Baal
Baal (Semitic Canaanite 𐤁𐤏𐤋 [baʕal], «master» or «lord»; in Hebrew, בָּעַל [Báʿal]; in Arabic, بعل [Baʿal]) is an ancient divinity of various peoples located in Asia Minor and its area of influence: Babylonians, Chaldeans, Carthaginians, Phoenicians (associated with the ancient deity Melkart), Philistines and Sidonians. He was the god of rain, thunder, and fertility.
On the other hand, Moloch Baal is a god of Canaanite origin who was worshiped by the Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Syrians. He was considered the symbol of the purifying fire, which in turn symbolizes the soul. He is identified with Cronos and Saturn.
Beelzebub (Hebrew: בַּעַל זְבוּב Ba'al Zəḇūḇ, among other variants) is a name derived from a god worshiped in the Philistine city of Ekron, associated with the god Baal of the Canaanite religion. Baal-zebûb (Heb. Ba'al zebûb, "Baal [lord] of the flies"; originally it would have been Ba'al Zebûl, "Lord of the house [dwelling, room]", but the Masoretes would have changed it to mock the idol and its worshippers).
Etymology
The term Baal comes from the Latin, which in turn came from the Greek Βάαλ (Báal), this as a result of translating the Tanakh into Koine in the Septuagint and translating the Bible into Latin in the Vulgate. The original form Semitic BʿL has no vowels. The Biblical connotation of Baal as a Phoenician deity and false god, was generally extended during the Protestant Reformation to denote any idols, images of saints, or the Church in general.
In the Northwest Semitic languages, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Hebrew, Amorite, and Aramaic, the word Baal meant "owner" and, by extension, "master or lord", including teacher and husband.
Its feminine variant Baalah (Hebrew: בַּעֲלָה; BLH, Arabic: بَعْلَة) means "mistress" in the sense of an owner or mistress of the house.
Family
Their father god is El. In Canaanite mythology, (El) was the name given to the main deity. He was known as "father of all gods", the supreme god, "the creator", "the kind". In general, the god El was represented as a bull, with or without wings. He was also called Eloáh or Elah and his main wife was Asherah (Astarte, Athirat or Ishtar), mother goddess of Baal.
His son Baal was depicted as a young warrior, but also as a young bull (a calf). In the temple of El-Il-Dagan (in Ugarit), Baal and the god El were together.
Baal's consort in Carthage was called Tanith.
One of Baal's brothers and a rival god, is the Semitic god of chaos and storms, named Yam, whose cult rivaled that of his brother Baal, both sons of the main god El. Also, both were part of his court of lesser gods.
The canonical cycle of Baal
Little was known of Baal worship until excavations at Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra, located on the Syrian coast, off the northeast tip of the island of Cyprus) unearthed many religious artifacts and hundreds of clay tablets. Many of these ancient documents—now known as the Ras Shamra Texts—are believed to be the liturgies or the words of those who participated in the rituals of religious festivals. In the Ras Shamra Texts Baal ―also called Aliyan [‘prevailing’] Baal) is referred to as “Zebul [‘prince’]) of the Earth” and “the Rider of the Clouds”. These names harmonize with a representation of Baal in which he is shown holding a club or mace in his right hand and a lightning bolt ending in a spearhead in his left hand. He is also represented wearing a horned helmet, which seems to indicate a close relationship with the bull, a symbol of fertility.
Tablets KTU 1.1-6 from the Ras Shamra archives contain what has come to be called the Baal canonical cycle, which represents the best-preserved tradition of the mythological history of this deity. they do not preserve a thematic or chronological unity, they allow a fairly complete reconstruction of the religious ideology of the inhabitants of Ugarit. The canonical Baal cycle, or Baal epic, can be divided into the following sub-themes: i) Baal's combat against Yam, ii) the construction of Baal's palace, and iii) Baal's combat against Mot.
Baal's fight against Yam
Tablets KTU 1.1 and 1.2 contain the first subtheme of the Baal epic. This subtheme begins with a lament, possibly about the precarious situation of the god Yam, the god of the sea also called Nahar, which ends by convincing the god El, the supreme god of the Ugaritic pantheon, to endorse Yam as king of the gods and of the sea. universe. Yam, however, in order to claim the title of king of the gods, must defeat his most obvious opponent, the god Baal, who, like Yam, is also the son of El.
