Next both Mot and Baal appear reconstituted and reactivated and again in conflict. (verse 8). Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/ggenova. 2:11; 3:7; 8:33), while the singular of the word in combination with other terms apparently designated minor or local gods, such as Baal-Berith, Baal-Gad, Baal-Hamon, Baal-Hazor, Baal-Hermon, or, in the feminine form, a goddess, Baalat-Beer, Baalat-Gebal. Sun worship came from the ancient pagan religion of Baal. In the Bible, Baal is spoken of in a negative light, as an idol and a false god, and is associated with idolatry and paganism. Molech was an ancient god worshiped by the people neighboring Israel during Old Testament times. In Canaan, however, when the solar theology had absorbed the older beliefs, Baal, passing into a sun-god and the goddess who stood at his side becoming a representative of the moon--the pale reflection, as it were, of the sun- -Ashtoreth came to be regarded as the consort of Baal and took the place of the solar goddesses of Babylonia. ed., 1965); H.B. (the Middle Bronze Age), this impressed handle depicts a ship and a leonine dragon, which is the symbol of the Mesopotamian storm god Adad. Horrendous and repulsive aspects of the worship sexual excesses and perversions (Isa. Baal transformed into Zeus, who transformed into Jupiter, etc. The name "Baal" shows up seven times in Hosea (2:8, 2:13, 2:16, 2:17 . What is so interesting is that, by verse 35, it is clear God is no longer addressing Himself to the Samaritans, but to Israel: [T]he LORD had made a covenant and charged [Israel], saying: "You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; but the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. He wanted people to like him, which is understandable. John W. Ritenbaugh 2008 The Gale Group. 33 Bible Verses about Baal Worship, History So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry against Israel. Given Sidons position on the coast, it is not surprising that the storm god is Sidons most important god. Kings Ahaz and Manasseh, Worship of Baal was also carried out right on the housetops of the people, from where sacrificial smoke to their god was frequently seen to rise. The lesson for us becomes clear, because Jesus says the same thing (Matthew 6:24; 12:25). They set up for themselves sacred pillars and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree; and there they burned incense on all the high places, as the nations had done whom the LORD had carried away before them." Payment of the full tithe to the food stores of the Temple, some thought, would guarantee that YHWH would open the windows of heaven and pour down overflowing blessings (Mal. Your email address will not be published. 7:1416). The practice of Baal worship was wide spread in Bible times and was very evil. The open-air altar shrine, called a bamah (plural bamot), is known through several books of the Biblical canonbut none more so than the Book of Kings, where they play a prominent role in assessing the performance of a king.Often referred to as "high places" in translations of the Bible, bamot were worship sites that usually contained an altar. 3:23). Baal was considered the supreme. 14:2, 9; Num. Perhaps the clearest example of this is Jeremiah, who moaned and complained to God, "This is more difficult than You ever told me it would be. One interpretation is that it is a localized occurrence, in the sense of it happening just within the little flockthe church. He then merely floats, going through the motions, even feeling good about himself as he neglects so great salvation (Hebrews 2:3). According to the Bible, centers of worship for Canaanite gods such as Molech and the Baal's were set up in Judah and Israel by apostate kings. More than 1400 of her works have been featured in various publications. The Masoretic text has the 4 letters YHWH with a sheva under the Y, pronounced yuh, and a Qamats below the W, i.e. Apostasy is a defection from trutha forsaking of one spiritual approach in favor of another. In exchange, they would offer information about their unit. A complex religion with traditions and gods from all over the ancient Middle East, Baal worship offered something for everyone. Study the god Baal, Baal worship, and the presentation of Baal in the Bible. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. The divine child was named Demarous, one of the cognomens of Zeus-Baal-Hadad. In Ugaritic and Hebrew, Baal's epithet as the storm god was He Who Rides on the Clouds. Pagan Religious Practices. At one point in A Stillness at Appomattox by Bruce Catton, he deals with soldiers who left the service of their armyeither the Confederate army or the Union army. Baal was the god of agriculture and fertility in Canaan, becoming a fallen angel and a demon. 