1:711). 55:613; Jer. Fertility was envisaged in terms of seven-year cycles. These people, who became known as the Samaritans, feared the Lord but worshipped their own gods. For instance, Hezekiahs son rebuilds the shrines of Baal and the Canaanite goddess Asherah that Hezekiah had torn down: He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. Avot 5:11 on the connection between tithing and rain). 9:20 presents a parallel is mistaken since the Ugaritic text mentions the sea-god and not Death (Mot) in connection with the window.) Only the individual could decide which side he would be on, because Elijah made it clear, "God does not want you the way you are. The Bible tells us that there were dire consequences for Israel worshiping a false god (Judges 2). First was sexual orgies "under every green tree," where promiscuity and perverted sex acts were the norm. II Kings 17:7-17 catalogs the sins of Israel: Widespread idolatry. 2008 The Gale Group. Isaiah 14:13 alludes to this divine abode as "the Mount of Assembly in the recesses of afon" (har moed be-yarkete afon), the latter phrase being the equivalent of Ugaritic mrym pn or rrt pn, the height or fastness of apn. He was also king of the gods, and, to achieve that position, he was portrayed as seizing the divine kingship from Yamm, the sea god. Of special interest is the designation Aliy (ly) which is twice applied to Baal in the Krt Epic: Before the discovery and recognition of this name in Ugaritic, H.S. Baal worship is and has always been pagan; today it is replacing the laws and beliefs based upon Judaeo-Christian roots, which honours the GOD of the Bible, His laws and His ways. Baal was the god of agriculture and fertility in Canaan, becoming a fallen angel and a demon. I would also challenge the suggestion in the text of the article that the location of Lots cave is known. Horrendous and repulsive aspects of the worship sexual excesses and perversions (Isa. Study the god Baal, Baal worship, and the presentation of Baal in the Bible. Historical Background of HoseaBaal and Idolatry. The only trouble is that people like to feel comfortable in moral mediocrity. Prepare to Meet Your God! Second was passing their babies through the fire. It will be far more terrible than anything ever seen on this earth! 18 Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. O. Eissfeldt, Beitraege zur Religionsgeschichte des Altertums I (1932); H.L. Looking at these two definitions we can say . The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God. It is related that on one occasion a strange ruler came to the place where Peor was worshiped, to sacrifice to him; but when he heard of this silly practise, he caused his soldiers to attack and kill the worshipers of the god (Sifre, Num. Baal's abode was Mount apn, identified as Jebel el-Aqra ("Mount Baldy") some 30 mi. Elijah had to take drastic measures to prevent Baal worship from completely eradicating the worship of the true God (I Kings 18:20-40). Commentaries are at odds over what the Hebrew word translated divided means. The building materials, gold, silver, and lapis lazuli, were procured and the architect-builder Koshar was invited to dinner and consultation. Baal's response to Mot's invitation to come and be devoured is abject surrender: "Thy slave am I, thine eternal." He replaced the Levitical priesthood with men of his own choosing. Now the word isai, simply means music in Tamil. God's pattern is being established. 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). Let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. It is not known to what extent the Canaanites considered those various Baalim identical, but the Baal of Ugarit does not seem to have confined his activities to one city, and doubtless other communities agreed in giving him cosmic scope. Asherah was a fertility goddess. Elijah prepared the way for Elisha, who had a double portion of Elijah's spirit and did many more miracles. Learn about the Canaanite-Phoenician deities who were called Baal, which means Lord. Through the window, a cleft in the clouds, Baal gave forth his holy voice which convulsed the earth and sent his enemies scurrying to the hills and woods. When we see that our thoughts and ways are not His, we should reform and repent. In this article, well discuss what Scripture has to say about Baal, what we know from history about Baal, and why this ultimately matters to us today. John W. Ritenbaugh Adad (the Canaanite Hadad, the Semitic Hadda, the Hurrian Teshub, the Egyptian Resheph, the Phoenician Baal/Bel, the Sumerian Ishkur) is the Mesopotamian storm god, who has special maritime, celestial and meteorological attributes important to the well-being of sailors. Baal was the title of the "god" worshiped in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. 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! Anath then dismembered Mot, scattered and burned the pieces, and gave them to the birds. 