baal worship practices in the bible baal worship practices in the bible

He replaced the Levitical priesthood with men of his own choosing. The Hebrew scriptures speak frequently of the Baal of a given place or refers to Baalim in the plural, suggesting the evidence of local deities, or lords, of various locales. In the Hebrew Bible, Moloch is presented as a foreign deity who was at times illegitimately given a place in Israel's worship as a result of the syncretistic policies of certain apostate kings. They see themselves as following the way of God, but their religion has deceived them by failing to teach them His truth. Looking at these two definitions we can say . Whoever is missing shall not live.". Scholars previously associated the theonym with solar cults and with a variety of unrelated patron deities, but inscriptions have . All rights reserved. Baal was the god of agriculture and fertility in Canaan, becoming a fallen angel and a demon. Before we explore what Scripture says about Baal, lets establish a brief depiction of the Canaanite deity. Ahab accommodated his wife's idolatry to the point of building a . However, even though their origins were Canaanite, the Phoenicians established their own distinct culture. He did not like the position God put him in. Consequently, during this tumultuous time, most Jews kept their faith and identity outwardly but bowed to Baal when necessary to appease Jezebel as well as mainstream culture. Baal & Asherah. None of the foolish practices of the heathen could bring the rains; only YHWH could and did (Jer. Verse 15 points out that the people "rejected [God's] statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them." Yet if you asked most people who believe and follow this new morality, I suspect few would have ever heard of Baal. He just goes to sleep as he is freezing to death. Avot 5:11 on the connection between tithing and rain). Searching for Israel (Part Six): Israel Is Fallen, Is Fallen. Baal was different from his adherents merely in that he was above them. A god Baal apn was known from Egyptian and Akkadian sources before the discovery of the Ugaritic documents. Burning incense, worship of the sun, moon, astrology, and ancestor worship are all earmarks of the Baal religion. It proved extremely hard for a monotheistic faith to compete against the Canaanite fertility cult. (The Book of Amos) (Part Two). For seven days a fire burned inside the building, and when it subsided, the house was plated with gold, silver, and lapis lazuli. By submitting to Him, we take a small step in being transformed into what He is. What was the rationale behind this perverse, immoral act? Prepare to Meet Your God! Biblical narrative incorporates tales of Baal worship into the traditions of the wilderness wandering, thus tracing Baal worship to the earliest period of Israel's existence. Observing Christmas and Easter in the name of Christ is no different. There was, therefore, continuity in Sidons population from the Bronze to the Iron Age. Jun 2. He views them as personally rejecting Him and His Word. 19Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. They were straddling the fence in a precarious state of imbalance, attempting to combine the worship of God with the more popular worship of Baal and Asherah. Corrections? The second major background factor that we need to grasp somewhat to read Hosea well is the worship of the Canaanite god Baal (s). In the Bible, the followers of the one true God encounter other gods, or previously worshipped idols themselves. Yet such fluidity in the use of the term baal did not prevent it from being attached to a god of distinct character. He awakens them to their spiritual and moral responsibilities. Baal Worship The Battle for the Israelites' Hearts For nearly a thousand years, a battle raged for the hearts of the Israelite nation. If it is of men, it will not work very long. No one answered; no one paid attention" (v. 29 ESV). That afon designated the "north" in Hebrew is presumably due to the fact that Mount Casius lies directly north of Palestine. The Assyrians deported the population en masse from its homeland in Canaan, transplanting it virtually in toto to the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. A general understanding about the bamah and . However, God still holds them responsible because the truth is available. Of special interest is the designation Aliy (ly) which is twice applied to Baal in the Krt Epic: Before the discovery and recognition of this name in Ugaritic, H.S. The name "Baal" shows up seven times in Hosea (2:8, 2:13, 2:16, 2:17 . Archaeologists at Sidon have uncovered a 12th-11th-century B.C.E. Combine a one-year tablet and print subscription to BAR with membership in the BAS Library to start your journey into the ancient past today! Assyria, a kingdom known as much for its innovative weapons as for their brutal implementation, conquered the Kingdom of Israel in 718 BC. Baal is said to be one of the first of Solomon's 72 demons. It is urgent that we understand what is involved here because it reveals the cause of God's anger that led to Israel's defeat and scattering. Who were the Sidonians of the Iron Age (c. 1200586 B.C.E.)