27:1, 30:7, 51:910; Ezek. The Israelites fell into the worship of this idol(Numbers 25:3,5,18; Deuteronomy 4:3; Psalm 106:28; Hosea 9:10). Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. So the word Poeni can be rewritten as Peyeni or as Payani or as Payan. With the help of wonder weapons supplied and blessed by the versatile Koshar (the craftsman god), Baal was able to defeat and rout the sea-god. The first mention of Molech is in Leviticus 18:21 in which the . What Tamils are you speaking of? But what was its real effect on the participants and the nation? It was a corruption of that religion, for the Israelites syncretized that holy way with Baalism and other idolatries. Prophets and Prophecy (Part 1). He may have replaced the Sabbath with Sunday worship. Who were the Sidonians of the Bronze Age (c. 30001200 B.C.E.)? 8. The triumph of Baal recounted in the myths and perhaps reenacted in ritual drama gave assurance of help in the present and the future as in the past. During the summer months the rains cease, but the temporary drought is no threat unless it is abnormally prolonged. Human-Ram Deity from Sidon. Before descending to the realm of death, Baal copulates with a heifer and begets a male offspring. . Reuben Alcalay, a famous Hebrew lexicographer, stated that Yehoshua is closely related to Let there be So, lets be intellectually honest and start using the proper English translation: Joshua. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Since Baal was, like almost all ancient deities, a fertility god, the human act of intercourse demonstrated that they wanted Baal to prosper them. Various forms of Baal worship are still going on in the Catholic church; even though these pagan idols were incorporated into Catholicism centuries ago, the worship of the sun still exists to this day. This shows that the Egyptian Cleopatra had maritime connections with the ancient Kerala Tamils. For a while, both sidesthe Confederate and the Unionaccepted those turncoats and took their information. To become moral, we must kill our selfish egos through the use and guidance of God's Holy Spirit. Jun 2. We need to be reminded of it because it can have a detrimental effect on us. that the southern kingdom of Judah ever had .just like her momma. Either you are going to be committed to Him or not. Dig into the illuminating world of the Bible with a BAS All-Access membership. The right remedy, according to Israel's prophets, was to repudiate Baal completely and to seek and return to Israel's true God (Isa. Thus in any year anxiety about the rainfall would be a continuing concern of the inhabitants which would suffice to give rise to rites to ensure the coming of the rains. Although Baal is mentioned almost 100 times in the Bible, he is best known from the narratives of I and II Kings which include the story of the Phoenician princess Jezebel (d. c. 842 BCE), who encouraged his worship, and her struggle with the prophet Elijah, champion of the cult of Yahweh. So it was in the northern kingdom of Israel after its division from the kingdom of Judah. Baal and Asherah were two giant stumbling blocks for the people of Israel. His overall conduct may not be too bad, but his poor self-analysis persuades him that he has no urgent need to seek God any further. The spectacular victory for Yahwism did not have a lasting effect. After we accept His calling, He commands us to become moral as He is. was furnished by Harvard University excavations in the form of personal names containing Baal as the theophorous element, such as bybl, "Baal is my father," bl zmr, "Baal sings" or "Baalis strong," bl zkr, "Baal remembers," bl mny, "Baal is my answer," etc. This article is about Baal worship in the Bible. Does that way of life conform to the God of the Bible, or does it spring from the mind of men? 30 Verses to Reflect on in the Book of Hebrews. With human features as well as the eyebrows, nose and horns of a ram, this painted limestone figurine represents a deity and dates to c. 1650 B.C.E. Baal's worshipers appeased him by offering sacrifices, usually animals such as sheep or bulls (1 Kings 18:23). Baal (/ b e. A series of bad years, which were apparently believed to come in seven-year cycles (cf. . The word is used as the name of a town in ancient Israel in Deuteronomy 1:4, Joshua . Baal was simply the title (literally, Lord) of the pagan god Molech. These Israelites were lethargic in terms of true, spiritual matters. 