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Baal () texts as a king enthroned atop Mount Zaphon and is granted a palace upon his triumph in his battles I. and Hebrew /Old Testament with the forces of (the ) and II. (cf. the Yamm [Sea], Lithan [], and III. ). Along these same lines, the iconography IV. Literature of and of the wider Levantine orbit portrays V. Visual Arts -Haddu/ as a warrior wielding a club of thunder and/or a spear of (see fig. 6). In I. Ancient Near East and / other instances, Baal is depicted as slaying a ser- Old Testament pent. In the series of texts commonly designated the , the theme of Baal’s kingship is domi- 1. Baal in the Ancient Near East. The Hebrew nant. As the victor over the powers of death and term baal is a common Semitic noun for “hus- chaos, he is the giver of life. It should be pointed band,” “owner,” or “,” but as early as the 3rd millennium BCE, the term was also employed to out, however, that this theme as depicted in Ugari- refer to a deity in a god-list from Abu Salabikh. The tic is associated exclusively with the deity’s term is also attested at in personal names and ability to provide and ensure agricultural fertil- toponyms. Yet, it is difficult at times to ascertain ity. Nowhere in the myth is this role of Baal explic- which of the possible uses of the term baal is in itly connected with fertility, let alone some view. Thus, some scholars interpret references to bl supposed power to revive, grant or re- hmn as for the god (i.e., “[El,] Lord of store human life following death, as some scholars Hamon”) while others view bl hmn as the name of have conjectured (no doubt in some instances under the deity in (a construct) relationship with Hamon the influence of later Judeo-Christian notions of (i.e., the deity Baal, the patron god of Hamon, thus, the ). “Baal of Hamon”). Furthermore, the frequent oc- To be sure, in 1st-millennium BCE Phoenician currence in the Bible of the plural form, be˘a¯ lîm, has texts, Baal’s role as king continued to be high- led some scholars to view the term as referring to lighted in royal inscriptions that recognize his an unspecified local deity or simply generically to power to grant kingship to . Yet, again, no- deities other than YHWH, thus, “.” With the where is any mention made of his granting immor- discovery of the alphabetic texts from tality or to dead humans. Ugarit, however, Baal’s major role as a deity in the What seems less problematic is the notion that early religious traditions of ancient and Ca- Baal is portrayed in myth as a god who naan has been much more firmly established. This himself did indeed die and then rise from the dead. is evident even if the term is employed as a title In the such as the Baal Cycle, the other for a god who went by another name (like Hadad/ deities, including El and Anath, mourn his death, Haddu) and even if the term was used on other oc- and its effects on nature are described at length. casions to refer to other deities as well. It is clear Baal then re-appears later in the mythic plot of the that at Ugarit the equation of “Baal” and the god Baal Cycle. By any reckoning, one must account for Hadad/Haddu (or Adad/Addu) is pervasive, though the reference in the preceding sections of the Baal admittedly this might not be representative of any Cycle to deified Death’s summoning of Baal to de- wider contemporary phenomena. scend to the netherworld, the of his Through the frequent pairings of Baal and Ha- death by El and Anath, and the later description of dad in the Ugaritic texts, Baal was associated with El’s dream in which the renewal of the falling an otherwise well-known Syrian storm god of the convince El that Baal is once again alive. Moreover, 2nd millennium BCE, though by the 1st millen- there are problems with the proposal that Baal sim- nium BCE, Baal and Hadad appear as two distinct ply disappeared rather than died. In other such van- deities. In the Ugaritic god-lists, numerous ishing-god traditions, the deity vanishes of his or are listed in a series, suggesting that there were sev- her own accord as an act of divine anger, and a de- eral local cults and manifestations of the deity. Else- scent to the netherworld as part and parcel of that where at Ugarit, Baal is described as the son of El disappearance or vanishing is not mentioned (cf. and the son of Dagan. He is portrayed in the mythic the Hittite god, Telepinu). Finally, while storm

Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception vol. 3 Authenticated | [email protected] © Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, 2011 Download Date | 2/4/19 12:16 PM 197 Baal (Deity) 198 may not be portrayed as those who typically connection between a myth and a ritual. In sum, die and rise, it might be the case with the instance the biblical writers’ polemic against Baal had to do of Baal’s dying and rising in Ugaritic myth that an with the role of Baal and YHWH as the deities re- innovation had taken place at Ugarit, one perhaps sponsible for sustaining life on , which for the influenced by the myth of Dumuzi’s descent in ancient Canaanites and did not include Mesopotamian tradition (so Mettinger), but one too the revivification or restoration back to life of the late to make any impact on the Ugaritic ritual texts. human dead. Whether or not Baal’s dying and rising (as op- 2. Baal in the Bible. A comparison of the religious posed to the mythic texts) was celebrated in a sea- practices and beliefs associated with Baal as pre- sonal ritual festival at Ugarit is also problematic, served in the Bible with those reflective of - but many opine that there remains some associa- ite practice and belief attested at Ugarit and at other tion between Baal’s death and rejuvenation and the Levantine sites illustrates both the distinctive as- seasonal cycle in early Syrian tradition. In this view, pects as well as the several similarities shared by the the seasonal attachments of the Baal myth are given prior, broader Canaanite storm-god traditions and expression in the portion of the Baal Cycle wherein those in the Israelite religious traditions that the Anath annihilates Mot, deified Death, emerged from those Canaanite traditions. In fact, after which Baal returns to life. For those interpret- there is growing recognition that ’s earliest re- ers so inclined, the death of Baal here occurs at the ligious and cultural traditions possess extensive Ca- beginning of the summer and is followed by his naanite origins, as is indicated by recent archaeo- return in the fall. logical and anthropological research that situates There remains the related question: If Baal were Israel’s Late Bronze age emergence primarily, if not understood as a dying and rising god, what impact exclusively, within a Canaanite cultural milieu. or relationship might this tradition have as regards This has in turn impacted how scholars view the the death and revivification of humans in the ritual portrayal of Canaanite religion depicted in the Bible cult? One proposal is that Baal served as the patron and its close historical relationship with early Isra- god of the royal ancestor cult at Ugarit and, by im- elite religion, despite the biblical polemics. The lit- plication, continued in such a role well into the 1st erary depiction of disjunction was in fact an histori- millennium BCE. Accordingly, such a cult is pre- cal conjunction. served in a ritual text from Ugarit KTU 1.161, The deities Baal and YHWH, two of the major where in this view, Baal is portrayed as descending gods in Canaanite and Israelite religions, are por- to the netherworld following his in the trayed in their respective literary traditions as temple cult, only to bring up from the world below storm and fertility gods ( 38, Ps 29) and as war- the of the deceased kings who were genea- rior gods who can “ride the clouds” (Ps 18 : 10 = logically related to the living king, so that they may 2 Sam 22 : 11; Ps 68 : 5). Both face as their arch-nem- dine in splendor with the king and his courtiers eses the cosmic chaotic forces personified in the fig- and offer their blessings on the king, thereby reaf- ures of Yamm, or Sea (Ps 89 : 9), and his mythic firming his right to the throne. monsters, Lithan in Ugaritic and Leviathan in He- The problems with this interpretation are nu- brew (Ps 74 : 14, Job 3 : 8, 41 : 1) and Tannin (Ps merous. Conventional literary and phraseological 74 : 13, Job 7 : 12). Moreover, both deities appar- parallels found in mythic texts say nothing about ently possessed as their consort or wife the goddess the ritual realities that one should derive from such (cf. e.g., Judg 3 : 7 and in- language, since it is often the case that language scriptions that mention YHWH and Asherah as a like this is stereotypical. The presumed connection divine couple). It should be noted that Baal is also between a particular mythic theme and a histori- associated with Ashtarte () in other biblical cally-observed ritual must be demonstrated on in- traditions (Judg 2 : 13). In 1 Kgs 18, the contest be- dependent and compelling grounds (such as the