? (From Forerunner Commentary). What Is the Significance of Not the Letter but of the Spirit? Speech is completely original and produced exclusively by Grace Digital Network Music licensed through Artlist.io Footage licensed through Filmpac.com and S. Isai is music in Tamil and Vallavi means an expert. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. Ahaz fostered Baal worship (II Chron. In the El-Amarna letters Canaanite clients addressed the Egyptian king as "My Baal, my Addu." The Tetragrammaton should be rendered as Yahoah, with the vav being pronounced as the o in Torah, menorah, Eloah (singular form of Elohim), and Yehoshua (=Joshua, Christs REAL name). The Devil is behind a. The Baal-worship so often alluded to and described in Holy Writ might, perhaps, be better styled Cid-worship, moon-worship, Melek ()-worship, or Hadad-worship, according to places and circumstances.Many of the practices mentioned were most probably common to the worship . We are seeing the same thing today, but at times, it is harder to recognize because we are accustomed to it, and it is not happening overnight. In the parallel Ugaritic list, which is unfortunately very fragmentary, the "Weather-god, Lord of Mount azi" apparently corresponds to Baal apn, while those following are termed simply Baalim (blm). This shows that the Egyptian Cleopatra had maritime connections with the ancient Kerala Tamils. ), from an original Baal-Zebul, which is preserved in this form in the New Testament (Matt. But what was its real effect on the participants and the nation? Baal Worship Baal-Berith Berbers Bet (Ha)-Midrash Bet Din Bethar Bibliophiles Bloodletting Chronicles of Kings of Israel Episcopus Judaeorum Essenes Exile Fable Flood Forced Baptism Garden of Eden Glass Golden Calf Goliath Great Revolt Great Synagogue Hannah and her Seven Sons Hasmoneans/Maccabees Hebrew Printing Hekdesh Herod Herodian Dynasty (the Iron Age). Through the window, a cleft in the clouds, Baal gave forth his holy voice which convulsed the earth and sent his enemies scurrying to the hills and woods. 106 a ). Despite having the power and support of the king of Israel and his . Canaanite worship often took place in open-air sites at the tops of hills, referred to in the Bible as "high places." . Elijah says disturbing things. The latter name (Amarna, Addu) is to be related to Arabic hadda ("break," "crash") with reference to thunder. The cosmic character of afon leads to its use as a synonym for "sky" in Job 26:7: "who stretched out afon on emptiness who suspended earth on naught." THIS IS A PROFILE OF PRACTICES, DOCTRINES, AND SYMBOLS OF BAAL WORSHIP . Prophets and Prophecy (Part 1). The name Baal in the Bible is most commonly associated with the Canaanite and Phoenician god of fertility, the rain, the sun, and the storm. However, it was not the religion God gave through Moses, but idolatry that flourished! Not a BAS Library member yet? Baal was simply the title (literally, Lord) of the pagan god Molech. I appreciate your consideration, and Im sure the Most High does as well! Elijah had to take drastic measures to prevent Baal worship from completely eradicating the worship of the true God (I Kings 18:20-40). The only trouble is that people like to feel comfortable in moral mediocrity. They were primarily devoted to the worship of Baal and Asherah (or Asherim, Asheroth). They were not committed to the side that they were supposed to be on. He was also king of the gods, and, to achieve that position, he was portrayed as seizing the divine kingship from Yamm, the sea god. In other words, God is saying that He was driven to defeat and scatter Israel because they were guilty of exactly the same sin as the Samaritans! And of all the foreign gods the Israelites came into contact with, they appeared to struggle the most with worshipping this one. But God has a different perspective; He says they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17). Since their rejection of the house of David under Jeroboam I, the Israelites had practiced a syncretistic religion (Amos 5:21-26; 8:14; I Kings 12:25-33). The Semitic original of this name has been recognized in one of Baal's names in Ugaritic: (The name is to be connected with the root dmr, "be strong, brave," and is probably the same as that of Abraham's son Zimrn (damarn), the -n afformative being preserved in the genitive case of the Greek form Demarountos). He could, and did, withhold the rain from one city and lavish it on another (Amos 4:7). A large part of this world's appeal is its offer of financial security. They simply evolve. In Ugaritic and Hebrew, Baals epithet as the storm god was He Who Rides on the Clouds. Now another presentation that the Phoenicians who are also connected with the Canaanites had traded with the trading mariners of Kerala, India. The Semitic word "baal" (meaning '"Lord") was also used to