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). 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. There is no doubt that prosperity is good, but unless one is properly focused and disciplined, it can also be a demanding master because of its power to distract one into idolatry. north of Ugarit. A series of bad years, which were apparently believed to come in seven-year cycles (cf. For Constantine, the acceptance of Christianity was done solely TO UNIFY TERRITORY, RELIGIONS, AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS. Mot refused and boasted how he had mangled Baal. Verse 15 points out that the people "rejected [God's] statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them." Such evil cunning. Israel's false religion, represented by the altars of Bethel, is at the root of her problems. Our god is what we give our lives over to. because they sell the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals. 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. The name Baal in the Bible is most commonly associated with the Canaanite and Phoenician god of fertility, the rain, the sun, and the storm. Lastly, he replaced God with golden calves in Bethel and Dan. Possibly even more treacherous than this was a parallel development: mixing the worship of Yahweh and Baal. The summer drought did not mean that YHWH had died (like Baal), nor did the return of the rains signal the resurrection. THIS IS A PROFILE OF PRACTICES, DOCTRINES, AND SYMBOLS OF BAAL WORSHIP . This is the crux of our salvation through Jesus Christ. The Septuagint (LXX) rendered Joshua, the son of Nun, in Greek as Iesous; the same was used for Christs name in the NT. Even those who have vaguely heard of the name Baal in the Bible know it doesnt have a good connotation. Baal was the title of the "god" worshiped in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia. By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. In Ugaritic and Hebrew, Baals epithet as the storm god was He Who Rides on the Clouds. Even now some ancient Jews (white and black) live in Cochin, Kerala, India. Silapadikaram, a Tamil Classic, mentions more than 200 musical instruments. He was overseeing a tevilah (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_washing_in_Judaism#Full-body_immersion_.28Tvilah.29) in a mikveh (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikveh). The longest of the texts deals with the construction of Baal's house on top of Mount apn. Did the Carthaginians Really Practice Infant Sacrifice? A biblical pharaoh's border monument. He established a feast in the eighth month to replace the true Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh. He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. 3:10; cf. Notably, an impressed handle found near a Canaanite grave at the site depicts Sidons storm god and a ship. I appreciate your consideration, and Im sure the Most High does as well! The Jews of Christ's day clearly recognized this putrid blend and despised the Samaritans for it. Scholars previously associated the theonym with solar cults and with a variety of unrelated patron deities, but inscriptions have . In Hosea 10:2, God charges Israel with having a divided heart. 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. Paul, in: Biblica, 49 (1968), 3436; U. Oldenburg, The Conflict Between El and Bal in Canaanite Religion (1969). The violence and injustice in Israelite society ultimately stemmed from the false teaching proclaimed from the pulpits. Your email address will not be published. 25:111; Ps. In the El-Amarna letters the logogram for the weather-god is conventionally read Addu, but that it is sometimes to be read Baluis indicated by the addition of the phonetic complement-lu, as well as by the names like Mut dIm written syllabically as mu-ut-ba-a-lum. Evil practices never go away. 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. 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). Psalm 68 may have been written, in part, as a polemic against Baal worship wherein it is indicated in verse 4 that YHWH is the one who rides the clouds. Some of Judah's kings spent years tearing down shrines and high places to foreign gods (II Chronicles 34:1-7). He views them as personally rejecting Him and His Word. (the Iron Age). He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them (2 Kings 21:3). Adad roughly equates with the later Phoenician storm god Baal, the worship of whom is championed by the nefarious queen Jezebel in the Bible. In their ignorance, the people do not realize the terrible calamity that is coming soon upon modern Israel. God sends a prophet to people who are cold in their relationship with Godspiritually freezing to deaththough they want to stay that way. In short, Scripture has nothing positive to say about Baal. A religion with such a beginning was doomed to fail, bringing the nation down with it. ), from an original Baal-Zebul, which is preserved in this form in the New Testament (Matt. In some cases, they attempted to attach this practice to worship of the Lord (Ezek 23:39). The latter title has a biblical echo in the corrupted form Baal-Zebub (II Kings 1:2ff. The most prominent idol that they worshiped was Baal. 