25:111; Ps. Baal worship was rooted in sensuality and involved ritualistic prostitution in the temples. You have a cuddly little Baal idol in your child's bedroom without even suspecting it. 19:5ff.). So the word Jezebel finally means one who is a good musician. But church is where we come to have our minds stretched and measured against Christ's standard. Ahaz fostered Baal worship (II Chron. Sidon was well connected by trade by the traders of the Pandya kingdom of Tamil Nadu. As an example, notice Amos 2:6-7, where Amos chides the Israelites: ". Updates? By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God (I Kings 12:26-33). II Kings 17:33 illustrates their worship: "They feared the LORD, yet served their own gods - according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away." The word "Baal" derives from the Semitic stem "bel", meaning "lord". A major question about II Thessalonians 2 is the scope of the described events. The prophet Haggai attributed the drought and scarcity in his day to the failure to rebuild the Temple (Hag. The sequel to this action is furnished by the group of texts which recount Baal's confrontations with Mot. For instance, Amos 2:7 describes a deliberate act of ritual prostitution in a pagan temple: "A man and his father go in to the same girl, to defile My holy name." Groves and high places were places of worship erected to Canaanite gods and goddesses. He established a feast in the eighth month to replace the true Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh. Baal Worship The Battle for the Israelites' Hearts For nearly a thousand years, a battle raged for the hearts of the Israelite nation. Asherah was a fertility goddess. Because of their self-procured wealth and affluence, they think they are being blessed with material things. It disturbed them. Burning incense, worship of the sun, moon, astrology, and ancestor worship are all earmarks of the Baal religion. One such deity who gripped Israel for a period of time was Baal. A falling away is taking place right now. The summer drought did not mean that YHWH had died (like Baal), nor did the return of the rains signal the resurrection. Notice the dramatic change of attitude in the people. The Septuagint (LXX) rendered Joshua, the son of Nun, in Greek as Iesous; the same was used for Christs name in the NT. When we see that our thoughts and ways are not His, we should reform and repent. First was sexual orgies "under every green tree," where promiscuity and perverted sex acts were the norm. Their spiritual lethargy for the true God made them uncommitted. Valimai means strengh, or force or weight. l, b . He was the god that provided - food - for the people. As we study the operation of the spirit of Baal in the Bible, one can see the fruit of its operation in the USA.. Baal is said to be one of the first of Solomon's 72 demons. Ashtoreth was the fertility goddess consort of Molech. Baal was a false god the feckless Jewish King Ahab and his wicked wife, Jezebel, attempted to force upon the nation of Israel during the time of Elijah the prophet (see 1 Kings 18). Baal was the title of the "god" worshiped in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia. If anyone could get an award for Having the Worst Neighbors, it would most likely go to the ancient Israelites. 106 a ). The judge Gideon was also named Jerubbaal (Judges 6:32), and King Saul had a son named Ishbaal (I Chronicles 8:33). The Baal-worship so often alluded to and described in Holy Writ might, perhaps, be better styled, id-worship, moon-worship, Melek (Moloch)-worship, or Hadad-worship, according to places and circumstances. The proposition for the concept is as follows: The Latins called the Phoenicians as Poeni. Consequently, during this tumultuous time, most Jews kept their faith and identity outwardly but bowed to Baal when necessary to appease Jezebel as well as mainstream culture. Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. This establishes the fact that the Cannanites (Phoenicians) has connections with the Tamil speaking ancient Kerala mariners. Photo: Courtesy of Claude Doumet-Serhal. Omissions? In Hebrew, it is rendered Yehoshua, and in Aramaic, Yeshua. Nyberg had restored it in Deuteronomy 33:12; I Samuel 2:10; II Samuel 23:1; Isaiah 59:18, 63:7; and Hosea 7:16. Elijah says disturbing things. If the rains failed and drought and death came upon the land and people, it was not because Mot had mangled Baal and made the glowing sun-goddess destructive; it was rather YHWH's way of meting out merited punishment to a faithless and sinful people (Deut. ADD. Superstitious fear and sexual rites on the one hand fought against faith and loyalty on the other. Does the Bible Mention What to Give Up for Lent? 410; reconstructed text) which after the great "Weather-god, Lord of Mount azi" presents six other "weather-gods," numbered two through seven. The bird cannot make up its mind where it wants to settle down, so it just keeps hopping around. It Is So Painful to Care: How Do I Conquer Apathy? He may have replaced the Sabbath with