refer to various deities of the Levant. Today, music performers entice young and old in the practice of the worship of Baal-Peor We need to be reminded of it because it can have a detrimental effect on us. For instance, Amos 2:7 describes a deliberate act of ritual prostitution in a pagan temple: "A man and his father go in to the same girl, to defile My holy name." He is often accused of causing their pain. In daily life, they conformed to and reflected the Babylonish system just as Israel does today. Doumet-Serhal explains the significance of the handles iconography: The dragon epitomizes the most fundamental ancient mythical perception of the Mesopotamian storm god. Then stood up Phinehas, and exe Then they linked up with Baal Peor, attending funeral banquets and eating idol food. . But their carnality and their fear of men persuaded them to worship Baal, because they wanted to be friends with their fellow Israelites. 28:2); Hezekiah attempted to eliminate it; Manasseh his son again gave it royal support (II Kings 21:3); and Josiah in his turn purged the Temple of YHWH of the utensils made for Baal and Asherah (II Kings 23:4). He describes Israel as a luxuriant grape vine sending runners in every direction, indicating a bountiful crop. So the word Jezebel finally means one who is a good musician. So it was in the northern kingdom of Israel after its division from the kingdom of Judah. Baal, of course, could not talk to them, but if he could, he would probably have said basically the same thing, so the people were in a very uncomfortable situation. Baal's response to Mot's invitation to come and be devoured is abject surrender: "Thy slave am I, thine eternal." Your email address will not be published. Hope Bolingeris an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, and the author 21+ books. The prize of the victory was kingship over the gods and the enthronement ritual guaranteed the natural order of life and the welfare of the society. Moffatt renders this, "They worshipped the Eternal, and they also served their own gods.". Baal worship is and has always been pagan; today it is replacing the laws and beliefs based upon Judaeo-Christian roots, which honours the GOD of the Bible, His laws and His ways. 26:1920). Asherah, another popular deity in Canaan, was the goddess of motherhood and fertility . Why Did Pharaoh Tell Joseph to Enjoy the 'Fat of the Land'? He is a loving Master who only is to be obeyed and servedand only on His terms. (the Middle Bronze Age), this impressed handle depicts a ship and a leonine dragon, which is the symbol of the Mesopotamian storm god Adad. The prophet comes along and troubles people by awakening them to their sins, making them feel guilty about their relationships with God and each other. Learn about the Canaanite-Phoenician deities who were called Baal, which means Lord. But God. 131; Sanh. The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God. Superstitious fear and sexual rites on the one hand fought against faith and loyalty on the other. The word "Baal" derives from the Semitic stem "bel", meaning "lord". Asherah, along with Astarte and Anath, was one of the three great goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon. Indeed, religion flourished, as Amos, Hosea's contemporary, clearly reports (see Amos 5:21-27). Who Was Baal? The worship of Baal was popular in Egypt from the later New Kingdom in about 1400 bce to its end (1075 bce). But Baal was not exclusively a fertility god. Who were the Sidonians, and what do we know about their religion? The Bible is full of colorful characters, from Noah to Moses to Jesus. If the rains failed and drought and death came upon the land and people, it was not because Mot had mangled Baal and made the glowing sun-goddess destructive; it was rather YHWH's way of meting out merited punishment to a faithless and sinful people (Deut. By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. With human features as well as the eyebrows, nose and horns of a ram, this painted limestone figurine represents a deity and dates to c. 1650 B.C.E. Dig into the illuminating world of the Bible with a BAS All-Access membership. The king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. Blending the lies of this world with the truth of God produces a foul mixture called syncretism (James 3:10-13). Reuben Alcalay, a famous Hebrew lexicographer, stated that Yehoshua is closely related to Let there be So, lets be intellectually honest and start using the proper English translation: Joshua. Sidons Storm God. He is the king of the east and governs an army of 66 legions of demons." Did you catch that? The lesson for us becomes clear, because Jesus says the same thing (Matthew 6:24; 12:25). The worship of Baal in Syria-Palestine was inextricably bound to the economy of the land which depends on the regularity and adequacy of the rains. But when heat is applied, and the blood begins rushing into the affected areas, pain immediately occurs. 