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. that the southern kingdom of Judah ever had .just like her momma. Most of the information they gave turned out to be wrong, to be lies. Baal worship was rooted in sensuality and involved ritualistic prostitution in the temples. 4. 7:1416). It may seem easy to point the finger at the ancient Israelites and say, How could you let a bull statue into Israel? Depending on the tradition, she was either Baal's mother, lover, or both. Two practices in particular are mentioned in Scripture. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. . That afon designated the "north" in Hebrew is presumably due to the fact that Mount Casius lies directly north of Palestine. Right now, though, we are witnessing a steady defection from the basic principles of the Bible, away from what we call the Judeo-Christian ethic. Photo: Courtesy of Claude Doumet-Serhal. The word bal, common Semitic for "owner, master, husband," became the usual designation of the great weather-god of the Western Semites. Asherah, another popular deity in Canaan, was the goddess of motherhood and fertility . So the word Poeni can be rewritten as Peyeni or as Payani or as Payan. When a person is freezing to death, he feels a pleasant numbness that he does not want to end. 106 a ). Given Sidons position on the coast, it is not surprising that the storm god is Sidons most important god. In Canaanite religion her primary role was that of mother goddess. He began to prophesy in a time of immediate crisis, one that would become far worse before it ever improved. The Name] instead of prouncing the YHWH word even though the Masoretes added the sheva below the Y and the Qamats below the W. What will happen will affect the entire world, even though the world will not grasp the spiritual significance. But what was its real effect on the participants and the nation? So-called from Mount Peor, where this worship was celebrated, the Baal of Peor. Baal rejoiced and celebrated with a banquet. Yet Sidon was a significant site before this period, too. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered!only to go on doing all these abominations? Baal is also referred to about 12 times as "the Rider of the Clouds" which undoubtedly testifies to his control over the rain and storms. One of the rooms in this temple had a bench, where offerings would have been placed, and an altar made of . 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. Even as the Canaanite religion waned, Baal took on a new role as Zeus in the Ancient Greek pantheon. How Is Harry Potter a Literary Christ Figure? Archaeologists at Sidon have uncovered a 12th-11th-century B.C.E. 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. There are several ideas as to exactly what Elijah meant by "How long will you falter between two opinions?" The Spread of Baalism. With Baal's functions accredited to YHWH, it was natural and fitting that some of Baal's titles would also be taken over. Since the Ugaritic verified the antiquity and authenticity of this divine name, additional instances have been alleged in the Psalter and in Job. Ashtaroth is mentioned 12 times in the Old Testament. So it was in the northern kingdom of Israel after its division from the kingdom of Judah. 33:7) has been made the basis of intriguing speculation by Eissfeldt. Matthew 5:17Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 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. 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. The Devil is behind a. Given Jezebels religious fervor in the Bible, one would expect to find evidence of Baal worship at Sidon. Not a BAS Library member yet? Thus the basis of the Baal cult was the utter dependence of life on the rains which were regarded as Baal's bounty. The principal pillars of Baalism were child sacrifice, sexual immorality (both heterosexual and homosexual) and pantheism . 29:35, 32:26; Nah. The Masoretic text has the 4 letters YHWH with a sheva under the Y, pronounced yuh, and a Qamats below the W, i.e. Notice the dramatic change of attitude in the people. Today,. A falling away is taking place right now. Kings Ahaz and Manasseh, El and Anath mourn violently, mutilating their faces and bodies. In the formative stages of Israels history, the presence of Baal names did not necessarily mean apostasy or even syncretism. Baal worship was the bane of the Ancient Israelites. The laws given to Moses by God expressly forbade the Jews to do what was done in Egypt or in Canaan. 