However, the Hebrew Bible’s partisan portrayal of Ahab— judged the worst king in Israel’s history by the Judean editors of the books of Kings (1 Kgs 16:30; cf. 1 Kgs 21:25–26)—and his son Ahaziah as unrepentant Baal worshipers cannot be taken at face value, serving as it does late Judahite political and religious interests.

While some scholars argue that the Baal polemics in the Elijah cycle contain traces of early Israelite tradition, the writers who composed and edited the biblical material in the books of Kings about the Omrides’ worship of Baal clearly were Judean scribes active in the post-monarchic period, hundreds of years af- ter the events portrayed.
ellauri499.html on line 143: In short, the Hebrew Bible’s late, tendentious portrait of the Omrides as ardent Baal worshipers cannot be used to reconstruct ninth-century Israelite religion. Rather, I argue that the evidence points toward the Omride royal court in Samaria as the engine of Israel’s political-religious transformation during the Iron Age IIB, including YHWH’s identifcation as the “god of Israel”, via his translation as a storm god modeled on Baal(-šamêm).
ellauri499.html on line 145: Ironically, to the extent that the Baal polemics in the books of Kings (coincidentally?) refect anything historical about early Israelite religion, I argue that it is the memory of the Omrides’ central role in reforming Israelite religion on a Phoenician model, albeit to promote YHWH, not Baal, as the “god of Israel” and Israel’s divine “lord.”
ellauri499.html on line 147: Despite the Hebrew Bible’s polemics against Baal—indeed, because of the evidence that such polemics supply—Baal’s worship, whether as a separate god and/or in convergence with YHWH, also appears to have been unproblematic in Judah prior to the second half of the eighth century, both in royal and non-royal circles.
ellauri499.html on line 149: Along these lines, the oracle in Jer 11:13 hyperbolically claims that Jerusalem contained as many altars to Baal as the city had streets, perhaps an indication of Baal’s popular appeal in Judah’s capital. Strikingly, Hosea and Jeremiah are the only prophetic books that appear to have been vexed by the worship of Baal.
ellauri499.html on line 163: Like northern Israel—indeed, perhaps because of Israelite infuence—Judahites initially may have conceived of YHWH on the model of Baal(-šamêm), with uniquely Judahite YHWistic traditions only developing in connection with Judah/Jerusalem’s growth in the eighth century and its political and commercial orientation south towards Egypt rather than Lebanon and Syria.
ellauri499.html on line 165: Those who ideologically opposed Baal’s worship in Judah—particularly the “deuteronomistic” scribal circles responsible for the composition, editing, and transmission of the books of Kings, Jeremiah, and Hosea—were "religious innovators," who likely remained in the minority until the post-monarchic period.
ellauri499.html on line 169: Whatever YHWH’s “original” profile may have been, YHWH’s storm-god characteristics appear to have been appropriated virtually wholesale from Baal/Haddu during the Iron Age II period in Israel-Palestine.
ellauri499.html on line 175: Opposition to YHWH’s worship on the model of Baal evidently frst emerged in limited Judahite circles during the mid- to late eighth century, right around the time that the Neo-Assyrian empire took control of the southern Levant (see Hosea 2). In the context of this shifting geopolitical landscape Israel attempted to strongarm Judah, an Assyrian vassal, into joining its anti-Assyrian coalition with Syria-Damascus.
ellauri499.html on line 177: Opposition to Baal veneration in Judah may have arisen in small pockets of upper-class Judahite society as a political-religious effort to differentiate the politics of Judahite worship of YHWH from that of the northern Israelite YHWH cult, with its links to Lebanon and Syria. In the early to mid-eighth century, Jeroboam II appears to have placed YHWistic calf icons evoking the exodus in royal sanctuaries at Bethel and Dan(?) in an effort to further concentrate monarchic power in Samaria, which already had a calf icon emblemizing YHWH.
ellauri499.html on line 181: The destruction of the kingdom of Israel in 722/720 by the Assyrians, together with Sennacherib’s failed siege against Jerusalem in 701, likely only served to consolidate this new brand of Judahite YHWism, the proponents of which— perhaps best exemplifed by the post-monarchic authors of the Baal polemics in the Elijah cycle—probably remained in the minority until sometime after Judah’s defeat by the Babylonians in  587-586.
ellauri499.html on line 187: Was Baal a relatively good guy until and except for the prophets plus Nehemiah?
ellauri499.html on line 189: No. In the Bible, “Baal” isn’t portrayed as a “good guy” who’s only problematic in a narrow exception—it’s presented as a false god (i.e., something Israelites are warned not to worship). The “prophets of Baal” in the Elijah story are shown as wrong/misled competitors to Yahweh, and the whole confrontation is framed to discredit Baal. As for Nehemiah (the biblical figure) is not a known part of a “Baal vs. Yahweh prophets” story in the way Elijah is—Nehemiah’s work is mainly about rebuilding/leading after the Babylonian exile and religious reforms, not debating Baal as a supernatural rival.
ellauri499.html on line 193: You’re right that a lot of the material we read as “Baal vs. Yahweh” has gone through editing and redaction over time—especially in the exilic/post-exilic periods. But even if we grant that, it doesn’t follow that “Baal was relatively good except for the bad prophets,” because the core conflict in these texts isn’t just “who got the history wrong”; it’s also what the community wanted to claim about worship, legitimacy, and authority.

Here are the main ways that claim still doesn’t really land, even with post-Babylonian editing:
ellauri499.html on line 195: The texts’ basic purpose is polemic The stories/poems that invoke Baal (and the “Baal prophets” motif) are typically written or reshaped to argue that Baal worship is false and harmful from the perspective of the reforming/Yahweh-centered community. Post-Babylonian editors can add detail or sharpen theology, but the rhetorical aim usually stays the same.
ellauri499.html on line 197: “Edited” ≠ “reversed meaning” Redaction can change emphasis (e.g., what’s blamed, who gets portrayed sympathetically, how villains are framed), but it rarely flips a story from “Baal is good” to “Baal is bad and Yahweh is bad.” If the editors wanted to defend the Yahweh-only reform program, the stories are likely kept aligned with that.
ellauri499.html on line 199: You can challenge details without concluding Baal is “a good guy” Even if the historical reality was messier—some Israelites may have practiced Baal alongside other deities, or cultic life may have varied by region—the biblical authors are not trying to give a neutral ethnography of Baal worship. They’re constructing a moral/religious lesson. So the most you can often responsibly say is: we can’t take every characterization at face value as history, not that Baal is being misrepresented as good.
ellauri499.html on line 201: The “prophets” labels are part of the argument. In these narratives, calling the other side “prophets of Baal” functions like “religious rivals” in a theological contest. Editors could reframe the rhetoric, but the rival-vs-rival structure is central to the story’s persuasive point.