33:7) has been made the basis of intriguing speculation by Eissfeldt. Baal is also referred to about 12 times as "the Rider of the Clouds" which undoubtedly testifies to his control over the rain and storms. There was tremendous evil to overcome. 4. In the mythology of Canaan, Baal, the god of life and fertility, locked in mortal combat with Mot, the god of death and sterility. 27:1). In the Aztec religion, life existed before humans, and civilization was built after the destruction of the fourth sun. Notice the dramatic change of attitude in the people. The Spread of Baalism. The religion of Israel began with a man, Jeroboam I, who changed the true worship of God (I Kings 12:26-33). Sift through the storied history of ancient Israel. Payment of the full tithe to the food stores of the Temple, some thought, would guarantee that YHWH would open the windows of heaven and pour down overflowing blessings (Mal. Its prosperity played a part in corrupting the Israelites' hearts, which is why Hosea mentions the divided or disloyal heart in context with its bountiful fruit. These Israelites were lethargic in terms of true, spiritual matters. When the rain failed, it was inevitable that some would question YHWH's power and resort to Baal. Yet Sidon was a significant site before this period, too. II Kings 17:5-6 relates the ultimate consequence. Rejection of God's Law. The summer drought did not mean that YHWH had died (like Baal), nor did the return of the rains signal the resurrection. The prophet turns the heat on, and they become angry with him when he is actually working to make them better. In their ignorance, the people do not realize the terrible calamity that is coming soon upon modern Israel. There are several ideas as to exactly what Elijah meant by "How long will you falter between two opinions?" 4:12; Hos. Today Jezebel has built Baal altars in the name of 'church' and led many to Baal worship. Baal was a fertility and earth god of the ancient cultures and was later exported to Egypt where he was worshipped as the storm god. The first mention of Molech is in Leviticus 18:21 in which the . Fertility was envisaged in terms of seven-year cycles. One such deity who gripped Israel for a period of time was Baal. COPYRIGHT 2023 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY 5614 Connecticut Ave NW #343, Washington DC 20015-2604. See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. What Tamils are you speaking of? Ashtoreth is mentioned three times in scripture, in 1 Kings 11:5 & 33, 2 Kings 23:13. The handle displays an impression of a ship with the leonine dragon Uumgal, the storm god Adads attendant, next to it. So the word Poeni can be rewritten as Peyeni or as Payani or as Payan. The Sovereign Creator is not a God who allows His favor to be bought with crumbs. I know the firstborn of Creation through and for Him everything was made would appreciate it! With the help of wonder weapons supplied and blessed by the versatile Koshar (the craftsman god), Baal was able to defeat and rout the sea-god. The sequel to this action is furnished by the group of texts which recount Baal's confrontations with Mot. Although Baal is mentioned almost 100 times in the Bible, he is best known from the narratives of I and II Kings which include the story of the Phoenician princess Jezebel (d. c. 842 BCE), who encouraged his worship, and her struggle with the prophet Elijah, champion of the cult of Yahweh. What the Bible says about Does that way of life conform to the God of the Bible, or does it spring from the mind of men? Note the name of her father, King of the Sidoneans and apparently (Josephus) a priest of Baal as well. Elijah prepared the way for Elisha, who had a double portion of Elijah's spirit and did many more miracles. We must understand that our god is not what we say we worship but what we serve. In the formative stages of Israels history, the presence of Baal names did not necessarily mean apostasy or even syncretism. BAAL WORSHIP AND SEMITIC RACISM This term was used as a title and name of various local deities worshipped as guardians, heroes, and kings. Baal was the title of the "god" worshiped in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia. Recall God's wrath when Aaron made a golden calf at the urging of the Israelites in the wilderness and proclaimed a feast to the Lord (Exodus 32:1-5). Baal persuaded Asherah to intercede with her husband El, the head of the pantheon, to authorize the construction of a palace. The songs of His Temple would ordinarily be happy and joyous songs of praise to God, but He will turn the songs of their templesung to Baal in the name of the Lordto wailing, for the numbers of the dead will be unimaginable. In this article, well discuss what Scripture has to say about Baal, what we know from history about Baal, and why this ultimately matters to us today. 