etc.) should be understood. This view is hardly supported by the texts, which regularly points out, sometimes contemptuously, the local or other special Baals.
When applied to a deity, the word Baal retained its connotation of ownership, and was, therefore, usually qualified. The documents speak, for instance, of the Baal ofTyre, of Harran, ofTarsus, of Herman, of Lebanon of Tamar (a river south ofBeirut), ofheaven. Moreover, several Baals enjoyed special attributions: there was a Baal of the Covenant (Bá'ál Berîth (Judges 8:33;9:4); cf.'El Berîth (ibid., ix, 46); one of the flies (Bá'ál Zebub,2 Kings 1:2, 3, 6, 16); there also probably was one of dance (Bá'ál Márqôd); perhaps one of medicine (Bá'ál Márphê), and so on. Among all theSemites, the word, under one form or another (Bá'ál in the West and South;Bel in Assyria;Bal,Bol, orBel in Palmyra) constantly recurs to express the deity's lordship over the world or some part of it. Not were all the Baals — of different tribes, places, sanctuaries — necessarily conceived as identical; each one might have his own nature and his own name; the partly fish shaped Baal of Arvad was probablyDagon; the Baal of Lebanon, possible Cid "the hunter"; the Baal of Harran, the moon-god; whereas in several Sabean Minaean cities, and in manyChanaanite,Phoenician, or Palmyrene shrines, the sun was the Baal worshipped, although Hadad seems to have been the chief Baal among the Syrians. The diversity of theOld Testament intimates by speaking ofBaalim, in the plural, and specifying the singularBaal either by the article or by the addition of another word.
What the original conception was is most obscure. According to W.R. Smith, the Baal is a localGod who, by fertilizing his own district through springs and streams, becomes its lawful owner. Good authorities, nevertheless, oppose this view, and reversing the above argument, hold that the Baal is the genius-lord of the place and of all the elements that cause its fecundity; it is he who gives "bread, water, wool, flax, oil, and drink" (Hosea 2:5; in the Hebrew text 2:7); he is the male principle of life and reproduction in nature, and such is sometimeshonoured by acts of the foulest sensuality. Whether or not thisidea sprang from, and led to themonotheistic conception of supreme deity, the Lord ofHeaven, of whom the various Baals would be so many manifestations, we shall leave to scholars to decide. Some deem that the bible favours this view, for its language frequently seems to imply thebelief in a Baalpar excellence.
The evidence is hardly of such weight as to justify us in speaking of a worship of Baal. The Baal-worship so often alluded to and described inHoly Writ might, perhaps, be better styled, Çid-worship, moon-worship, Melek (Moloch)-worship, or Hadad-worship, according to places and circumstances. Many of the practices mentioned were most probable common to the worship of all the Baals; a few others are certainly specific.
A custom common amongSemites should be noticed here. Moved, most likely, by the desire to secure the protection of the local Baal for their children, theSemites always showed a preference for names compounded with that of the deity; those of Hasdrubal ('Azrû Bá'ál), Hannibal (Hanni Bá'ál), Baltasar, or Belshazzar (Bel-sar-Ushshur), have become famous in history. Scores of such names belonging to different nationalities are recorded in theBible, and in ancient writers, and in inscriptions.
The worship of Baal was performed in the sacred precincts of the high places so numerous throughout the country (Numbers 22:41;33:52;Deuteronomy 12:2, etc) or intemples like those ofSamaria (1 Kings 16:32;2 Kings 10:21-27) andJerusalem (2 Kings 11:18), even on the terraced roofs of the houses (2 Kings 23:12;Jeremiah 32:29). The furniture of these sanctuaries probably varied with the Baalshonoured there. Near the altar which existed everywhere (Judges 6:25;1 Kings 18:26;2 Kings 11:18;Jeremiah 11:13, etc.), might be found, according to the particular place, either an image of the deity (Hadad was symbolized by a calf), or thebætylion (i.e. sacred stone, regularly cone-shaped inChanaan) supposed to have been originally intended to represent the world, abode of the god; of thehammanim (very possible sunpillars;Leviticus 26:30;2 Chronicles 24:4, etc.), andasherah (wrongly interpreted grove in our Bibles;Judges 6:25;1 Kings 14:23;2 Kings 17:10;Jeremiah 17:2 etc.), a sacred pole, sometimes, possible, a tree, the original signification of which is far from clear, together with votive or commemorative stelae (máççebhôth, usually mistranslated images), more or less ornamented. Thereincense and perfumes were burned (2 Kings 22:5;Jeremiah 7:9,11:13, and according to the Hebrew, 32:29), libations poured (Jeremiah 19:13), andsacrifices of oxen and other animals offered up to the Baal; we hear even (Jeremiah 7:31;19:5;32:35;2 Chronicles 28:3) that children of both sexes were not infrequently burned in sacrifice to Melek (D. V.Moloch,A.V. Molech), and2 Chronicles 28:3 (perhaps also2 Kings 21:6) tells us that young princes were occasionally chosen as victims to this stern deity. In several shrines long trains ofpriests, distributed into several classes (1 Kings 18:19;2 Kings 10:19;23:5;Zephaniah 1:4, etc.) and clad in special attire (2 Kings 10:22) performed the sacred function; theyprayed, shouted to the Baal, led dances around the altar, and in their frenzied excitement cut themselves with knives and lancets, till they were all covered with blood (1 Kings 18:26-28). In the meantime the lay worshippers alsoprayed, kneeling, and paid their homage bykissing the images or symbols of the Baal (1 Kings 19:18;Hosea 13:2, Hebr.), or even their own hands. To this should be added the immoral practices indulged in at several shrines (1 Kings 14:24;2 Kings 23:7; cf.Deuteronomy 23:18) inhonour of the Baal as male of reproduction, and of his mate Asherah (D.V. Astarthe, A. V. Ashtaroth).