ellauri499.html on line 203: Nehemiah angle If you’re connecting this to Nehemiah specifically, Nehemiah is associated more with restoration-era governance and covenant identity than with writing “Baal vs. Yahweh” story-theology. The strongest Baal polemics tend to cluster in other traditions (often prophetic/Deuteronomistic streams), even if later editorial activity may have shaped their final forms.
ellauri499.html on line 210: That said, even if we accept that the biblical text is “tainted” (redacted/polemical), it still doesn’t automatically imply “Baal was a relatively good guy” in any straightforward moral sense. What it does imply is something more historically plausible:
ellauri499.html on line 212: Religious competition was real, and different groups backed different cults Ahab and Omri (and earlier Jeroboam-era traditions) are portrayed in Kings as promoting worship associated with the northern court and its contacts. If you strip away the Bible’s moral framing, the most defensible inference is: there were pro-Baal/anti-Yahweh (or at least pro–other-deity) factions or households in at least parts of Israel/Judah at different times.
ellauri499.html on line 220: So where does this leave your core claim? Yes and no (how I love these ties): Yes: it’s very plausible that many Israelites (including elites) viewed Baal (and/or associated cult practices) positively or at least legitimately, and the biblical “taint” matters. No (or not necessarily): it’s still not safe to conclude that therefore Baal was “good” in a moral sense, because the sources we have are filtered through a polemical framework. The historically grounded takeaway is about plural practice and political-religious conflict, not about who “was good.”
ellauri499.html on line 222: If you want to pin this down concretely, tell me which episode you have in mind for “Aaron, Ahab, Omri” (e.g., Aaron and the golden calf; Ahab/Elijah and Carmel; the Omri dynasty and Baal). Then I can show how those texts are arguing—and what a “non-polemical reconstruction” usually tries to preserve (and what it tries to discard).
ellauri499.html on line 234: At that point, the question stops being “Was Baal good?” and becomes: Was there a dominant faction that associated Baal with what it called right order, prosperity, legitimacy, fertility, kingship, etc.? Did the later Yahweh-centered tradition retrospectively demonize Baal as a way to delegitimize political rivals? Do the “exceptions” (prophets, leaders, reformers) map onto shifts in power rather than shifts in ethics?
ellauri499.html on line 237: If you want to go one level deeper: when you say “Baal,” are you thinking specifically of the Elijah-on-Carmel rivalry frame, or are you thinking more generally of the Omri/Ahab era and how the northern court used Baal-associated legitimacy?
ellauri499.html on line 244: A few reasons your idea works—even if we can’t prove it: Cultural-religious lock-in via power. Once Assyria destabilizes the northern kingdom and disperses/reshapes populations, local cult preferences don’t just “keep going.” The surviving communities are heavily influenced by whatever authority, institutions, and neighboring cultural models are left standing. Baal is not a single stable “brand.” Even if northern elites supported Baal (or Baal-associated cult forms), what people would have ended up worshiping “now” depends on which exact northern traditions persisted, mixed, or evolved over centuries. Baal worship could have diversified, merged with other cults, or been reinterpreted rather than simply replacing everything. The Yahweh-only program also depended on political survival. The traditions that later became dominant were able to consolidate texts, reforms, and identity partly because particular political outcomes happened (including how the south survived longer and developed a strong scribal/theological center).
ellauri499.html on line 246: What I’d tweak in your framing: it’s less “we’d be worshiping their bullshit exactly,” and more “we might have a different dominant religious memory,” where Baal-associated patterns (fertility kingship, certain ritual symbols, mythic frameworks) could have remained more central in mainstream worship. Fertility is diminishing in the West as it is, while the Haredi are multiplying like rabbits.
ellauri499.html on line 252: Baal (/ˈbeɪ.əl, ˈbɑːl/) or Ba'al was a title and honorific meaning "owner" or "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied to gods.
ellauri499.html on line 254: Inscriptions and ancient graffiti have shown that the name Baal was particularly associated with the storm and fertility god Hadad and his local manifestations. The Ugaritic god Baal is the protagonist of one of the lengthiest surviving epics from the ancient Near East, the Baal Cycle. Baal was God of fertility, weather, rain, wind, lightning, seasons, war, sailors etc. Baal with Thunderbolt stele from Ugarit (Musée du Louvre, Paris) Symbol Bull, ram, thunderbolt Region.
ellauri499.html on line 260: Equivalents Greek Zeus Aramaean and Mesopotamian Hadad Hurrian Teshub Arabic Hubal Egyptian Set (due to being a foreign god in Egypt, since Set was the god of foreigners – otherwise Baal Zephon, equivalent to Baʿal Hadad, was also equated with Horus.
ellauri499.html on line 262: Known by epithets like "rider of the clouds" and "Victorious Baal", he was associated with rain, lightning, wind, fertility, and kingship, and was often depicted in opposition to sea and death deities like Yammu and Mot. Worship of Baal spread throughout the Levant, Egypt, and the Mediterranean via Phoenician colonization, with regional forms such as Baal Hammon in Carthage. The god was also known as "the mighty one", and "the one without equal" ("there is none above him"). Sounds familiar.
ellauri499.html on line 264: The Hebrew Bible includes use of the term in reference to various Levantine deities, often with application towards Hadad, who was decried as a false god. In the Hebrew Bible, Baal appears frequently as a foreign or rival deity, with prophets like Elijah opposing his cult, while in early Israelite contexts, the title may have sometimes referred to Yahweh. Depiction as a false god was taken over into Christianity and Islam, sometimes under the form Beelzebub (Lord of flies) in demonology. Classical sources rendered him as Belus. The Quran also references Baal worship, portraying him as a false god opposed by the prophet Elijah (Arabic: Ilyās or Elyas) (Qur’an 37:125). The Quran also mentions Ba'al as a common noun meaning “husband” (Qur’an 2:228, 4:128, 11:72, 24:31). Ba'al (בעל) is the most commonly used Modern Hebrew word for a husband.
ellauri499.html on line 268: The spelling of the English term "Baal" derives from the Greek Báal (Βάαλ) which appears in the New Testament and Septuagint, and from its Latinized form Baal, which appears in the Vulgate. These forms in turn derive from the vowel-less Northwest Semitic form bʿl (Phoenician and Punic: :𐤁.
