Original Word: בַּעַל
Part of Speech: Proper Name
Transliteration: Ba`al
Pronunciation: bah-ahl
Phonetic Spelling: (bah'-al)
KJV: Baal, (plural) Baalim
Word Origin: [the same as H1167 (בַּעַל - owner)]

1. Baal, a Phoenician deity

Baal, plural Baalim

The same as ba'al; Baal, a Phoenician deity -- Baal, (plural) Baalim.

see HEBREW ba'al

Overview of Baal Worship in the Old Testament

Baal appears in Scripture as the chief male deity of the Canaanites and Phoenicians, celebrated as lord of storm, fertility, and political power. After Israel entered the land, the name surfaces about eighty times, nearly always in contexts of apostasy. Baalism combined agricultural rites, sexual immorality, and child sacrifice, drawing Israel into covenant-breaking idolatry despite repeated warnings.

Geographical Epithets and Local Manifestations

Baal was venerated under many local titles that tied him to particular places or attributes:
• Baal-peor (Numbers 25:3) – worship at Peor involving ritual harlotry.
• Baal-zebub (2 Kings 1:2) – “lord of the flies,” the Ekronite or Philistine form consulted by King Ahaziah.
• Baal-berith (Judges 8:33; 9:4) – “lord of the covenant,” honored at Shechem.
• Baal-gad (Joshua 11:17) and Baal-hermon (Judges 3:3) – deities of northern Lebanon.
• Baal-zephon (Exodus 14:2) – tied to a coastal mountain shrine near the Red Sea.

These compound names underscore how Baal worship permeated Canaanite culture and encroached on Israel’s inheritance.

Key Biblical Narratives Involving Baal

1. Settlement Era: Judges 2:11-13 records the first widespread Israelite defection—“They followed other gods, the gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the LORD to anger, because they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths”.
2. Gideon’s Reformation: Judges 6:25-32 depicts Gideon destroying his father’s Baal altar, earning the nickname Jerub-baal (“Let Baal contend”).
3. Monarchy Under Ahab and Jezebel: 1 Kings 16:31-33 notes Ahab building a temple for Baal in Samaria, culminating in Elijah’s confrontation on Mount Carmel: “The LORD, He is God!” (1 Kings 18:39).
4. Jehu’s Purge: 2 Kings 10:18-27 narrates the eradication of Baal’s temple and priests in Samaria, though the reform proved temporary.
5. Southern Kingdom Decline: 2 Chronicles 28:2-3 and 33:3-6 show Ahaz and Manasseh resurrecting Baal worship, including child sacrifice.
6. Josiah’s Renewal: 2 Kings 23:4-5 describes Josiah removing “the vessels made for Baal,” pointing to true covenant restoration.

Prophetic Condemnation

Prophets repeatedly linked Baal worship with covenant infidelity:

Jeremiah 7:9 – “Will you steal, murder, commit adultery … and burn incense to Baal…?”

Hosea 2:13 – “She adorned herself with her earrings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but Me she forgot.”

Zephaniah 1:4 – God promises to “stretch out My hand … and cut off every remnant of Baal.”

The prophets expose Baalism not merely as false religion but as spiritual adultery that invites national judgment.

Theological Significance

1. Spiritual Adultery vs. Covenant Faithfulness: Baal demanded fertility rites and child sacrifice, antithetical to Yahweh’s holiness and compassion (Jeremiah 19:5). Israel’s flirtation with Baal reveals the human bent toward syncretism and the need for singular allegiance to the LORD.
2. Lordship Contested: While “baal” can mean “master,” Scripture insists that true mastery belongs to Yahweh alone (Isaiah 42:8). In Hosea 2:16 the LORD promises, “You will call Me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘My Master [Baal].’”
3. Foreshadowing Final Triumph: Elijah’s fire on Carmel (1 Kings 18) prefigures Christ’s ultimate victory over idolatry and demonic powers (cf. Colossians 2:15). The New Testament echo “Beelzebul” (Matthew 12:24) retains the polemic against false lordship now applied to Satan himself.

Lessons for Contemporary Ministry

• Guard the Worship Center: Just as Gideon began reform at his father’s house, modern believers must first tear down private idols.
• Public Confrontation with Grace: Elijah’s boldness coupled with intercessory prayer (1 Kings 18:36-37) models engagement with a culture that still serves modern “Baals”—wealth, power, sexuality.
• Call to Exclusive Covenant Love: Hosea’s marital imagery urges pastoral emphasis on Christ as Bridegroom, fostering wholehearted devotion rather than divided affections.

Representative Scripture References

Exodus 14:2; Numbers 22:41; Numbers 25:3; Joshua 11:17; Judges 2:11-13; Judges 3:7; Judges 6:25-32; Judges 8:33; Judges 9:4; 1 Samuel 7:4; 1 Kings 16:31-33; 1 Kings 18:17-40; 2 Kings 1:2-3; 2 Kings 10:18-27; 2 Kings 17:16; 2 Kings 21:3; 2 Kings 23:4-5; 2 Chronicles 28:2-3; Psalm 106:36-38; Jeremiah 2:8; Jeremiah 7:9; Jeremiah 19:5; Hosea 2:13-17; Hosea 11:2; Hosea 13:1; Zephaniah 1:4; Romans 11:3-4 (allusions to 1 Kings 19).

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