di- tween the of the YHWH cult and those of rect appeal to the myth or the deity mentioned the Baal cult introduced by of the Phoeni- therein which, in the case at hand, is entirely lack- cian city of Tyre is focused on which deity possessed ing). In fact, Baal is nowhere attested in the ritual the power to provide rain to fertilize the earth. The contained in KTU 1.161, notwithstanding the divine “fire” mentioned in the story undoubtedly highly questionable proposal that he is a partici- refers to the lightning and thunder, both character- pant who is identified by the epithet, title, or divine istic qualities that accompany descriptions of the name Rpu. It is Shamash, the , who plays west Semitic storm god. the main role in this ritual as transporter of the Differences between YHWH and Baal are like- dead from earth above to netherworld below, but wise evident. Among others, one in particular not vice versa. The ubiquitous theme of kingship is stands out, namely, the Israelite demythologization by itself inadequate to make a direct or derivative of the heavenly realm. In Genesis, YHWH only sep- connection between the two, and it assumes a arates the sea from dry land and, if there are any rather antiquated view that there is some necessary reminiscences of the mythic cosmic battle between

Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception vol. 3 Authenticated | [email protected] © Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, 2011 Download Date | 2/4/19 12:16 PM 199 Baal (Deity) 200 the gods Baal and Yamm in Canaanite mythology, Bibliography: ■ Cornelius, I., The Iconography of the Canaanite they are at best faint and vague. Likewise, although Gods Reshef and Baal (OBO 140; Fribourg 1994). ■ Met- Baal’s chthonic aspect, if that is an accurate descrip- tinger, T. N. D., The Riddle of Resurrection (Coniectanea Bib- lica: Old Testamant Series 50; Stockholm 2001). tor of his role vis-à-vis the netherworld, might be ■ Schmidt, B. B., Israel’s Beneficent Dead (FAT 11; Tübingen evident in YHWH’s ability to exercise his power in 1994). ■ Smith, M. S., The Origins of Biblical (Ox- the realm of the dead (Amos 9 : 2; Hos 13 : 14; Isa ford 2001). 7 : 11), YHWH is never depicted as descending to Brian B. Schmidt the netherworld for an extended period of time. In any case, this trope raises yet again the rather con- II. Judaism tentious point regarding Baal’s categorization as a In classical rabbinic literature Baal is rarely men- “dying and rising” god and the related suggestion tioned. In the many rabbinic texts that detail the that Baal played a crucial role in the revivification laws of the sages never discuss the worship of the human dead in Canaanite religious tradition. of Baal. This is perhaps not surprising, since by that The apparent competition between YHWH and time Baal worship no longer existed. The small Baal for the hearts and minds of the Israelites is number of rabbinic texts that do mention Baal re- explored in several narratives, including those of flect the sages’ exegesis or their didactic goals and the incident at Baal- (Num 25), the of are not based on firsthand knowledge of Baal wor- at the hands of Baal worshippers (Judg 6), ship. the story about ’s challenge to the 400 pro- In fact, the sages were so far removed from Baal phets of Baal and the 450 prophets of Asherah at worship that they apparently did not notice that (1 Kgs 18), and especially in the their own term for a field that receives sufficient sponsorship of Baal worship by a number of kings rainfall (bet ha-baal) is apparently a vestige of an- who ruled over Israel and Judah, north and south. cient idolatry. The term presumably originates with For example, of Israel built a temple for Baal Baal worshipers who felt that if Baal took care of a in and worshipped him there (1 Kgs field, no human efforts would have to be expended 16 : 31–33; 22 : 53), and Manasseh, king of Judah, on irrigation (see Ben-Yehuda: 1: 575, n. 1; the term supported Baal worship in the south (2 Kgs 21 : 3), is still used in modern Hebrew.) The sages them- while his successor and son, , attempted an selves offered a very different midrashic etymology extensive purging of all Baal religion (2 Kgs 23 : 4– for this surprising turn of phrase (bMQ 2a), saying 5). Yet, despite the reference to ’s having that it connotes peace of mind or tranquility, an “wiped out Baal from Israel” during one of the cen- emotion that can result from sexual activity (based turies before the exile (2 Kgs 10 : 28), Baal worship on one meaning of the Hebrew