ellauri499.html on line 281: He was also called upon during battle, showing that he was thought to intervene actively in the world of man, unlike the more aloof El. The Lebanese city of Baalbeck was named after Baal. Alternatively, Ba' al is a divine co-regent with El, where El was the executive while Ba' al was the sustainer of the cosmos. The Baʿal of Ugarit was the epithet of Hadad, but as time passed, the epithet became the god's name while Hadad became the epithet. Baʿal was usually said to be the son of Dagon, the funny fish god, but appears as one of the sons of El in Ugaritic sources. Both Baʿal and El were associated with the bull in Ugaritic texts, as they symbolized both strength and fertility. He held special enmity against snakes, both on their own and as representatives of Yammu (lit. "Sea"), the Canaanite sea god and river god. He fought the Tannin (Tunnanu), the "Twisted Serpent" (Bṯn ʿqltn), "Lotan the Fugitive Serpent" (Ltn Bṯn Brḥ, the biblical Leviathan)] and the "Mighty One with Seven Heads" (Šlyṭ D.šbʿt Rašm). Baʿal's conflict with Yammu is now generally regarded as the prototype of the vision recorded in the 7th chapter of the biblical Book of Daniel. As vanquisher of the sea, the Canaanites and Phoenicians regarded Baʿal as the patron of sailors and sea-going merchants. As vanquisher of Mot, the Canaanite death god, he was known as Baʿal Rāpiʾuma (Bʿl Rpu) and regarded as the leader of the Rephaim (Rpum), the ancestral spirits, particularly those of ruling dynasties. From Canaan, worship of Baʿal spread to Egypt by the Middle Kingdom and throughout the Mediterranean following the waves of Phoenician colonization in the early 1st millennium BC. He was described with diverse epithets, and before Ugarit was rediscovered, these were supposed to refer to distinct local gods. However, as explained by Day, the texts at Ugarit revealed that they were considered "local manifestations of this particular deity, analogous to the local manifestations of the Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic Church". In those inscriptions, he is frequently described as "Victorious Baʿal" (Aliyn or Ảlỉyn Baʿal), "Mightiest one" (Aliy or ʾAly] or "Mightiest of the Heroes" (Aliy Qrdm), "The Powerful One" (Dmrn), and in his role as patron of the city "Baʿal of Ugarit. As Baʿal Zaphod, he was particularly associated with his palace atop Jebel Aqra (the ancient Mount Ṣapānu and classical Mons Casius). He is also mentioned as "Winged Baʿal" (Bʿl Knp) and "Baʿal of the Arrows" (Bʿl Ḥẓ). Phoenician and Aramaic inscriptions describe "Baʿal of the Mace" (Bʿl Krntryš), "Baʿal of the Lebanon" (Bʿl Lbnn), "Baʿal of Sidon" (Bʿl Ṣdn), Bʿl Ṣmd, "Baʿal of the Heavens" (Baʿal Shamem or Shamayin), Baʿal ʾAddir (Bʿl ʾdr), Baʿal Hammon (Baʿal Ḥamon), Bʿl Mgnmt. Baʿal Hammon was worshipped in the Tyrian colony of Carthage as their supreme god. It is believed that this position developed in the 5th century BC following the severing of its ties to Tyre following the 480 BC Battle of Himera. Like Hadad, Baʿal Hammon was a fertility god. Inscriptions about Punic deities tend to be rather uninformative, though, and he has been variously identified as a moon god[citation needed] and as Dagan the grain god[citation sorely missed].
ellauri499.html on line 289: 1 Kings 18 records an anecdote of a contest between the prophet Elijah and Jezebel's priests. Both sides offered a sacrifice to their respective gods: Baʻal failed to light his followers' sacrifice while Yahweh's heavenly fire burnt Elijah's altar to ashes, even after it had been soaked with water. The observers then followed Elijah's instructions to slay the priests of Baʿal, after which it began to rain, showing Yahweh's mastery over the weather. Other references to the priests of Baʿal describe their burning of incense in prayer and their offering of sacrifice while adorned in special vestments. The title baʿal was initially a synonym of the Hebrew adon ("Lord") and adonai ("My Lords") still used as aliases of the Lord of Israel Yahweh. According to some scholars, the early Hebrews did use the names Baʿal ("Lord") and Baʿali ("My Lord") in reference to the Lord of Israel, just as Baʿal farther north designated the Lord of Ugarit or Lebanon. This occurred both directly and as the divine element of some Hebrew theophoric names. However, according to others it is not certain that the name Baal was definitely applied to Yahweh in early Israelite history. The component Baal in proper names is mostly applied to worshippers of Baal, or descendants of the worshippers of Baal. Names including the element Baʿal presumably in reference to Yahweh include the judge Gideon (also known as Jerubaʿal, lit. "The Lord Strives"), Saul's son Eshbaʿal ("The Lord is Great"), and David's son Beeliada ("The Lord Knows"). The name Bealiah ("The Lord is Jah"; "Yahweh is Baʿal" combined the two. However John Day states that as far as the names Eshbaʻal, Meribaʻal, and Beeliada (that is, Baʻaliada), are concerned it is not certain whether they simply allude to the Canaanite god Baʻal, or are intended to equate Yahweh with Baʻal, or have no connection to Baʻal]. It was the program of Jezebel, in the 9th century BC, to introduce into Israel's capital city of Samaria her Phoenician worship of Baal as opposed to the worship of Yahweh that made her name anathema to the chauvinists.
ellauri499.html on line 291: At first the name Baal was used by the Jews for their God without discrimination, but as the struggle between the two religions developed, the name Baal was given up by the Israelites as a thing of shame, and even names like Jerubbaal were changed to Jerubbosheth: Hebrew bosheth means "shame". Eshbaʿal became Ish-bosheth and Meribaʿal became Mephibosheth, but other possibilities also occurred.
ellauri499.html on line 293: Gideon's name Jerubaʿal was mentioned intact but glossed as a mockery of the Canaanite god, implying that he strove in vain. Direct use of Baʿali continued at least as late as the time of the prophet Hosea, who reproached the Israelites for doing so. Brad E. Kelle has suggested that references to cultic sexual practices in the worship of Baal, in Hosea 2, are evidence of an historical situation in which Israelites were not behaving to the liking of thepruder southpaws, either preferring sexy Baal practices for boring Yahweh or blending the two. Hosea's references to sexual acts were metaphors for Israelite "apostasy". Brian P. Irwin argues that "Baal" in northern Israelite traditions is a form of Yahweh that was rejected as foreign by the prophets. In southern Israelite traditions, "Baal" was a god that was worshipped in Jerusalem. His worshippers saw him as compatible or identical with Yahweh and honored him with human sacrifices and fragrant meal offerings. Eventually, the Chronicler(s) disapproved of both "Baals" whilst the Deuteronomists used "Baals" for any god they disapproved of. Likewise, Mark S. Smith believes Yahweh was more likely to be inspired by Baal rather than El, since both are stormy divine warriors and lack the pacifistic traits of El according to the Ugaritic texts and Hebrew Bible.
ellauri499.html on line 297: An earlier passage had made Shechem the scene of Joshua's covenant between all the tribes of Israel and "El Yahweh, our god of Israel" and a later one describes it as the location of the "House of El Berith". Big fat hairy difference. It is thus unclear whether the false worship of the "Baʿalim" being decried is the worship of a new idol or rites and teachings placing Yahweh as a mere local god within a larger pantheon. The Hebrew Scriptures record the worship of Baʿal threatening Israel from the time of the Judges until the monarchy, but it may just have North-South politics masquerading as religious heresy.