Sunday worship. In the mythology of Canaan, Baal, the god of life and fertility, locked in mortal combat with Mot, the god of death and sterility. Sift through the storied history of ancient Israel. Lastly, he replaced God with golden calves in Bethel and Dan. In the Hebrew language, Baal as a noun means "lord or possessor." As a verb, it means "to have dominion over or be lord over." Additionally, the local deity (near Israel) "Baal," was a god of rain and fertility. (II Kings 17:35-38). "like a bird in a tree. . Now that He has announced Israel's imminent calamity, God begins to show how His punishment would alter the lives of the people. Elijah was sent by God, and he was fulfilling the responsibility of a prophet, to prod the people to whom he was sent to their responsibilities. In other words, God is saying that He was driven to defeat and scatter Israel because they were guilty of exactly the same sin as the Samaritans! Can we stop with the Yahweh pronunciation once and for all? Claude Doumet-Serhal of the British Museum details recent excavations at Sidon in her article SidonCanaans Firstborn, published in the July/August 2017 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review. As a result of their sin, the men of Israel were judged by God. A second interpretation is that since the falling away contains the definite article, it refers to a unique event in man's history, far greater than anything that has happened before. Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God. Sign up to receive our email newsletter and never miss an update. The contest on Mount Carmel was reported as demonstrating that Baal was an impotent non-entity and that the rain came only from YHWH. Besides the names Baal and Haddu, the Ugaritic texts furnish a variety of other titles, such as "Mighty Baal" (aliyn bl) and "Prince, Lord of Earth" (zbl bl ars). But who is Baal? 14:13). Now another presentation that the Phoenicians who are also connected with the Canaanites had traded with the trading mariners of Kerala, India. To accommodate Baal ideology to Yahwism required some radical transformations. Asherah, mother of the gods, was prevailed upon to intercede with El to gain permission for the building. The biblical allusions to YHWH's victory over the sea preserve echoes of the older exploit of Baal (cf. The Sovereign Creator is not a God who allows His favor to be bought with crumbs. His opinion of his holiness as compared with God's judgment is so far off base, it causes Jesus Christ to regurgitate him from His body. When Ashtoreth is mentioned in scripture, she is linked to Molech, (also called Milcom in the Bible). Since El and Dagn are distinct deities, this seeming confusion over Baal's paternity needs explanation. 19Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. I know the firstborn of Creation through and for Him everything was made would appreciate it! Baal is a Canaanite and Phoeniciandeity and the son of the chief god El. Another idea is that it pictures a person shifting his weight from one foot to the other, indicating a degree of lameness. The prize of the victory was kingship over the gods and the enthronement ritual guaranteed the natural order of life and the welfare of the society. It proved extremely hard for a monotheistic faith to compete against the Canaanite fertility cult. Baal in Smith's Bible Dictionary Baal (2) the supreme male divinity of the Phoenician and Canaanitish nations, as Ashtoreth was their supreme female divinity. Baal was a fertility and earth god of the ancient cultures and was later exported to Egypt where he was worshipped as the storm god. Yet if you asked most people who believe and follow this new morality, I suspect few would have ever heard of Baal. The Aztec people used two calendars. That there were minor Baalim also at Ugarit is indicated by a god list in Akkadian (see Ugaritica, 5, p. 44 ll. Yet, he was in trouble his whole life, from his teenage years on. Well dive more into this in the historicity of Baal in a few sections. He takes something loathsome and vile, something that is a direct affront to almighty God, a pagan idol, and turns it into a cute little children's fairy tale, so that you can buy the book, see the movies, get the cuddly toy, and bingo! The beliefs and practices of the Canaanites were not only detestable, but they also . Alan, how said anything about John baptizing Jesus? They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, And ate the sacrifices of the dead. Even now some ancient Jews (white and black) live in Cochin, Kerala, India. But God has a different perspective; He says they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17). In short, Scripture has nothing positive to say about Baal. He sends someone long before the