El summons the gods of Mount Saphon, the Ugaritic equivalent of the Greek Mount Olympus, to a banquet where they must decide who they will side with in the duel, Yam, who has El's acquiescence, or El. Baal, who is seen as the defiant and rebellious deity. The god Kothar, god of crafts, favors Baal, while Anat, goddess of war also called Astarte on the tablets, maintains a position that is more respectful of El's will. Despite Kothar's position, El he orders him to build a palace for Yam, since without a palace he could not rule in Saphon. This enrages Baal and marks the prelude to the contest.
A third claimant to the throne, the god Athar, attempts to enter the fray but is soon talked out of it by the sun god Shapash.
Baal declares war on Yam, which by implication is also a declaration of war against El, and El orders Baal to submit to Yam. Baal does not agree and insults Yam by killing some of his messengers, and after some speeches that are not preserved in the tablets, the text describes the combat between Yam and Baal.
Baal descends into the sea, which is Yam's natural home, and attempts to kill him, to no avail. When the battle is practically lost, the god Kothar gives Baal two magical weapons that manage to give him victory. Finally, Baal goes to his father to ask her to recognize him as the legitimate leader of the gods.
The construction of the palace of Baal
After his victory against Yam, Baal receives the respect of his sister and his wife, the goddess Anat. He communicates to her her desire to provide herself with lightning and thunder, her main attributes, but she realizes that without a palace, Baal will not be able to rule over the gods. Anat, then, prepares to convince El to authorize the construction of said mansion; because she knows that he will possibly object, she manifests her willingness to use violent means to achieve her goal. There is no record of El's response, but it is known that Anat had to obtain the consent of Asherah (El's wife), El's other sons and Asherah, and Yam (who appears alive again, although this is possibly due to because this sub-theme does not have editorial unity with the previous one). Asherah convinces El to legitimize Baal and give him a palace.
Having obtained the authorization of the pantheon, Kothar proceeds with the making of the palace, which will have a skylight to allow the voice of Baal (thunder) and his weapon (lightning) to come out and amaze the gods and the gods. humans. The palace is built to the delight of Anat and Baal, and Baal proceeds to demand that the god of the underworld, Mot, acknowledge his authority.
The combat between Baal and Mot
Mot resolves not to submit to Baal, in retaliation for Yam's defeat. Mot is the god of death and the underworld (the word mot in Hebrew, מות, means death). Baal, surprisingly, surrenders to Mot, and agrees to descend to the underworld to die, under the condition that there continues to be fertility in the land of humans. Ugaritic mythology explained death as being "swallowed" through the jaws of the hungry Mot, and Baal, even a god, would be subjected to this same mortality.
Baal descends to the underworld and dies, prompting mourning from El and Anat, though Anat suspects that El and the other gods secretly rejoice at her husband's death. However, with Baal dead, it is necessary to find someone to replace him as king of the gods, and El chooses Athtar. This god, however, proves unable to perform this function, which leaves Mot as the only possible heir to the throne. An eventual kingdom of Mot would entail the extinction of life on earth, and that is why Anat decides to go to rescue her late husband Baal from Mot's womb, in order to bring him back to life.
When, indeed, Anat descends to fight against Mot and kills him, he manages to revive Baal, which makes the gods of Saphon happy, especially El, who was worried about a reign of Mot. Anat, along with Shapash, search for Baal's revived body. Baal, however, cannot immediately ascend the throne, but must fight Mot to earn his title (Mot, as seen, dies and does not die, which is typical of Ugaritian theology).
Several bitter clashes between Baal and Mot ensue, until the weakened Mot surrenders, advised by Shapash. The subtheme culminates with a hymn in praise of a god (possibly Baal or Shapash) at the end of the KTU 1.6 tablet.