Nothing could be more fatal to a spiritualfaith than this sensual religion. In fact, no sooner than theIsraelites, coming forth from the wilderness, been brought into contact with the Baal-worshippers, than they were, through the guile of theMadianites, and the attractions of the licentious worship offered to the Moabitish deity (probably Chamos), easily seduced from their allegiance toYahweh (Numbers 25:1-9). Henceforth the name ofBeelphegor remained like a dark spot on the early history ofIsrael (Hosea 9:10;Psalm 105:28). The terrible punishment inflicted upon the guilty sobered for awhile the minds of the Hebrews. How long the impression lasted we are hardly able to tell; but this weknow, that when they had settled in the Promised Land, theIsraelites, again forsaking theOne True God, paid their homage to thedeities of theirChanaanite neighbours (Judges 2:11, 13 etc.). Even the bestfamilies could not, or did not dare, resist the seduction, Gedon's father, for instant, albeit hisfaith in his Baal seems to have been somewhat lukewarm (Judges 6:31), had erected anidolatrous altar in Ephra (Judges 6:25). "And the Lord, being angry againstIsrael, delivered them into the hands of their enemies that dwelt round about." Mesopotamians,Madianites, Amalecites,Ammonites, and, above all,Philistines, were successively the providential avengers ofGod's disregardedrights.
During the warlike reigns of Saul andDavid, theIsraelites as a whole thought little of shakingYahweh's yoke; such also was, apparently, the situation under Solomon's rule, although the example given by this prince must have told deplorably upon his subjects. After the division of his empire, the Northern Kingdom, first led by its rulers to an unlawful worship ofYahweh, sank speedily into the grossestChanaanitesuperstitions. This was the more easy because certain customs, it seems, brought about confusion in the clouded minds of the uneducated portion of the people. Names like Esbaal (1 Chronicles 8:33;9:39), Meribbaal (1 Chronicles 8:34;9:40), Baaliada (1 Chronicles 14:7), given by Saul, Johnathen, andDavid to their sons, suggest thatYahweh was possibly spoken of as Baal. The fact has been disputed; but the existence of such a name as Baalia (i.e. "Yahweh is Baal",1 Chronicles 12:5) and the affirmation of Osee (ii, 16) are arguments that cannot be slighted. True, the word was used later on only in reference toidolatrous worship, and even deemed so obnoxious thatbosheth, shame, was frequently substituted for it in compound proper names, thus giving, for instance, such inoffensive forms as Elioda (2 Samuel 5:16), Yerubbesheth (2 Samuel 11:21, Hebr.)., Isboseth (2 Samuel 2:10) and elsewhere, Miphiboseth (2 Samuel 9:6;21:8); but these corrections were due to a spirit which did not prevail until centuries after the age with which we shall presently deal.
Achab's accession to the throne ofIsrael inaugurated a new era, that of the official worship. Married to a Sidonian princess,Jezebel, the king erected to the Baal of her native city (Cid or Melkart) a temple (1 Kings 16:31, 32) in which a numerous body ofpriests officiated (1 Kings 18:19). To what a forlorn state thetruefaith in the Northern Kingdom fell Elias relates to1 Kings 19:10-14: Thechildren of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have thrown down thy altars, they have slain thyprophets with the sword. There remained but seven thousand men whose knees had not been bowed before Baal (1 Kings 19:18). Ochozias, son of Achab andJezebel, followed in hisparents footsteps (1 Kings 22:54) and although Joram, his brother and successor, took away the maccebhoth set up by hisfather, the Baal-worship was not stamped out ofSamaria (2 Kings 3:2, 3) until its adherents were slaughtered and its temple destroyed at the command of Jehu (2 Kings 10:18-28). Violent as this repression was, it hardly survived the prince who had undertaken it. The annals of the reigns of his successors witness to the religious corruption again prevailing; and the author of2 Kings could sum up this sad history in the following few words: They forsook all theprecepts of the Lord theirGod: and made to themselves two molten calves, and groves [asherah], and adored all the host ofheaven : and they served Baal. Andconsecrated their sons, and their daughters through fire: and they gave themselves to divinations, and soothsayings: and they delivered themselves to doevil before the Lord, to provoke him. And the Lord was very angry withIsrael, and removed them from his sight . . . . andIsrael was carried away out of their land toAssyria, unto this day. (2 Kings 17:16-18, 23).