Throughout all the stories of Judges the popular faith in YHWH/Baal runs like alternating current. This faith raises the judges, and inspires poets, prophets, and Nazirites. ... Worship of Baals and Ashtoreths has been schematically interspersed between these chapters. No trace of a vital, popular belief in any specifically foreign gods can be detected in the stories. Baal prophets were identified snd eliminated in Israel centuries later; but during the age of the judges when Israel is supposed to have been most deeply affected by the religion of Canaan, there are no Baal priests or prophets to speak of, nor any other intimation of any trouble from polytheism in Israel’s life, while the Deuteronomist and the present form of Jeremiah phrase the Judahite godnapping as struggle about monolatry or monotheism against henotheism or polytheism.
ellauri499.html on line 299: Yahweh is frequently identified in the Hebrew scriptures with El Elyon. This was after a conflation with El in a process of religious syncretism. ’El (Hebrew: אל) became a generic term meaning "god", as opposed to the name of a worshipped deity, and epithets such as El Shaddai came to be applied to Yahweh alone, while Baal's nature as a storm and weather god became assimilated into Yahweh's own identification with the storm. In the next stage the Yahwistic religion separated itself from its Canaanite heritage, first by rejecting Baal-worship in the 9th century, then through the 8th to 6th centuries with prophetic condemnation of Baal, sun-worship, and worship on unregistered "high places", practices pertaining to thedead, and other unholy matters.
ellauri499.html on line 301: In the 1863 edition of Jacques Collin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal Baʿal Zebub (Hebrew: בעל זבוב, lit. "Fly-Lord") occurs in the first chapter of the Second Book of Kings as the name of the Philistine god of Ekron. In it, Ahaziah, king of Israel, is said to have consulted the priests of Baʿal Zebub as to whether he would survive the injuries from his recent fall. The prophet Elijah, incensed at this impiety, then foretold that he would die quickly, raining heavenly fire on the soldiers sent to punish him for doing so. Jewish scholars have interpreted the title of "Lord of the Flies" as the Hebrew way of calling Baʿal a pile of dung and his followers vermin, although others argue for a link to power over causing and curing pestilence and thus suitable for Ahaziah's question. The Septuagint renders the name as Baälzeboúb (βααλζεβούβ) and as "Baʿal of Flies" (βααλ μυιων, Baäl muion). Symmachus the Ebionite rendered it as Beëlzeboúl (Βεελζεβούλ), possibly reflecting its original sense. This has been proposed to have been B‘l Zbl, Ugaritic for "Prince Baal".

ellauri499.html on line 302: Among the Westies, the various forms of Baʿal were indifferently rendered in classical sources as Belus (Ancient Greek: Βῆλος, Bē̂los). An example is Josephus, who states that Jezebel "built a temple to the god of the Tyrians, which they call Belus". This describes the Baʿal of Tyre, Melqart. Herrmann identifies the Demarus/Demarous figure mentioned by Philo Byblius as Baʿal] Baʿal Hammon, however, was identified with the Greek Cronos and the Roman Saturn as the Zabul Saturn. He was probably never equated with Melqart, although this assertion appears in older scholarship. Christianity edit Beelzebub or Beelzebul was identified by the writers of the New Testament as Satan, "prince" (i.e., king) of the demons. John Milton's 1667 epic Paradise Lost describes the fallen angels collecting around Satan, stating that, though their heavenly names had been "blotted out and ras'd", they would acquire new ones "wandring o're the Earth" as false gods. Baalim and Ashtaroth are given as the collective names of the male and female demons (respectively) who came from between the "bordering flood of old Euphrates" and "the Brook that parts Egypt from Syrian ground"
ellauri499.html on line 308: According to some medieval Islamic scholars, the context of the verse above tells of Ilyas (Ilja) and the inhabitants of the town of Baalbek who worshipped Baal.

According to Obi Kenobi, baal is a term used by Arabs to denote everything which is a lord over anything. Al-Thaʿlabī offers a more detailed description about Baal; accordingly it was an idol of gold, twenty cubits tall, and had four faces. The trilateral root, (bā, ayn, lam) baʿl occurs seven times in the Qur’an with its common Semitic usage of “owner, husband,” particularly husband. For example, Sarah, wife of Abraham refers to her husband as Baal.
ellauri499.html on line 312: On January 30, 2026, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) released a portion of the Epstein files that mention the word "Baal". Some online claims attach the worship of Baal to satanic rituals and the occult, and link it to allegations involving American financer and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; however, the released materials provide no clear evidentiary basis for that inference. The appearance is said to be consistent with financial-document field text and, in at least one widely circulated example, appears to be an optical character recognition (OCR) or scanning artifact in which "Bank Name" is misread as "Baal. hashem".
ellauri499.html on line 314: Burning of Baal effigies edit On February 11th 2026, during the yearly celebration of the Iranian Revolution anniversary in Iran, at 11:33 AM (resembling the masonic holy numbers), several effigies of Baal along with several obelisks were set to fire simultaneously in several cities in Iran. They were made of natural rubber and cardboard days before the Performance. These words were said before performing the act:

“We, the monotheists of the world, by the help of God, will bring down the worshipers of Baal, the worshipers of Satan, and the arrogant oppressors.”

ellauri499.html on line 316: This act was said by its performers to symbolise how Muslims reject demon Gods and their worshippers and to also note that even though paganism and worshipping of demons and idols is believed publicly to be forfeit, many top leaders, especially in the west, still practice it. A month later, on 13th March 2026 Shi'ite Muslims burned an effigy of Baal bearing Israeli symbols during a gathering marking the annual Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) in Baghdad, Iraq.
ellauri499.html on line 318: Baal-termi perustuu seemiläiseen sielunkäsitteeseen, että sielu on kokonaisuus, joka kannattaa kaikkea siihen kuuluvaa. Miehen kokonaisuuteen kuuluu koko hänen huonekuntansa ja omaisuutensa. Kun häntä kutsutaan baaliksi, tarkoitetaan hänen olevan tämän kokonaisuuden johtava tahto. Kaikki maailmassa olevat eläimet, kasvit ja muut ovat sieluja, jolloin jokainen laji muodostaa oman kokonaisuuden, jossa yksittäisillä olioilla on omat juurensa. Elämä, joka niiden takana vallitsee, on niiden sielu, jota kutsutaan baaliksi. Maailma sisältää siis äärettömästi erilaisia baaleja ja ihminen pääsee niiden yhteyteen kultin välityksellä ja saa ravintonsa niiden voimasta. Ihmisen ja baalin suhde on käsitetty kaksisuuntaiseksi: Kun ihminen vaalii baaleja, hän saa korvaukseksi niiden antaman siunauksen.