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. Today Baal churches preach and teach Baal doctrines; prosperity, harvest, sex and fertility. 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. The Lord calls for the worship of him and his idols to be uprooted and destroyed, and for the people to turn away from his false . Issuing a challenge to his enemy Mot (death), who presumed to rule gods and men, Baal dispatched his messengers to Mot's infernal, filthy abode, warning them not to get close to Mot's rapacious jaws. BAAL WORSHIP AND SEMITIC RACISM This term was used as a title and name of various local deities worshipped as guardians, heroes, and kings. The beliefs and practices of the Canaanites were not only detestable, but they also . When the rain failed, it was inevitable that some would question YHWH's power and resort to Baal. Virtually all reference to Baal's consort, the violent "Virgin Anath" with whom Baal copulates by the thousand in one of the Ugaritic mythological fragments has been excluded from the Bible, but the goddesses Ashtart (Judg. Updated: 12/07/2022 These Israelites were lethargic in terms of true, spiritual matters. 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. This full-body immersion was required for converts (giyur) to the sect called The Way (HaDerech) in Acts whether a Pharisaic/Saddusaic Jew or a Gentile proselyte (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_to_Judaism). 10:1113; 14:22). COPYRIGHT 2023 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY 5614 Connecticut Ave NW #343, Washington DC 20015-2604. 22:816). Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1998 - 2023 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. 4:12; Hos. Note the name of her father, King of the Sidoneans and apparently (Josephus) a priest of Baal as well. It is urgent that we understand what is involved here because it reveals the cause of God's anger that led to Israel's defeat and scattering. *Romans 1:25 "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and WORSHIPPED AND SERVED THE CREATURE MORE THAN THE CREATOR". It seemed they couldnt border a single person who didnt try to destroy them or convince them to worship their own gods. 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. Israel "walked in the statutes of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel." 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! 131; Sanh. Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Searching for Israel (Part Six): Israel Is Fallen, Is Fallen. Sidon is the birth place of Jezabel. The rains were fully controlled by YHWH who called them from the sea and poured them out on the surface of the earth (Amos 5:8b; 9:6b). Thus, IF one is to pronounce the Tetragrammaton according to the masoretic vowel-markings, then it should probably be pronounced something like yuh-WAH or yuh-HWAH. 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. That made God so angry that a plague spread through their ranks; Phinehas stood up and pled their case and the . In mythological texts from the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550-1200 B.C.E) city-state of Ugarit, she is called "the creatress of the gods"; her consort at Ugarit, the god El, is . They clash violently until both are prostrate and the Sungoddess warns Mot not to fight with Baal lest El hear and overthrow him. What the Bible says about It has been suggested that this clash was indirectly a conflict between Baal and El, with Yamm serving as champion for the venerable El, as the Titans fought on behalf of Kronos in the Greek version of the myth and the stone colossus Ulikummi for Kumarbi in the Hurrian-Hittite version which is roughly contemporary with the Ugaritic texts. 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. She gives life to 70 other gods in the Canaanite pantheon. Bible Study Hosea Old Testament. Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/ggenova. Near Baals temple was that of Dagon, given in the tablets as Baals father. you didnt even mention her horrible daughter Athaliah, the only killer queen The Laodicean evaluates himself, saying, "I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing" (Revelation 3:17). Assyria, a kingdom known as much for its innovative weapons as for their brutal implementation, conquered the Kingdom of Israel in 718 BC. The Bible speaks of the destruction of Baal's temples and the idols associated with him. In the Old Testament, many of the kings and eventually the whole nation of Israel rebelled against God and chose opposing belief systems. This second, universal interpretation is a better fit because, when we look at the whole passage, the events and personalities are worldwide in scope. Does that way of life conform to the God of the Bible, or does it spring from the mind of men? However, God shows there is a possible harmful, secondary effect: As people become financially secure, their attention is diverted from His purpose to vain and unimportant things. Rejection of God's Law. 