real crisis reaches its peak, while it is building. Second was passing their babies through the fire. (the Iron Age). There are indications that Baal and other gods and goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon were associated in the minds of their worshipers with certain heavenly bodies. A large part of this world's appeal is its offer of financial security. In artistic depictions and archeological finds, Baal took the shape of a bull or ram and had associations with fertility. The Laodicean evaluates himself, saying, "I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing" (Revelation 3:17). A vivid description of theophany in a thunderstorm is found in Psalms 18:715 (= II Sam. Baal worship is something I associated only with Old Testament Bible days. This connects with the curse of Laodiceanism because God shows in the Laodiceans what can happen spiritually as people increase materially. *Romans 1:25 "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and WORSHIPPED AND SERVED THE CREATURE MORE THAN THE CREATOR". Usually the storm god is illustrated as a striding human figure, but sometimes he is represented by one of his symbols, such as the bull or leonine dragon. . 26:1920). Ashtar the Awful (ttrr) was then nominated to replace Baal, but when he ascended the throne, his feet did not reach the footstool nor his head the top and so he declined to reign on the heights of apn and descended from Baal's throne, but ruled over all El's earth. (Iron Age) temple. Observing Christmas and Easter in the name of Christ is no different. An example of Israel going after Baal leads to their loss of direction and, ultimately, scattering at the hands of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. God's pattern is being established. Everything Joshua* (Yehoshua) did was in accordance with the TaNaKh, which is an acrostic for Torah (=Law/Instruction), Neviim (=Prophets), and Ketuvim (=Writings). Gray, The Legacy of Canaan (rev. Most of the information they gave turned out to be wrong, to be lies. In a normal good year, when the rains come in due season, there is no hiatus in productivity, for the land yields its increase, the trees produce their fruit, the threshing overlaps, the vintage overlaps the sowing, and there is food aplenty, prosperity, and peace (Lev. . Sometimes the leadership of the nation of Israel tolerated and embraced the deities of other nations. The Spread of Baalism. Scott Broberg Fig Tree Ministries. In another room was a round base that likely supported a wooden pillar. The Semitic word Baal means lord or master, and the ancient people believed he was in charge of all of nature and humans. What Is Coptic and Who Were the Copts in Ancient Egypt? The god Baal was the heathen sun-god spoken of in the Old Testament. The prophet Amos particularizes the epidemic of social injustice in the Kingdom of Israel. One of the rooms in this temple had a bench, where offerings would have been placed, and an altar made of piled and unhewn stones, which recalls the Biblical command to make altars of uncut stones (see Exodus 20:25). In daily life, they conformed to and reflected the Babylonish system just as Israel does today. Isaiah 29:13 clarifies what God means: "Therefore the LORD said: 'Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.'" And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch" (Matthew 15:14). Combine a one-year tablet and print subscription to BAR with membership in the BAS Library to start your journey into the ancient past today! For one to keep on coming to services and leaving, like a theatergoer, without his options, opinions, or decisions resolved but deferred, is an erosion of character. The basis of all immorality is selfishness, the exact opposite of what God is. Revelation 2:14 "THE DOCTRINES OF . No one answered; no one paid attention" (v. 29 ESV). Baal, of course, could not talk to them, but if he could, he would probably have said basically the same thing, so the people were in a very uncomfortable situation. A common designation of Baal in the Ugaritic myths is bn-dgn "son of Dagn"; but Baal is also considered the son of El who is called "Bull El his [i.e., Baal's] father; El King who begot him [Baal]" (tr il abh; il mlk dyknnh). Then stood up Phinehas, and exe Then they linked up with Baal Peor, attending funeral banquets and eating idol food. The Largest Baal Worship Service on the Planet is in America August 27, 2017 by Andy Roman "They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone." Daniel 5:4. They were afraid of God, but they did not really change their way of life. Anath then dismembered Mot, scattered and burned the pieces, and gave them to the birds. In their ignorance, the people do not realize the terrible calamity that is