The name Baal (pronounced like “bail”) occurs time after time in the Old Testament, notably because he was a rival of Israel’s God. Baal is not a name but a title, meaning “master” or “lord.”
No sooner were the Israelites settled in Canaan than they were tempted to worship the local god Baal.
The Canaanites thought of Baal as a sort of chief god, controlling the weather and the land’s fertility. They built altars to Baal, particularly on high places, and they created statues of him—something the Ten Commandments strictly prohibited Israel from doing.
Baal’s chief purpose was to make things fertile—land, animals, people. Worship of Baal often involved performing sexual acts at Baal’s shrines, staffed with both male and female prostitutes.
Israel’s prophets were appalled at Baal worship (particularly the sexual aspects of it), which is why Baal is mentioned so often in the Old Testament.
At times Baal was offered human sacrifices—something that horrified the prophets (Jer. 19:5). One of the most notorious Baal worshipers was Jezebel, wife of King Ahab of Israel (see 270).
Baal’s female counterpart was Ashtoreth, a fertility goddess (see 226).