verb b--l). In the apparently continued well into the exile (Zeph 1 : 4; , at least one , Qimh i, saw Jer 2 : 8; 9 : 13). In addition, several personal and the word Baal in the Bible as a general reference proper names from the region contain a theophoric to all forms of idolatry, explaining that these idols Baal element, suggesting that many citizens came became “the owners” of their worshipers (based on from Israelite and Judahite families who wor- another meaning of the Hebrew noun baal, shipped Baal (e.g., Jerubaal). “owner”; see Celniker: 17 [commentary on Judg Further evidence for the persistence and perva- 2 : 11]). siveness of Baal religion besides the mention of his One text in the (appearing temple (cf. also 2 Kgs 23 : 24–25) include the men- twice, with small variations) connects the worship tion of his (2 Kgs 21 : 3), his sacred pillar (2 Kgs of Baal to sexuality. According to yShab 9 : 1 (folio 10 : 27), his prophets (2 Kgs 10 : 19), and his 11d), a statue of Baal had the shape of the head of (2 Kgs 11 : 18). In fact, some biblical writers portray a penis, and (according to the standard printed text) Baal prophets as ecstatics who challenge Elijah in “it was [a] naafon.” Rabbi David Frankel (, 1 Kgs 18, and who lacerate themselves in a ritual 18th cent.) writes in the standard rabbinic commen- act. Also deserving of mention is the view that ref- tary on the Palestinian Talmud that naafon means erences to the god Hadad in the 2nd-millennium “a dildo” (presumably connecting the noun to the BCE texts from Ugarit likewise refer to this same root n--p, to commit adultery). It is more likely, West-Semitic storm god, while in the 1st millen- though, that the reading naafon is a scribal error nium BCE these two deities, Hadad and Baal, come and that the proper reading is found in the parallel to represent two distinct storm gods, Hadad of the passage in the Jerusalem Talmud, yAZ 3 : 6 (folio and Baal of the coastal Canaanites or 43a), which records that a Baal statue had the shape Phoenicians. Finally, the negative evidence along of “the head of a penis and it was Ka-afon (or ka- these lines includes the repeated attempts at the afun),” meaning that it was the size of a pea or a suppression of Baal worship (1 Sam 7 : 4 and 2 Chr bean. Again there is no reason to believe that the 23 : 17; 34 : 4), and the mention of a faithful minor- sages are reflecting knowledge of Baal worship in ity that had not succumbed to Baal worship (1 Kgs this text. More likely, they are just mocking idola- 19 : 18). try, as they often do. If the sages’ reference to Baal

Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception vol. 3 Authenticated | [email protected] © Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, 2011 Download Date | 2/4/19 12:16 PM 201 Baal (Deity) 202 with a tiny phallus is referring to some historical a long list of typological references in “A Defense reality, it might be mocking Roman statuary from of Holy .” Jean Racine’s Athalie (1691) is a their own period, when the genitals of the gods featuring the downfall of a Baal-worship- were often portrayed as being oversized. ping queen of Judah. In modern Israel, ’s anti-Baal polemic Baal unsurprisingly comes to the aid of anti- (2 : 16–17: “On that day, says the LORD, you will Catholic polemics in English poetry, as in Martin call , ‘My husband’ [ishi; lit. ‘my man’], and no F. Tupper’s “Our Church’s Enemies” (1874): “They longer will you call me, ‘My Baal’ [balî; lit. ‘my hus- worship bread and wine, and so to Baal bow the band’]. For I will remove the names of the Baals knee,/ And make thy better children, Church of from her mouth”) has taken on a new meaning. England, fear for thee.” The example of Bertolt Hosea was so concerned to fight against Baal wor- Brecht’s Baal illustrates many of the ways in which ship that he was even willing to propose a change literature made use of the . in the . Similarly, in 1953 David In 1918 at 20 years of age, four years after he Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, wrote a had finished writing Die Bibel, Brecht wrote another letter to his minister of finance suggesting a correc- play with a title almost as biblical: Baal. This work tion to the language of a proposed law where a hus- goes beyond the horizon of moral protest against band was referred to as “baal.” Ben Gurion thought war found in Die Bibel and takes on the existential it more appropriate in modern times that a hus- world of human sex, cruelty, indifference, vulgar- band be referred to as an ish, to avoid