Who was Baal? | GotQuestions.org

Baal as the Supreme God of Ancient Canaan

Hi there. Many others like you have asked, who is Baal? Let's find out, shall we? You can also discover more on GotQuestions .org. We're happy to answer your question today. Baal was the name of the supreme god worshipped in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia.

The practice of Baal worship infiltrated Jewish religious life during the time of the judges and became widespread in Israel during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel. The word Baal means Lord and the plural is Baalim.

In general, Baal was a fertility god who was believed to enable the earth to produce crops and people to produce children. Different regions worshipped Baal in different ways and Baal proved to be a highly malleable god.

Baalism, Canaanite Mythology, and Ritual Worship

Various locales emphasized one or another of his attributes and developed special denominations of Baalism. According to Canaanite mythology, Baal was the son of El and Asherah. Baal was considered the most powerful of all gods, eclipsing his weak father.

In various battles, Baal defeated Yam and Mot. Baal's sisters and consorts were Eshtereth and Anat. The Canaanites worshipped Baal as the sun and storm gods who defeated enemies and produced crops. Baal worship was rooted in sensuality and involved ritualistic prostitution in the temples.

At times, appeasing Baal required first-worn human sacrifice, ecstatic cries, and self-inflicted injury rites. Before the Hebrews entered the promised land, the Lord God warned against worshipping Canaan's gods, but Israel turned it to idolatry anyway.

Elijah’s Confrontation with Baal on Mount Carmel

At the height of Baal worship in Israel, God directly confronted them with his prophet Elijah. First, God showed that he, not Baal, controlled the rain by sending a three-and-a-half-year drought. Then, Elijah called for a showdown on Mount Carmel to prove once and for all who the true God was.

All day long, 450 prophets of Baal called on their God for lightning, but there was no response, no one answered, and no one paid attention. After Baal's prophets gave up, Elijah prayed a simple prayer, and God answered immediately with fire from heaven.

Baal, Beelzebub, and the Reality of Idolatry

Additionally, Jesus called Satan Beelzebub, linking the devil to Baal Zebub, a Philistine deity. The Baalim of the Old Testament were nothing more than demons masquerading as gods. Ultimately, all idolatry is devil worship.

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