coming soon upon modern Israel. When religion is ungodly, its power is destructive, and every institution in the nation suffers. Its is right up there with the thought that we know where Jesus was born, or that one can see a descendant of the original burning bush, etc.. None of the foolish practices of the heathen could bring the rains; only YHWH could and did (Jer. This is a prophet's job, a hallmark of a prophet of God. Those familiar with the Biblical text will recall that Sidon was an influential, wealthy Phoenician city when the kings of Israel and Judah ruled during the Iron Age. 11:1011). He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. In Ugaritic and Hebrew, Baals epithet as the storm god was He Who Rides on the Clouds. l /), or Baal (Hebrew: baal), was a title and honorific meaning 'owner', 'lord' in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity.From its use among people, it came to be applied to gods. I would also challenge the suggestion in the text of the article that the location of Lots cave is known. The association of the name Baal-Zephon with Israel's exit from Egypt (Ex. The conflict of Yahwism and Baalism reached a crisis with Elijah's challenge to Baal's prophets to settle the question whether it was Baal or YHWH who really supplied the rain (I Kings 18). Baal's sister-consort Anath demanded that Mot release her brother. Archeological excavations have dated information about Baal back as far as the second millennium BC, and the spread of Baal worship caught fire in Egypt in 1400 BC. 26:46). He is deceived into thinking that his material prosperity proves that God approves of his conduct and attitudes. Commentaries are at odds over what the Hebrew word translated divided means. Ashtaroth is mentioned 12 times in the Old Testament. Theoretically, the Israelites did not believe in idols, but in reality, they did. because they sell the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals. He views them as personally rejecting Him and His Word. And one of the most famous instances of Israel going head to head with the prophets of Baal comes from 1 Kings 18. Baal was different from his adherents merely in that he was above them. The ancient Tamils had connections with the Syrians and Sidon. For seven days a fire burned inside the building, and when it subsided, the house was plated with gold, silver, and lapis lazuli. The Jordan River (Nahar ha-Yarden) qualified as a mikveh as its flowing living waters originated from a natural spring (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_River). If you will not be committed to Him, you are going to die.". The motifs of these myths were adopted and adapted in Jewish and Christian eschatology. Baal worship was the bane of the Ancient Israelites. Recall the mention in Hosea 10:1 of increasing and embellishing altars just before Israel fell to Assyria. If it is of men, it will not work very long. The actual worship of Ba'al was carried out in terms of imitative magic whereby sexual acts by both male and female temple prostitutes were understood to arouse Ba'al who then brought rain to make Mother Earth fertile (in some forms of the myth, represented by a female consort, Asherah or Astarte). II Kings 17:7-17 catalogs the sins of Israel: Widespread idolatry. They were Canaanites and shared numerous similarities, including many of the same gods, with their close neighbors in the southern Levantwho were also predominantly Canaanite. The above comment is by Prof. Abraham Joseph, M.Sc., M.Phil. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Knowledge of Baals personality and functions derives chiefly from a number of tablets uncovered from 1929 onward at Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra), in northern Syria, and dating to the middle of the 2nd millennium bce. Further, in biblical usage when applied to the great weather-god, the singular regularly has the article, "the Baal," which suggests that the word was not regarded as a proper name. Sidons Phoenician Temple. The word bel can be transformed into vel or val. Baal Peor, or the Baal of Peor, was a local deity worshiped by the Moabites. 4:12; Hos. Worshipers of Baal Killed. Their commitment went one way, and then it went the other way. The latest archaeological discoveries shed light on Biblical Sidon and provide a window into the Sidonians polytheistic religion and worship practices during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Whether it turns out to be the falling away remains to be seen. He did not like the position God put him in. Who Was Baal? Baal, god worshipped in many ancient Middle Eastern communities, especially among the Canaanites, who apparently considered him a fertility deity and one of the most important gods in the pantheon.