ellauri499.html on line 320: Baal liitettiin ravintotasapainoon ja hedelmällisyyteen. Noin 1400 eaa. mennessä Baal oli syrjäyttänyt merkityksessä kanaanilaisten ylijumala Ēlin. Tarinan mukaan Baal valittiin jumalten kuninkaaksi, koska hän voitti kaaosta edustaneen merenjumala Yamin. Baal voitti vedet ja asetti ne paikoilleen. Uhka oli pelottanut Ēlin neuvoston jumalia, minkä vuoksi he valitsivat Baalin ikuiseksi kuninkaaksi. Baal joutui kuitenkin itse kuoleman jumala Motin päihittämäksi ja joutui tuonelaan. Baalin sisarvaimo Anat auttoi Baalia virkoamaan henkiin. Baal oli kuoleva ja ylösnouseva jumala, joka lopuksi viettää häitään. Baalin vertauskuva oli härkä, joka vaati myös ihmisuhreja. Se on vain reilua, koska ihminen uhraa grilliin härkiä.
ellauri499.html on line 322: Jokaisella paikkakunnalla oli oma baalinsa, joka erosi toisista nimeen lisätyn paikannimen tai paikallisen jumalan erityisten ominaisuuksien perusteella. Sikemissä palvottiin "Liiton Baalia" eli Baal-Beritiä. Filistealaiset taas palvoivat "Kärpästen herraa", Belzebubia. Melkart oli Tyyroksen kaupungin baal, Kemoš mooabilaisten. "Taivaan Baal" antoi sadetta, Baal-Hamman oli Auringon jumala. Kanaanin maalla israelilaisten Jahven palvelu otti haltuunsa Baalin palvonnan pyhät paikat, kulttitavat ja jumaluuskäsitteet. Raamatun mukaan Baal on kanaanilainen sademyrskyn ja hedelmällisyyden jumala, epäjumala juutalaisten heimojen alkuaikoina Israelissa. Tuomarien kirjassa israelilaisia syytetään Baalin palvonnasta ja Jahven hylkäämisestä. Ahab, ollessaan kuninkaana Israelin valtakunnassa, ja Ahabin puoliso Isebel tukivat Baalin palvontaa, mitä profeetta Elia Tisbeläinen vastusti. Juudasta tämän palvontamuodon puzasi kuningas Joosea.
ellauri499.html on line 330: David’s rise to power is essentially the story of a southern warlord taking over a northern kingdom. Saul croaked fighting the Philistines. His son Ish-Baal/Boshet ruled in the north. David first got oiled at Hebron for Judah only. A brutal civil war ensued between David's southern forces and Saul's northern loyalists. After Ishbaal was assassinated by his own captains, the northern tribal elders, lacking a strong leader to protect them from the Philistines, reluctantly traveled south to Hebron. Unlike the Iranians, they cut a political deal and lubricated David as their king as well.
ellauri499.html on line 336: Israelin valtion jäätyä assyriologien jalkoihin 722 eteläjuutalaiset profeetat taistelivat pohjalaisten populäärimmän Baalin sexipalveluita vastaan. Tämän tuloksena syntyi judahiitin Joosean reformi 622 eKr., jolloin kaikki pyhäköt ja uhrikukkulat Israelissa hävitettiin, paitsi Jerusalemissa, jonne toiminta keskitettiin. Hesekiel ja Jeremia kuitenkin valittivat vanhan kultin yhä jatkuvan, jolloin sen harjoittamisesta rangaistuksena määrättiin maanpako. Baal tuli Israelissa niin inhotuksi ettei sitä haluttu mainita missään, vaan korvattiin sanalla bōšet eli häpeä.
ellauri499.html on line 343: The Northern Kingdom was wealthier, more cosmopolitan, and deeply connected to Phoenician trade routes. This made it a major hub for Baal and Asherah worship, famously promoted by rulers like King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. However, Yahweh was still worshipped there; many northern kings had Yahwistic names (like Jehu or Joram), but they practiced syncretism (blending Yahweh worship with Baal worship). The Southern Kingdom was more isolated and rugged, which helped the Yahweh-alone movement gain stronger political traction. Yet, archaeological evidence—like the Kuntillet Ajrud inscriptions—shows that many everyday southerners also worshipped Asherah alongside Yahweh. Pure monotheism was not yet the norm for the average citizen.
ellauri499.html on line 349: They used a specific theological formula to explain their military defeats: "We lost our nations because we worshipped other gods." To make this narrative work, they retroactively painted the North as uniquely wicked Baal-worshippers and framed Judah's history around whether a king successfully enforced Yahweh-only worship.
ellauri499.html on line 364: B-Bart D-art  Ehrmanin sivustolla on suoraa puhetta Baalista. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own.
ellauri499.html on line 367: In this article, I’ll explore who Baal was—both in the broader ancient Near Eastern context and within the polemics of the Bible. Baal’s story is not just about a rival god. It’s about identity, loyalty, and the struggle to define what it meant to worship the God of Israel in a land full of competing deities.
ellauri499.html on line 371: Either way, it’s clear from many texts in the Hebrew Bible that the ancient Israelites believed in the existence of many gods. One of the gods mentioned the most is named Baal. Baal in the Bible usually refers to a specific god. Much of what we know of Baal outside of the Hebrew Bible comes from an ancient Ugaritic text known as the Baal Cycle, written sometime between 1300-1100 BCE, showing that worship of this Baal god predated this period. It's likely, as well, that worship of Baal as a Canaanite storm god who was also called “rider of the clouds” predated the worship of Yahweh.  
ellauri499.html on line 373: But how can that be, given YHWH created the earth and us guys and gals and gave us our genitals? Did Adam and Eve call him Baal? Was it from Baal they hid their still slimy and tuberous organs after their first  wildly satisfying coitus? And anyway, why would Israelites worship a Canaanite god?
ellauri499.html on line 375: Principally, modern scholars know that the Israelites actually were a subgroup of Canaanites who gradually developed their own identity and culture. In fact, it’s possible that early on, the Israelites sometimes referred to Yahweh as Baal (in its meaning as “Lord”). One of David’s followers in 1 Chronicles 12:5 is named Bealiah, meaning “Baal is God.” The authors of the Baal Cycle believed Baal lived on Mount Zaphon, today called Mount Kılıç, on the Turkey/Syria border.