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. Apparently in anticipation of developments the artisan god Koshar had cast furnishings of gold and silver. No doubt, we cant cover the breadth of verses on Baal here, but we should make a note that Baal becomes a big player in the book of Judges and during the time of the kings when Israel appears to succumb most to the foreign pantheons. 14:2). Required fields are marked *. Baal was the god of rain, wind, and fertility. This chapter reports on the behavior of the people placed in Israel after Israel's conquest and deportation by Assyria between 722-720 BC. Isai is music in Tamil and Vallavi means an expert. 1:21), would be catastrophic. 106:28). 57 Bull Baal. 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. After we accept His calling, He commands us to become moral as He is. To accommodate Baal ideology to Yahwism required some radical transformations. (The Book of Amos) (Part Two). Doumet-Serhal explains the significance of the handles iconography: The dragon epitomizes the most fundamental ancient mythical perception of the Mesopotamian storm god. 14:2, 9; Num. A general understanding about the bamah and . In spite of the fact that the word is used as the theophorous element in personal names, such as Eshbaal, Merib-Baal, Jerub Baal, it was long believed that the term remained an appellation and did not become a proper name, except in the case of the Mesopotamian Bel and in late theological speculation. Hosea exposes the problem between God and Israel. 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. More than 1400 of her works have been featured in various publications. 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." 14:13). Remember, this falling away sets the stage for the man of sin, who will have tremendous influence over humanity. Jews nowadays say Ha-Shem [i.e. He established a feast in the eighth month to replace the true Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh. BAAL-WORSHIP AMONG THE GENTILES.The evidence is hardly of such weight as to justify us in speaking of a worship of Baal. They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, and pervert the way of the humble." 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." In Psalms 48:23, Mount Zion is equated with "the recesses of afon" (the phrase quoted above from Isa. 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! 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). 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. Observing Christmas and Easter in the name of Christ is no different. A god Baal apn was known from Egyptian and Akkadian sources before the discovery of the Ugaritic documents. Christianity.com is a member of the Salem Web Network of sites including: Copyright 2023, Christianity.com. Before descending to the realm of death, Baal copulates with a heifer and begets a male offspring. Koshar twice recommended that a window be installed and Baal twice vetoed the suggestion, although Koshar insisted that Baal would have to reconsider. 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. A prophet's life is not a happy situation. Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica. The god Baal was the heathen sun-god spoken of in the Old Testament. Whatever the case, there is no doubt about Elijah's intent: "How long will you keep shifting from one opinion to the other?" What Tamils are you speaking of? Today Jezebel has built Baal altars in the name of 'church' and led many to Baal worship. 410; reconstructed text) which after the great "Weather-god, Lord of Mount azi" presents six other "weather-gods," numbered two through seven. One such deity who gripped Israel for a period of time was Baal. This is a prophet's job, a hallmark of a prophet of God. The worship of this idol consisted in exposing that part of the body which all persons usually take the utmost care to conceal. FREE ebook: Israel: An Archaeological Journey. The Semitic word Baal means lord or master, and the ancient people believed he was in charge of all of nature and humans. Israel "feared other gods" (verse 7). Tamil is connected with the Phoenician. (the Middle Bronze Age). What Is the Significance of Not the Letter but of the Spirit? The Aztec people used two calendars. Prophets and Prophecy (Part 1). 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. linked to Molech (also called Milcom in the Bible). The prophet turns the heat on, and they become angry with him when he is actually working to make them better. Baal Worship Baal-Berith Berbers Bet (Ha)-Midrash Bet Din Bethar Bibliophiles Bloodletting Chronicles of Kings of Israel Episcopus Judaeorum Essenes Exile Fable Flood Forced Baptism Garden of Eden Glass Golden Calf Goliath Great Revolt Great Synagogue Hannah and her Seven Sons Hasmoneans/Maccabees Hebrew Printing Hekdesh Herod Herodian Dynasty