THE AGES DIGITAL LIBRARY REFERENCE CYCLOPEDIA of BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL and ECCLESIASTICAL LITERATURE B - Baptists by James Strong & John McClintock To the Students of the Words, Works and Ways of God: Welcome to the AGES Digital Library. We trust your experience with this and other volumes in the Library fulfills our motto and vision which is our commitment to you: MAKING THE WORDS OF THE WISE AVAILABLE TO ALL — INEXPENSIVELY. AGES Software Rio, WI USA Version 1.0 © 2000 2 B Baader, Franz Xaver Von a Roman Catholic philosopher of Germany, was born at Munich in 1765, and died there, May 23, 1811. In early life he devoted himself especially to the study of medicine and natural science, and was rewarded for his services in the mining interests of his country by the title of nobility. He established a greater reputation by his lectures and works on philosophy and theology. Though a layman, he was appointed, in 1827, Professor of Speculative Dogmatics at the University of Munich, which chair he retained until 1838, when a ministerial decree excluded laymen from the delivery of lectures on the philosophy of religion. From early youth he had a great aversion to Rationalism, and a great longing for a deeper understanding of the mysteries of the Christian revelation. He studied with particular interest the mystic and theosophic writers, among whom he took especially Jacob Boehme (q.v.) for his guide. After his example, he built up a system of theology and philosophy, which, as all admit, is full of profound and original ideas, though, on the whole, visionary and paradoxical in the extreme. Baader never separated from the Roman Church, but published several works against the primacy of the Pope. His system of philosophy has still (1860) a number of followers, both among Romanists and Protestants. Among his principal works are: Vorlesungen uber speculative Dogmatik (Stuttg. 8 vols. 1828-38); Revision d. Philostpheme der Hegel’schen Schule (Stuttg. 1839); D. morgenlanldische und der abendlandische Katholicismus (Stuttg. 1841). His complete works have been edited, with explicit introductions, by six of his followers, Fr. Hoffmann, Hamberger, Lutterbeck, Osten-Sacken, Schaden, and Schliter (Baader’s Sdmmttiche Werke, Leipz. 1850-60, 16 vols.). The sixteenth volume contains a copious general index, and an introduction on the system and the history of the philosophy of Baader, by Dr. Lutterbeck. See also Hoffmann, Vorhalle zur epeculativen Lehre Franz Baaders (Aschaffenburg, 1836). 3 Ba’al Picture for Ba’al 1 (Hebrews id. l[iBi, lord or master), a generic term for god in many of the Syro-Arabian languages. As the idolatrous nations of that race had several gods, this word, by means of some accessory distinction, became applicable as a name to many different deities. SEE BAAL-BERITH, SEE BAAL-PEOR; SEE BAAL-ZEBUB. There is no evidence, however, that the Israelites ever called Jehovah by the name of Baal; for the passage in <280216>Hosea 2:16, which has been cited as such, only contains the word baal as the sterner, less affectionate representative of husband. It is spoken of the master and owner of a house (<022207>Exodus 22:7; <071922>Judges 19:22); of a landholder (<183139>Job 31:39); of an owner of cattle (<022128>Exodus 21:28; <230103>Isaiah 1:3); of a lender of money, i.e. creditor (<051502>Deuteronomy 15:2); also of the head of a family (<032104>Leviticus 21:4); and even of the Assyrians (or the princes) as conquerors of nations (<231608>Isaiah 16:8). SEE BAALIM. It also occurs very frequently as the first part of the names of towns and men, e.g. BAAL-GAD, BAAL-HAMON, BAAL-HANAN, etc., all which see in their alphabetical order, and compare SEE BAAL. As a strictly proper name, and in its simple form, Baal stands in the Bible for a deity, and also for two men and one village. SEE GUR-BAAL; SEE KIRJATH-BAAL; SEE MERIB-BAAL. Picture for Ba’al 2 1. This name (with the article, l[iBihi, hab-Ba’al, <070213>Judges 2:13; Sept. oJ Ba>al, but also hJ Ba>al, <241905>Jeremiah 19:5; 39:35; <451104>Romans 11:4) is appropriated to the chief male divinity of the Phoenicians, the principal seat of whose worship was at Tyre, and thus corresponds with ASHTORETH, their supreme female divinity. Both names have the peculiarity of being used in the plural, and it seems that these plurals designate either (as Gesenius, Thes. s.v. maintains) statues of the divinities, or different modifications of the divinities themselves. That there were many such modifications of Baal is certain from the fact that his name occurs with numerous adjuncts, both in the O.T. and