ellauri499.html on line 377: In the Hebrew Bible, He (Baal) is often set up as a divine rival of the God of Israel, although the God of Israel generally always wins their battles. The biblical texts also make clear that Yahweh came to be associated with the language, imagery, and traditions of Baal worship, perhaps as part of a deliberate attempt to elevate Yahweh’s profile and status as the patron deity of the Northern Kingdom. Judges 5:2-11, which twice calls Yahweh the “God of Israel,” depicts Yahweh marching from his mountain home in the deep south (called Seir and Edom) as a warrior storm god much like Baal.
ellauri499.html on line 379: One of the earliest biblical references to Baal, Deuteronomy 4:3-4, speaks of a god called Baal Peor (or sometimes the Baal of Peor), a local Moabite god to whom some Israelites defected from Yahweh. This prompts Moses to say You have seen for yourselves what the Lord did with regard to the Baal of Peor, how the Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, while those of you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today. (Not without some help from yours truly.)
ellauri499.html on line 382: So Israel put away the Baals and especially  the Astartes, and they served the Lord  (Adonai, not Baal) only. Tollaset pikku pazaat ja kotijumalat olivat kuin essoja. Emotional support stone artifacts.
ellauri499.html on line 384: Libanonin Baal oli pahempi kuin paapa, melkein kuin paska! 1 Kings 16:33 says that “Ahab did more to provoke the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than had all the kings of Israel who were before him.” The frequent polemic in the Hebrew Bible against Israelites marrying non-Israelites is highlighted in this story: it’s because Ahab sinned by marrying a Phoenician that the worship of the false god Baal was brought to Israel.
ellauri499.html on line 386: After Baal has been defeated in the matchstick lighting match Elijah orders the people to slaughter the 450 prophets of Baal (plus 400 of Aserah). Jeremy and Pantyhosiah are the prophets who most jealously went after Baal's balls. In Hosea 8:7-9, God foretells the fate of the faithless Israelite Baal-worshipers, that their land will be destroyed and the survivors taken as captives to Assyria, leaving so many temple prostitutes' wild asses wandering alone.
ellauri499.html on line 388: The quarrel seems to be more about northerners including Assyrians than about Baal as such.  It’s not entirely clear in these books if Baal is a specific god, as in the story of Elijah, or if the word Baal simply stands for any false gods the people worship.
ellauri499.html on line 390: By the way, much later, a 17th-century mystical text known as The Lesser Key of Solomon described Baal as the king of a horde of demons. Although this doesn’t fit with the early Hebrew conception of Baal, it probably resulted from an innovative shift in Christian thinking. Instead of merely noting the presence of other gods, the Church came to think of them as demons working for Satan. Again, other divine beings did exist, but if they weren’t Yahweh, they were considered evil. The same treatment was given to all other gods such as Perkunas. YHWH has no horns nor associated bollocks, so if you sport them you're on the other side.
xxx/ellauri104.html on line 1211: Valinta, jonka eteen Elia asettaa Israelin kansan, on tämä: ”Jos Herra on Jumala, seuratkaa häntä, jos taas Baal, seuratkaa sitten häntä!” Me seisomme vastaavan valinnan edessä: Onko homoseksuaalisuus Herran teko vai hänen vastustajansa Baalin?
xxx/ellauri104.html on line 1213: Mikä oli kansan valinta ja vastaus? ”Kansa ei vastannut hänelle mitään.” He eivät pystyneet valitsemaan. He olivat täysin neuvottomia. Mutta hetkeä myöhemmin he saivat nähdä miten Herra, eikä Baal, pystyi sytyttämään Elian alttariin tulen. Silloin kaikki heittäytyivät kasvoilleen ja huusivat: ”Herra on Jumala, Herra on Jumala.” (18:39)
xxx/ellauri104.html on line 1219: Elian ja Baalin kilpasytytys on muuten hyvin sama kuin se harppisaku-ihme jossa opettajan slaagi sai harppisakulapset vakuuttuneixi, kumpi oli vahvempi, sosialistivaltio vaiko pilviveikot ylhäällä. Näin nää meemit matkustelee, vähän muuttuu matkalla, mutta siltikin niitä on loppupeleissä vaan sormin laskettava määrä.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 188: oli tietoisuus, kauneus, viisaus ja armo, kun taas Kantin ja Laplacen sumu oli golem, ihmisen näköinen mutta kuollut. Kysymykseen miten tämä kuollut golem oli tuottanut puut, kukat, linnut, leijonat, Maimonideksen, Kopernikuksen, Newtonin ja Baal Shemin, tiedemiehillä oli yksi vastaus: kehitys, evoluutio. Mihkä sitä kaikkeuden tietoisuutta edes tarvitaan, se on turhake, armosta puhumattakaan. Ockhamin partaveizi raakkaa sen armotta pois.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 204: Baal Shem (Hebrew: בַּעַל שֵׁם, pl. Baalei Shem) is a title for a historical Jewish practitioner of Practical Kabbalah and miracle worker. Employing the names of God, angels, Satan and other spirits, Baalei Shem heal, enact miracles, perform exorcisms, treat various health issues, curb epidemics, protect people from disaster due to fire, robbery or the evil eye, foresee the future, decipher dreams, and bless those who sought his powers.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 206: In Judaism, similar figures arbitrated between earthly realities and spiritual realms since before the establishment of Talmudic Judaism in the 3rd century. However, it was only in the 16th century that these figures were called Baalei Shem. It looks like a Jewish reflex of the cotemporaneous revivalist movements among the protestants. Herbal folk remedies, amulets, contemporary medical cures as well as magical and mystical solutions were used in accordance with traditional Kabbalistic teachings as well as adapted Lurianic guidelines in the Middle Ages.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 210: Baal Shem Tov"Baal Shem Tov was the stage name of Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, a Polish rabbi and mystical healer known as the . His teachings imbued the esoteric usage of practical Kabbalah of Baalei Shem into a spiritual movement, Hasidic Judaism. While a few other people received the title of Baal Shem among Eastern and Central European Ashkenazi Jewry, the designation is most well known in reference to the founder of Hasidic Judaism. Baal Shem Tov, born in the 17th century Kingdom of Poland, started public life as a traditional Baal Shem, but introduced new interpretations of mystical thought and practice that eventually became the core teachings of Hasidism. In his time, he was given the title of Baal Shem Tov, and later, by followers of Hasidism, referred to by the acronym BeShiT. He disavowed traditional Jewish practice and theology by encouraging mixing with non-Jews and asserting the sacredness of everyday corporal existence.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 216: From the 1730s, Baal Shem Tov (BeShiT) headed an elite chirurgic mystical circle, similar to other secluded Kabbalistic circles such as the contemporary Klaus (Close) in Brody. Unlike past mystical circles, they innovated with the use of their psychic heavenly intercession abilities to work on behalf of the common Jewish populace. From the legendary hagiography of the BeShiT as one who bridged elite mysticism with deep social concern, and from his leading disciples, Hasidism rapidly grew into a populist revival movement with the funny hats. That's the point, there are only so many members of the elite, while the hoi polloi, though poorer, count in zillions. Want to have a large following, lower the entrance fee.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 220: The Baal Shem Tov taught that a superior advantage would accrue in Jewish service with incorporating materialism within spirituality. In Hasidic thought, this was possible because of the essential Divine inspiration within Hasidic expression. In its terminology, it takes a higher Divine source to unify lower expressions of the material and the spiritual. In relation to the Omnipresent Divine essence, the transcendent emanations described in historical Kabbalah are external. This corresponds to the Kabbalistic difference between the Or (Light) and the Maor (Luminary). Essential Divinity permeates all equally, from the common folk to the scholars. Well, perhaps a little fuzzy, but the main point is that everyone can participate in the fun.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 226: The founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov, opposed the ethical practices of admonishment that could interpret fear of God as fear of punishment. In Hasidism such fear is seen as superficial, egotistical and misrepresentative of the Divine love for Creation. Hasidism sought to replace Jewish observance based on self-awareness with an overriding perception and joy of the omnipresent Divine (see Divine immanence).