Meanwhile the kingdom of Juda fared no better. There, also, the princes, far from checking the drift of the people toidolatry, were their instigators and abettors. Established by Joram (2 Kings 8:18), probably at the suggestion of Athalia his wife, who was the daughter of Achab andJezebel, thePhoenician worship was continued by Ochozias (2 Kings 8:27). Weknow from2 Kings 11:18 that a temple had been dedicated to Baal (very likely to Baalhonoured in Samaria) in the Holy City, either by one of these princes or Athalia. At the latter's death, this temple was destroyed by the faithful people and its furniture broken to pieces (2 Kings 11:18;2 Chronicles 23:17). If this reaction did not crush utterly the Baal-worship in Juda, it left very little of it alive, since, for over a century, no case ofidolatry is recorded by the sacred writers. In the reign of Achaz, however, we find theevil not only flourishing again, but countenanced bypublic authority. But a change has taken place in Juda'sidolatry; instead of the Sidonian Baal, Melek (Moloch), the cruel diety of theAmmonites, had become the people's favourite (2 Chronicles 28:2;2 Kings 16:3, 4). His barbarous rites rooted out Ezechias, appeared again with the support of Manasses, by whose influence the Assyro-Babylonian astraldeities were added to the Pathenon of the Judeanidolaters (2 Kings 23:4, 5) produced no lasting results, and after his death the varioussuperstitions in vogue held sway until "the Lord cast out from his face Juda andJerusalem" (2 Kings 23:32, 37;24:9, 19, and elsewhere).
The Babylonians invasions dealt to the Baal-worship in Palestine a deadly blow. At the restorationIsrael shall beYahweh's people, and He theirGod (Ezekiel 14:11), and Baal will become altogether a thing of the past.
Selden,De diis syris (1617); Gigot,Biblical Lectures (Baltimore, 1901), V; Id.,Outlines of Jewish History (New York 1905); PEAKES in HASTINGS,Dict. bible, s.v.Baal; THATCHER, ibid., s.v. Phoenicia; OTTLEY,The Religion of Israel (Cambridge, 1905): SAYCE,The Gods of Canan, inContemporary Review for Sept., 1883; W.R. Smith,The Religion of the Semites (Edinburgh, 1889); BOURQUENOU ET DUTAC,Etudes archeologiques in Etudes Religieuses (1864-1866); LAGRANGE,Etudes sur les religions semitiques (Pairs, 1903); MASPERO,Histoire ancienne des peuples de l'Orient classique (Paris, 1898); REVILLE,La religion des Pheniciens in Revue des deux mondes, for 15 May 1873; TIELE,La religion phenicienne, inRevue de l'histoire des religions (1881), III; VIGOUROUX inDict. de las bible, s.v.Baal; Id.,La bible et les decouvertes modernes (Paris, 1889), III; Id.,Les pretres de Baal et leurs successeurs dans l'antiquite et dans le tempra present, inRevue bibilique for April (1896); DE VOGUE,Melanges d'archelogie orientale (Paris 1868); BATHGEN,Beitrage zur semitisches Religionsgeschichte (Berlin, 1888); BAUDISSIN,Studien zur semitischen Religionsgeschichte (1876-78); Id., in HERZOGRealencyklopadie, s.v.Baal und Bel; MARTI,Geschichte der israelitiechen, Religion (1897); MEYER,Ueber einige semitische Gotter, inZeitschrift der deutschen morgenlandischen Gesellschaft (1877); MOVERS,Die Phonizier (1841-56); OORT,Dienst des Baal in Israel (Leyden, 1864); SCHRADER,Baal und Bel, in Theologische Studien und Kritiken (1874); SMEND,Lehrbuch der alttestamentlischen Religionsgeschichte (Greiburg, Leipzig, 1893, 1899)
For use of the plural (Baalim), DRIVER,Notes on the Hebrew Text of the Books of Samuel, on I Sam., vii, 3; BURNEY,Notes on the Hebrew Text of the Books of Kings, on I (III), xviii 18.
APA citation.Souvay, C.(1907).Baal, Baalim. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02175a.htm
MLA citation.Souvay, Charles."Baal, Baalim."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 2.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1907.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02175a.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Beth Ste-Marie.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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