the possible ity, and humor as the hero, Baal, attempts to live suggestion that a husband owns his wife, and he while being aware that he, along with everyone cited the anti-Baal verse in Hosea to buttress his else, is just a Leichnam auf Urlaub, a “corpse on vaca- argument (Rozental). Many progressive Israelis fol- tion.” low this suggestion today and eschew the use of the The problem of human self-righteousness and  Hebrew word ba al for husband. its absolutism no longer concerns him. Instead, he Bibliography: ■ Ben-Yehuda, E., Thesaurus totius Hebraitatis has found a new and more horrible absolute than et veteris et recentioris, 16 vols. (Jerusalem et al. 1908–59). that of the grandfather in Die Bibel: death. Baal is ■ Celniker, M. (ed.), The Commentary of Rabbi David Kimhøion thus not a plea from World War I for an end to the ■ the Book of Judges (Toronto, Ont. 1983). Rozental, R., useless killing of wartime; rather, it is the shock of “Language is Precise about Profanities,” ariv (November 20, 2008; www.nrg.co.il; accessed October 26, 2010). the medical student and military orderly who has [Heb.] discovered the overall weakness of the human or- Martin Lockshin ganism, the frailty of human life, and the tenacity with which the dying hold on to it. He discovered III. Islam the transitory nature of human existence even with- In a characteristically brief and allusive passage, the out war, and it is this death-and-body-centered con- Qura¯ n refers to the Ilya¯ s (S 37 : 123; in cept of humanity that the student Brecht uses to v. 130 the form Ilya¯ sı¯ n occurs) appealing to his peo- refute the non-scientific, romantically-biblical glo- ple to abandon their worship of Baal. But only some rification of the human as poet, presumptiously heed him, and the rest will be called to face what called der Gesalbte, “the Anointed One,” as found in awaits them (S 37 : 123–30). Although no contextual Hanns Johst’s Der Einsame. details are given, the commentators accept this as a Brecht’s conversion of the protagonist poet reference to Elijah and his battle against the pagan from “the anointed” to Baal is described through- worship that flourished under Ahab and Ahaziah, out the play in terms of the Baal myth with which as recounted in 1 Kgs 17–19 and 2 Kgs 1. In the he seems to have been familiar. At this time he kept Qura¯ n, as in the HB/OT, people are diverted from in his room both a human skull and a picture of the true God by the worship of Baal, though Baal’s the Syrian god Baal over his bed – a sign of his inferiority is economically underlined here when appreciation of the insatiable appetite for life and God’s power is recalled in the title “the best of Crea- the inevitable fate of the living. Worship of Baal is tors” (v. 125). constantly condemned by the HB/OT prophets be- The term baal and its plural buu¯ la also occur in cause of its idolatry, its connection to sex and ani- the Qura¯ n with the meaning “husband,” “hus- mals as the god’s way of maintaining life, and its bands” (S 4 : 128, S 11 : 72, S 2 : 228, S 24 : 31), and in deep association with the spring rain and storm wa- this sense, together with the feminine form baa¯ la¯ ter. The famous depiction of the god on the Ras (“wife”), it is used in general speech. Shamra in the shows him striding for- David Thomas ward in the style of an Egyptian god, a shaft of lightning in one hand, an upraised thunder club in IV. Literature the other. Beneath him is a stylized representation Baal enjoys a long literary history that echoes his of the mountaintops over which he strides and on biblical role as false god. John Lydgate (1370?– which he is worshiped, and on his head is a crown 1451?) includes “fals prophetis langyng to Baal” in composed of the two horns of the bull (both bull

Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception vol. 3 Authenticated | [email protected] © Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, 2011 Download Date | 2/4/19 12:16 PM 203 Baal (Deity) 204 and calf are the symbols of fertility connected with historical concerns. Martin Buber’s play Elijah his cult), topped by a large phallus. The two long (1956) recasts the biblical conflict in terms of the curling locks of hair may represent the clouds of modern search for moral integrity. Spanish mod- the storm as well as the testes. The enemy of Baal ernist Fernando Arrabal’s Baal Babylone (1959) de- is the god Mot or Mat, death and sterility, to whom picts a childhood living in revolutionary and fas- he yields completely when the time comes. cist Spain.