Amorites
Baal was already venerated in the 3rd millennium BC. C. by the Amorite Semites; His proper name was Hadad (with variants of it Adad, Haddu, Addu, Had, Ad). This cult was apparently introduced into Egypt by the Hyksos (peoples of Semitic origin who ruled the Nile delta around the 18th century BC).
Canaanites
In the ancient region of Canaan, it rarely rains from late April to September. The rains begin in October and continue throughout the winter until April, thanks to which abundant vegetation grows. The changes of the seasons and their subsequent effects were believed to be cycles produced by the endless conflicts between the gods. The fact that the rains ceased and the vegetation withered was attributed to the triumph of the god Mot (god of death and aridity) over Baal (god of rain and fertility), forcing the latter to withdraw into the depths of the earth. On the other hand, it was thought that the beginning of the rainy season indicated that Baal had awakened to life, which was possible thanks to the triumph of Anat, his sister, over Mot, allowing his sister Baal to return to the throne.. Baal's union with his wife, probably Astarte, was believed to guarantee fertility during the coming year.
Canaanite farmers and herdsmen may have thought that participating in prescribed rituals—a kind of imitative magic—during their religious festivals stimulated their gods to act on the pattern depicted on those festivals, and this was necessary for their crops and herds. productive during the new year, as well as to ward off droughts, locust plagues, etc. So Baal's return to life to be enthroned and join his consort would be celebrated with licentious fertility rites.[citation needed ]
Every Canaanite city must have had its sanctuary in honor of the local Baal. In addition, priests were appointed to lead worship at these shrines and at the many sacred places on the nearby hilltops known as "high places." It is possible that inside these sacred places there were images or representations of Baal, while outside, near the altars, were the stone columns (probably phallic symbols of Baal), the sacred posts that represented the goddess Asherah and incense racks.
One of the Ras Shamra texts mentions an offering to "Queen Shapash [the Sun] and the stars," and another alludes to the "army of the Sun and the host of the day."
Each locality had its own prefix or suffix in the name of Baal, which was usually qualified by a geographical name, as a tribute to the name of god. For example, the Baal of Peor (Baal-peor), worshiped by Moabites and Midianites, took his name from Mount Peor. Later, the names of these local Baals came to be incorporated, by metonymy, into the same geographical names, such as: Baal-hermon, Baal-hazor, Baal-zephon, and Bamot-baal.
Egypt
During the time of the Hyksos, in Egypt he was identified with Seth, a warrior god; he too was associated with Montu. But during the Eighteenth Dynasty, the cult of him in Egypt would be denigrated.
Biblical narrative
In the Tanakh, the god Baal is called one of the false gods, to which the Hebrews worshiped on some occasions when they distanced themselves from their God, Yahweh. He was worshiped by the Phoenicians together with the god Dagon (the most important of their pantheon).
Baal appears about ninety times in the Old Testament in reference to various deities. The Canaanite Baal priests are mentioned a great number of times, especially in the book of First Kings. Many scholars consider this fact to reflect the atmosphere of the time when Jezebel attempted to introduce Tyrian (Melkart) Baal worship to the Israelite capital Samaria in the IX a. C..
Combat between Baal and Yahweh
The Tanakh mentions a duel between the prophet Elijah and the priests of Jezebel (1 Kings, 18, 20-39). According to this story, both sides offered a challenge that consisted of lighting the firewood where an ox had been sacrificed, the god that by invoking managed to light the fire would be the real one. Baal failed to ignite his followers' sacrifice, as Yahweh sent fire from heaven that burned Elijah's altar to ashes, even though it had been doused with copious amounts of water. The audience then followed instructions. of Elijah and killed the priests of Baal, which led to Yahweh deciding to send rain to the country again after a severe drought.
On various occasions the Hebrew text refers to "the Baals" (in the plural) to refer collectively to the statuettes and images of the various gods of the Canaanite religions, possibly not just those of Baal.
Theophore names
Baal (also spelled Beel, Bel, etc.) forms part of numerous compound names:
- Hanibaal ▪ Aníbal (name)
- Asdrubaal Asdrúbal (name)
- Bael
- Baltasar Baltasar (name)
- Beltis ≤ Baaltis (in Egypt).
- Baal Zvuv or Belzebuth (see Belcebuth).