|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
Baal
Baal Although the word simply means ‘lord’ or ‘master’, it was used as the proper noun for the principal object of Canaanite worship. Baal was a fertility and agricultural god, and according to the Deuteronomist historian the Israelites were constantly tempted to transfer their religious allegiance from Yahweh, who they believed had led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness, to a god who could perhaps promote good yields of corn and grapes. Some personal names contain the word baal, even a son of David (1 Chron. 14: 7). Baal was also thought to encourage erotic adventures which the prophets condemned, so that the Deuteronomist historian is delighted when a Baal temple is destroyed (2 Kgs. 11: 18) and the followers of Baal routed (1 Kgs. 18: 20–40). However, Baalism survived, and again it was extirpated in the reforms of Josiah (2 Kgs. 23: 4–5).
Much of the available information about Baal arises from the Ras Shamra texts of the 15th cent. BCE, in which he is said to have a consort, Anat. In Palestine the consort was Asherah (Judg. 3: 7) or Astarte (Judg. 10: 6)—distinct beings in the eyes of their worshippers. The conflict between Yahweh and Baalism was for the people's allegiance: was it to a transcendent God with ethical demands? Or was it to a Canaanite god immanent in nature? But transcendent Yahweh could also be acceptably worshipped as the one who ‘rides on the wings of the wind’ (Ps. 104: 3); and the worship of Baal also had ethical implications. |
|
|
Cite this article
W. R. F. BROWNING. "Baal." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "Baal." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Baal.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "Baal." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Baal.html |
|
Baal
Baal. The word was used especially of the Semitic deities who were held to produce agricultural and animal fertility. The Hebrew Prophets had constantly to resist attempts to fuse the worship of God with that of the local Baalim.
|
|
|
Cite this article
E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Baal." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Baal." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Baal.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Baal." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Baal.html |
|
Baal
Baal a male fertility god whose cult was widespread in ancient Phoenician and Canaanite lands and was strongly resisted by the Hebrew prophets. The name comes from Hebrew ba῾al ‘lord’.
|
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Baal." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Baal." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Baal.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Baal." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Baal.html |
|
Baal
Baal
•Baal, betrayal, defrayal, portrayal
•Raphael
•empyreal, genial, hymeneal, peritoneal
|
|
|
Cite this article
"Baal." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Baal." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Baal.html "Baal." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Baal.html |
|
BAAL
BAAL British Association for Applied Linguistics
|
|
|
Cite this article
FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "BAAL." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "BAAL." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-BAAL.html FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "BAAL." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-BAAL.html |
|
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