Brecht uses all the elements of the myth is his Bibliography: ■ Grimm, R., Bertolt Brecht: Die Struktur seines play. The plot is very loose and bohemian but is Werkes (Nürnberg 1961). ■ Ley, R., “Brecht’s Science and held together by the symbols of the myth, the pass- Cosmic Futility,” The Germanic Review 40 (1965) 205–24. ing of the , and the image of the tree. Sex is ■ Murphy, G. R., “Brecht’s Pocket Bible,” The German Quar- everywhere, and there are even calves and bulls terly 50 (1977) 474–84. ■ Murphy, G. R., Brecht and the Bible with their farmers coming to a swindle arranged by (Chapel Hill, N.C. 1980). ■ Pabst, H., Brecht und die Religion ■ Baal. However, plot has only one real antagonist (Graz 1977). Sehm, G. G., “, Christus und Paul Ackermann: Brecht’s ‘Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Maha- that is the necessary partner of life: death. Even the gonny’,” Brecht-Jahrbuch (1976) 83–100. tree, symbol of life, can fall on a lumberjack and G. Ronald Murphy reverse their roles. Throughout the play the seasons move on, the months beginning at the start of the V. Visual Arts play with April rain and ending in November just “Baal” appears most significantly (first in the plural after All ’ Day. and then in the singular) in Judg 2 : 10–15, again in The end of the Baal myth and the end of the Jer 11 : 13, and most famously in 1 Kgs 18 : 16–39, play have a telling similarity. In the Baal myth, the referring to the primary Canaanite/Sidonian god(s) god surrenders abjectly to Mot’s rapacious jaws. Be- to which the people Israel is drawn. fore descending into the realm of death, Baal copu- Baal is most frequently portrayed in the north- lates with a heifer and begets a male offspring. west Near East – today’s coastal Syria, and Baal’s sister/consort Anath dismembers Mot and northern Israel – in antiquity. Several stone reliefs scatters the pieces (melting snow?) on the land- from perhaps 1900–1750 BCE Ugarit/Ras Shamra scape. In time, though, the news of Baal’s resurrec- depict the “Baal of Lightning” in a style reminis- tion is transmitted to the Creator God by a vision cent of : the torso is shown frontally, but the as he sees the skies opening up with rain and the lower parts of the body, most obviously the legs, once more flowing with . are shown in profile, as is the head, albeit with the When Brecht’s bohemian Baal is in the woods visible eye also shown frontally. Several thick, styl- with the lumberjacks, he seems to be associating ized locks of curled hair emerge from his conical with the forces of Mot. In a touching final moment, helmet over his shoulders, and counter-balancing Brecht has Baal drag himself to the door. No more them, curved horn-like protrusions emerge from commonplace symbol could be more effective: the his forehead. His left arm is extended slightly dying Baal looks out the open door, perhaps hoping downward and holds a lightning-bolt “tree,” as his for a sight of the stars and an unambiguous Chris- right arm is raised, clutching a club-like weapon. vision of transcendence, but he utters only, This is the “Baal of Lightning” who, as a storm god, “hmmm …” Later, another woodcutter reports that fertilizes the fields and make things grow. Simi- he was with Baal at his moment of death and asked larly, a small bronze figurine from 14th- to 12th- for his last thoughts. Baal answered, “I am listening century BCE Ugarit presents the god with enor- for the rain …” mous eyes – a virtually universal ancient Near East- Perhaps the key to Baal’s biblical “theology” lies ern attribute of gods and those in close contact with in this striving for the door. Even trapped in death, them – a towering conical helmet with bulbous top Baal is looking for life, starlight, the possible way and his right arm upraised, as if in the act of throw- out: the door. He has pleaded for companionship, ing a (cf. fig. 6). This is a variation on sex, and music. He has called out to his mother, to Baal Hadad as a storm and fertility god. numbers, and to himself (originally to God). In Somewhat more staid representations of the vivid poetry Brecht has dismissed poetry as an ulti- god in his capacity as Hadad are also found, such mate concern and reasserted the value of life itself as a Hittite image in which the god is enveloped in by pointing in biblical terms to its sovereign enemy: a body-long garment and thus depicted as a simple the . In language both scientific and anti-sci- cylinder from which his arms protrude at a hori- entific, poetic and anti-poetic, religious and anti- zontal angle – as if to receive offerings – and with religious, the play avers that we are au fond what a rounded cap and detailed curly beard. the ancients and their said we were: mor- Images of Baal as a distinctly biblical figure are tals – adding in the Christian-pagan language of less frequent than those of various Israelite heroes Baal: but it may rain again in the Spring. in the act of destroying the “Baalim” – idols, statues Baal and the biblical prophet who challenged of false Canaanite gods for which that term is used him would continue to address a variety of modern generically. Thus, Johann Christoph Weigel pub-

Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception vol. 3 Authenticated | [email protected] © Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, 2011 Download Date | 2/4/19 12:16 PM 205 Baal (Person) 206

legs that appears inspired by de Plancy’s 1818 im- age.