elsewhere, as we have seen above. The plural BAALIM is found frequently alone (e.g. <070211>Judges 2:11; 10:10; <111818>1 Kings 18:18; <240914>Jeremiah 9:14; <280217>Hosea 2:17), as well as in connection with Ashtoreth (<071006>Judges 10:6; <090704>1 Samuel 7:4), and with Asherah, or, as our version renders it, “the groves” (<070307>Judges 3:7; <143303>2 4 Chronicles 33:3). There is no difficulty in determining the meaning of the name, since the word is in Hebrew a common noun of frequent occurrence, having the meaning lord, not so much, however, in the sense of ruler as of master, owner, possessor. The name of the god, whether singular or plural, is always distinguished from the common noun by the presence of the article (l[iBihi, µylæ[;B]hi), except when it stands in connection with some other word which designates a peculiar modification of Baal. In the Chaldaic form the word becomes shortened into l[eB], and thence, dropping the guttural, lBe, BEL, which is the Babylonian name of this god (Buxtorf, Lex. Chald. et Talin; so Gesenius, Furst, Movers; the identity of the two words is, however, doubted by Rawlinson, Herod. 1, 247). There can be no doubt of the very high antiquity of the worship of Baal. We find his cultus established among the Moabites and their allies the Midianites in the time of Moses (<042241>Numbers 22:41), and through these nations the Israelites were seduced to the worship of this god under the particular form of Baal-peor (<042503>Numbers 25:3 sq.; <050403>Deuteronomy 4:3). Notwithstanding the fearful punishment which their idolatry brought upon them in this instance, the succeeding generation returned to the worship of Baal (<070210>Judges 2:10-13), and with the exception of the period during which Gideon was judge (<070626>Judges 6:26 sq.; 8:33) this form of idolatry seems to have prevailed among them up to the time of Samuel (<071010>Judges 10:10; <090704>1 Samuel 7:4), at whose rebuke the people renounced the worship of Baalim. Two centuries pass over before we hear again of Baal in connection with the people of Israel, though we can scarcely conclude from this silence that his worship was altogether abandoned. We know that in the time of Solomon the service of many gods of the surrounding nations was introduced, and particularly that of Ashtoreth, with which Baal is so frequently connected. However this may be, the worship of Baal spread greatly, and, together with that of Asherah, became the religion of the court and people of the ten tribes under Ahab, king of Israel, who, partly through the influence of his wife Jezebel (q.v.), the daughter of the Sidonian king Ethbaal, appears to have made a systematic attempt to suppress the worship of God altogether, and to substitute that of Baal in its stead (<111631>1 Kings 16:31-33; 18:19, 22). And though this idolatry was occasionally put down (<120301>2 Kings 3:2; 10:28), it appears never to have been permanently or effectually abolished in that kingdom (<121716>2 Kings 17:16). In the kingdom of Judah also Baal-worship extensively prevailed. During the short reign of Ahaziah and the subsequent usurpation of his 5 mother Athaliah, the sister of Ahab, it appears to have been the religion of the court (<120827>2 Kings 8:27; comp. 11:18), as it was subsequently under Ahaz (<121603>2 Kings 16:3; <142802>2 Chronicles 28:2), and Manasseh (<122103>2 Kings 21:3). The worship of Baal among the Jews appears to have been appointed with much pomp and ceremonial. Temples were erected to him (<111632>1 Kings 16:32; <121118>2 Kings 11:18); his images were set up (<121026>2 Kings 10:26); his altars were very numerous (<241113>Jeremiah 11:13), being erected particularly on lofty eminences, SEE HIGH-PLACE, (<111820>1 Kings 18:20), and on the roofs of houses (<243229>Jeremiah 32:29); there were priests in great numbers (<111819>1 Kings 18:19), and of various classes (<121019>2 Kings 10:19); the worshippers appear to have been arrayed in appropriate robes (<121022>2 Kings 10:22; comp. Lucian, De Dez Syra, 50). His priesthood (the proper term for which seems to be µyræm;K], kemarim’, so called from their black garments) were a very numerous body (<111819>1 Kings 18:19), and were divided into the two classes of prophets and of priests (unless the term “servants,” which comes between those words, may denote a third order — a kind of Levites, <121019>2 Kings 10:19). As to the rites by which he was worshipped, there is most frequent mention of incense being offered to him (<122305>2 Kings 23:5), but also of bullocks being sacrificed (<111826>1 Kings 18:26), and even of children, as to Moloch (<241905>Jeremiah 19:5).