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 233: Across all Hasidism the continual mystical joy and vittul-humility "between man and God", is ideally reflected likewise in belfies to help another person "between man and man". In Hasidism, mesiras nefesh means devoted sacrifice of God for another person. Lubavitch and Breslav have become the two schools involved in the Baal Teshuva movement where talented young men and women devote themselves to going on Shlichus (outings), rather than the traditional and commendable devotion to Torah study and personal spiritual advancement.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 237: Hasidism, initially, rejected the focus on personal reward, or ultimately also the ideal of material self-advancement, as too self-centred. Before the magnificent awareness of Divine majesty, through the mystical path, the automatic response is sincerity and a desire to nullify oneself (nollata polla) in the Divine presence. It is more worthwhile to reject even refined levels of self-centred spiritual advancement from advanced Yeshiva study to help another male person in their spiritual and even physical needs. This attitude has also spread in recent times to non-Hasidic Lithuanian Jewish Orthodoxy, as part of the spiritual campaign of the Baal Teshuvah movement.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 261: Baal Shem Tov thought that the movement of a leaf in the wind is significant in the divine plan. Or a flap of a butterfly. A Baal Shem Tov anecdote says it all:
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 263: Once, when the Baal Shem Tov was on a journey, Sabbath overtook him on the highway. He stopped the wagon, and went out into the field to perform the services that welcome the coming of Sabbath, and to remain there until the Sabbath was ended. On the field, a flock of sheep were grazing. When Baal Shem Tov raised his voice a tad and spoke the prayers that welcome the Sabbath as the coming of a Bride, the sheep rose upon their hind legs, and lifted their heads in the air, and stood like people listening. And so they remained in wrapt attention for two hours, all the while that the Baal Shem spoke.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 265: In the tale, the sheep become aware in their instinctive feelings of the existence of a stranger on their pasture. According to the tale, Baal shem Tov's prayers were loud enough for even hard of hearing to perceive this.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 267: Baal Shem Tov's mysticism taught that the sincere common folk could be closer to God than a scholar who has self-pride in his accomplishments.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 268: Rahvaanomaiset mutta devekutit hasidit tarrautuvat Jehovaan kuin liima, kuin kärpäspaperi, kuin Kapteeni Capun laastari. In perhaps the most characteristic Hasidic story, the Baal Shem Tov's conduct instructed his new mystical teaching and boundless delight in the unlettered deveikut of the simple folk:
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 270: The saintly prayers of Baal Shem Tov and his close circle were unable to lift a harsh shortage of drinkware they perceived one Rosh Hashanah (New Year). After extending the prayers beyond their time, the drought remained. An unfettered shepherd boy entered and was deeply envious of those who could read the holy day's prayers. He said to God "I don't know how to pray, but I can make the noises of the animals of the field. With great feeling, he cried out, "Cock-a-doodle-do. God have mercy!" Immediately, joy overcame the Baal Shem Tov, and he hurried to fetch the cellar key. Afterwards, he explained that the heartfelt prayer of the shepherd boy reminded him where he had mislaid the key, and the drought was lifted.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 278: Some niggunim originate from non-Jewish sources. Hasidic custom, based on a practice of the Baal Shem Tov, adapted secular anthems, marches and folk songs, ascribing to them a new spiritual interpretation. Hasidic belief is that these songs, in their secular forms, are in spiritual exile. By adapting them to liturgical forms, they are raising "Sparks of Holiness", based on the Kabbalistic rectification of Isaac Luria.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 453: Nachman was the great-grandson of Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement. In 1802, at the age of 30, Nachman instituted his own Hasidic sect based in the Ukrainian town of Breslau. Nachman taught his followers to live in faith, simplicity and joy. 1in 1810, at the age of 38, Nachman died of tuberculosis. Sein Leben war kurz und beschiessen wie ein Hühnerbrett. Ditto with Spinoza.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 624: This movement began in the 18th century by Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, later known as Baal Shem Tov, the Master of the Good Name. Hasidic Judaism sets aside the earlier emphasis on studying the Torah from an academic perspective, and instead exalts the experience of it at all moments. Within the movement there are a number of sects, including the Satmar, Belz, Ger, Sanz, Puppa, Spinka, and Lubavitch. Mazel tov!
xxx/ellauri186.html on line 358: Dagon tai Dagan oli merkittävä länsiseemiläinen viljan ja hedelmällisyyden jumala, jota palvottiin laajalti koko muinaisessa Lähi-idässä. Dagan merkitsi heprean ja ugaritin kielissä "vilja", ja Dagania pidettiin auran keksijänä. Dagan tunnettiin erityisesti Raamatun mainitsemien filistealaisten jumalana. Hänelle omistettuja pyhäkköjä oli muun muassa Bet-dagonissa Asherissa, Gazassa ja Asdodissa. Dagonin palvonnasta on todisteita jo noin vuodelta 2500 eaa. Muinaisen Ugaritin Ras Shamrasta löydettyjen tekstien mukaan hän oli sateen ja hedelmällisyyden jumala Baalin isä.