Bibliography: ■ Gray, J., The Canaanites (Westport, Conn. 1964). [Esp. 120–22] ■ Plancy, C. de, Dictionnaire Infernal (Paris 1818). ■ Poswick, R.-F./G. Rainotte (eds.), Diction- naire de la Bible (Brepols 1985). [Esp. plate 3] ■ Pritchard, J. B. (ed.), The Ancient Near East, vol. 1 (Princeton, N.J. 1958). [Esp. plates 135–36] Ori Z. Soltes

Baal (Person) The name Baal (MT Baal; LXX Βααλ; Ugar. Bl; Akk. ) is a common theophoric element in West- Semitic names. Most “Baal” names are compound sentence names, whether in the HB (e.g., Baal- tamar, Baal-hanan) or extra-biblical inscriptions (e.g., Balu Mehir [“Baal is a warrior”] in the Amarna texts). Occasionally, however, the name Baal ap- pears as a hypocoristicon, that is, an abbreviated form of a longer name. There are only two biblical examples of this, both in Chronicles. Two Tyrian kings are also known by the name Baal (be¯ l “Lord” in Phoenician), which may be an abbreviation of a full name which includes the name of the Canaanite deity Baal as a theophoric element.

1. The Reubenite This Baal is listed as a descendant of Reuben in 1 Chr 5 : 5. Interestingly, he is not listed as de- scended from one of the four sons of Reuben, but Fig. 6 Figurine of the storm god Baal (Ugarit/Syria, rather from a certain , whose relationship to ca. 1300 BCE) those sons is unclear. Baal is the son of a Reaiah and father of a Beerah, who was said to be taken lished a woodcut (1695) depicting the reforming Ju- into exile by Tiglath-Pil(n)eser. The few generations dean king Josiah (2 Kgs 23 : 4–7) presiding over the listed from Reuben to Beerah is evidence of the ex- destruction of the Baalim. Similarly, Bernard Picart tremely partial nature of this genealogy, perhaps and A. Van Buizen published an engraving (1728) only selecting certain individuals or a family-line of in which, as the priests of Baal are being destroyed interest to the Chronicler’s postexilic community. in the foreground, the idols themselves are being The Reubenite genealogy in chapter five is in hammered to dust in the background. Differently, two parts, the first mainly listing certain descend- the contemporary artist Duncan Long illustrates the ants of Joel down to the Assyrian exile (5 : 4–6) and plaint in Jer 11 : 10–13 that the Israelites have bro- the second listing the kinsmen of Beerah, several ken the and built to Baal with a dra- of whom may be in the previous genealogy, with matic image of a figure kneeling at sunrise amidst variations in spelling: a Joel is mentioned in both three large Anubis-like monoliths. 5 : 4 and 5 : 8, but also Jeiel in 5 : 7 (very similar or- Confusion between the ancient God Baal/Hadad thographically to Joel), Shema in 5 : 8, similar to and centuries of Christian associations between Shemaiah and Shimei in 5 : 4, and Bela in 5 : 8, per- “Baal” and various – most emphatically haps the same as Baal in 5 : 5, which the Peshitta “” – has left a legacy of images, such as renders as Bela. that in C. de Plancy’s 1818 Dictionnaire infernal,in Bela is a possible emendation for Baal here, not which this “King of Demons” possesses a crowned only based upon the Syriac evidence, but the fact human head, a frog’s head and a cat’s head that personal names containing the element Baal mounted atop eight hairy spider legs. So, too, the appear to be most common in the 10th century and idea of Baal has been appropriated in contemporary earlier (i.e., Jerubbaal, Gideon), especially with ref- visual culture to the “Diablo” series within the erence to the family of (Meribaal, Ishbaal), Mario DS game, as the “Lord of Destruction and one though names with the Baal element are attested in of the Prime Evils who rule over .” The render- the Samaria Ostraca. Knoppers, however, suggests ings of him are varied, from a horned and bony de- that the Bela of the Peshitta has suffered metathesis monic anthropomorph to one with multiple hairy and that Baal is original.

Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception vol. 3 Authenticated | [email protected] © Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, 2011 Download Date | 2/4/19 12:16 PM