xxx/ellauri233.html on line 410: Shneur Zalman of Liadi (Hebrew: שניאור זלמן מליאדי, September 4, 1745 – December 15, 1812 O.S. / 18 Elul 5505 – 24 Tevet 5573), was an influential Lithuanian Jewish rabbi and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism, then based in Liadi in Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later in the Grodno Governorate of the Russian Empire. He was the author of many works, and is best known for Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Tanya, and his Siddur Torah Or compiled according to the Nusach Ari. Zalman is a Yiddish variant of Solomon and Shneur (or Shne'or) is a Yiddish composite of the two Hebrew words "shnei ohr" (שני אור "two ears"). Shneur Zalman was a prominent (and the youngest) disciple of Dov Ber of Mezeritch, the "Great Maggid", who was in turn the successor of the founder of Hasidic Judaism, Yisrael ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov. He too displayed extraordinary talent while still a child. By the time he was eight years old, he wrote an all-inclusive commentary on the Torah based on the works of Rashi, Nahmanides and Abraham ibn Ezra.
xxx/ellauri250.html on line 858: They were powerful, kulturnyje, and possessed iron. They were the high-tech people of the day and did all they could to prohibit neolithic Israel from gaining iron and access to their technology (1 Sam. 13:19) They worshipped many false gods. Among them was the worship of Baal and Dagon. Mutta nyt mikki Sammelille:
xxx/ellauri287.html on line 591: On lähes varmaa, että seleukidipolitiikan mukaisesti tähän uudelleenjärjestelyyn liittyi väestöpohjan laajentuminen, uudet kansalaiset tässä tapauksessa luultavasti koostuivat juutalaisista ja argive-kreikkalaisista. Argiivi-kreikkalaisia koskevat todisteet viittaavat seemiläiseen alkuperään, vaikka argive-kreikkalaiset väittivät, että hyksot olivat heidän esi-isänsä, ja väittivät, että tarina viittasi "Beluksen (Baalin?) ja Danaoksen tyttärien karkotukseen" 414 tai Danaukseen, myyttiseen egyptiläiseen kuninkaaseen, joka muka perusti kreikkalaisen Argosin kaupungin. Ilmeisestikään kaikki nämä skenaariot eivät voi olla oikeita, varsinkin kun hyksot olivat selvästi seemiläisiä, kun taas kreikkalaiset eivät. Hyxot oli ainakin selkeästi länsiseemiläisiä.
xxx/ellauri296.html on line 106: 23 Kahden vuoden kuluttua tapahtui, että Absalomilla oli ne tutut "lammasten keriziäiset" Baal-Haasorissa, joka on Efraimin luona. Ja Absalom kutsui sinne kaikki kuninkaan pojat. 24
xxx/ellauri303.html on line 141: Reformerade kaninen gav shiksa Patricia råd att glömma judaismen. Patricia gick missnöjd därifrån. Hon konstaterade att reformvänliga kaniner inte passade henne. Om han var kanin, varför hade han inte skägg och varför täckte han inte huvudet? Och varför talade han så vardagligt? I New York hade hon sett andra kaniner - män med tinninglockar och länga svarta rockar. De var en smula gammalmodiga, underliga men i deras ögon fanns det en knullsjuk glimt som tilltalade henne, väckte hennes nyfikenhet. I sin bok hade Patricia läst om Maimonides, Baal Shem Tov och Gaon av Vilna. Många rabbiner hade bantat under lång tid för att göra bot. En viss kanin Akiva hade låtit skrapa huden med järnkammar och hans säd hade lämnat kroppen medan han reciterade "Hör, O Israel..." En kanin Hanania ben Dusa åt ingenting annat än en smula johannesbröd från sabbat till sabbat. De var inte bara skådespelare utan fruktbara män. Fanns de fortfarande sådana personer? I så fall ville Patricia känna dem i kaftanerna.
xxx/ellauri303.html on line 194: 25. Vai oletko sinä parempi kuin Baalak, Sipporin poika, Mooabin kuningas? Rakensiko hän riitaa Israelin kanssa, tahi ryhtyikö hän sotaan heitä vastaan?
xxx/ellauri305.html on line 1549: Baal Peorin palvominen. Kuolemanrangaistus oli tässä nimenomaan paaluttaminen.
xxx/ellauri379.html on line 306: Uudessa testamentissa paholaisesta käytetään toisinaan myös nimitystä Belsebul. Tämä on alkujaan kanaanilaisen jumalan nimi, joka merkitsee "Baal on herra", mutta jonka juutalaiset olivat vääntäneet pilkallisesti muotoon Baal-Sebub, "kärpästen herra".
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 455:
xxx/ellauri441.html on line 674: Gideonin eka urotyö oli lanata isän aserakarsikko. Jahu eli ex-Baal oli nääsnääs kylästynyt ex-puolisoonsa Ishtariin. Sinä päivänä Gideon sai nimekseen Jerubbaal, sillä sanottiin: "Baal ajakoon itse asiansa häntä vastaan, koska hän on kukistanut hänen alttarinsa". Ei kuulu meille. Kyllä se vähän kuuluu! (Tää saattaa olla kansanetymologia, ja oikeasti nimi merkizi "Baal on suuri".) Ennen sotaretken aloittamista Gideon pyysi Jumalalta lisävarmistusta siitä, että Herra olisi hänen kanssaan. Toisin kuin Trump Zelenskylle Jahu antoi 2x turvatakuut Gideonille.
xxx/ellauri446.html on line 249: Esimerkkejä profeetoista ja heidän poliittisista rooleistaan: Aamos: Profeetta, joka puhui sosiaalista epätasa-arvoa ja Israelin pohjoisen kuningaskunnan korruptiota vastaan.  Miika: Profeetta, joka tuomitsi eteläisen Juudan valtakunnan epävanhurskauden ja ennusti sen tuhon.  Elia: Profeetta, joka kyseenalaisti kuningatar Iisebelin ja kuningas Ahabin peukuttaman Dagonin, Ishtarin ja niiden pojan Baalin perheyxikön ja korosti Jehovan inseliyden tärkeyttä.  Nathan: Profeetta, joka nalkutti kuningas Daavidille ja vaikutti Daavidin hiusmuotoiluun. 
xxx/ellauri446.html on line 315: Kuka tappoi 450 Baalin profeettaa? Elijah. Sitten Elia käski heitä: "Ottakaa kiinni Baalin profeetat. Älkää päästäkö ketään pakoon!" He ottivat heidät kiinni, ja Elia tuotti heidät alas Kisonin laaksoon ja teurasti siellä. Elia tappoi myös 52 koulupoikaa, jotka pilkkasivat hänen kaljuaan.
xxx/ellauri446.html on line 471: Kirjassa mainittuja ja kritisoituja syntejä olivat muun muassa epäjumalien palvominen, epäpyhyys, murhat, haureus, väärät valat ja varkaudet. Epäjumalista palvottiin erityisesti Baalia, kanaanilaista hedelmällisyyden jumalaa jonka vaimo (tai äiti) oli aserapaalu. Muut synnit seurasivat tästä.
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