14:13). For a while, both sidesthe Confederate and the Unionaccepted those turncoats and took their information. The Lord calls for the worship of him and his idols to be uprooted and destroyed, and for the people to turn away from his false . What is so interesting is that, by verse 36, God is no longer reporting on the Samaritans but is addressing Israel. He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. Molech was another such god. All Rights Reserved. The actual worship of Ba'al was carried out in terms of imitative magic whereby sexual acts by both male and female temple prostitutes were understood to arouse Ba'al who then brought rain to make Mother Earth fertile (in some forms of the myth, represented by a female consort, Asherah or Astarte). 3:10; cf. A major question about II Thessalonians 2 is the scope of the described events. Archaeologists at Sidon have uncovered a 12th11th-century B.C.E. Further, in biblical usage when applied to the great weather-god, the singular regularly has the article, "the Baal," which suggests that the word was not regarded as a proper name. A complex religion with traditions and gods from all over the ancient Middle East, Baal worship offered something for everyone. Child sacrifice was even practiced in the Valley of Hinnom just outside of Jerusalem. In correlating the sequence of events, Baal's victory over the sea-god, Yamm, is probably to be placed near the beginning of the action, since it was presumably this exploit which gained him the dominant position among the gods, just as *Marduk achieved preeminence by defeating the sea-monster Tiamat. Because Canaan depended on rain to grow crops and survive, he was numero uno. Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. 3:23). In the Hebrew language, Baal as a noun means "lord or possessor." As a verb, it means "to have dominion over or be lord over." Additionally, the local deity (near Israel) "Baal," was a god of rain and fertility. People like to feel comfortable. A second interpretation is that since the falling away contains the definite article, it refers to a unique event in man's history, far greater than anything that has happened before. Jews nowadays say Ha-Shem [i.e. We may not sacrifice our children on altars for everyone to see; instead, we sacrifice them behind closed doors at a doctor's . Alternate titles: Baal Shamen, Baal Shemin, Baalim. In some cases, they attempted to attach this practice to worship of the Lord (Ezek 23:39). They set up for themselves sacred pillars and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree; and there they burned incense on all the high places, as the nations had done whom the LORD had carried away before them." What happens if a person, trying to establish a religion, mixes falsehood with the truth of God? a little T-shaped mark that stands for the long-A vowel (like a in father). Omissions? They think that what they are doing is right, but they are deceived. The name is more likely derived from the god Baal. The word bal, common Semitic for "owner, master, husband," became the usual designation of the great weather-god of the Western Semites. It indeed produces great material prosperity, but it is consumed through self-indulgent gorging. Baal rejoiced and celebrated with a banquet. Extra-biblical evidence for the flourishing Baal cult at Samaria in the ninth and eighth centuries B.C.E. Baal (/ b e. Such evil cunning. This full-body immersion was required for converts (giyur) to the sect called The Way (HaDerech) in Acts whether a Pharisaic/Saddusaic Jew or a Gentile proselyte (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_to_Judaism). In Canaan, however, when the solar theology had absorbed the older beliefs, Baal, passing into a sun-god and the goddess who stood at his side becoming a representative of the moon--the pale reflection, as it were, of the sun- -Ashtoreth came to be regarded as the consort of Baal and took the place of the solar goddesses of Babylonia. For this reason, God shows that the preacher, not the civil authority, is the most vital part of the community. With the help of the sun-goddess Shapsh, Anath locates the dead Baal, carries him to the height of apn, and weeping buries him with funerary sacrifices. El is praised for his wisdom in granting the request since now it is insured that Baal will give his rain in season. Yet, he was in trouble his whole life, from his teenage years on. So it was that, about 250 years after it was established, the ten-tribed northern kingdom became extinct as a sovereign nation. Though it hurts, the pain is indicative of rescue and cure. Discovered in a farmer's field in northeastern Egypt, this inscribed monument bears the name of one of the few pharaohs actually named in the Old . ADD. They too had blended the worship of the true God with outright paganism, utterly corrupting the relationship He had established with them. In distress some would naturally revert to the old ways of reviving or reactivating the rain-god prayer, mourning, self-laceration, dancing, and water-pouring (I Kings 18:2628; Hos. Apparently in anticipation of developments the artisan god Koshar had cast furnishings of gold and silver. Israel's false religion, represented by the altars of Bethel, is at the root of her problems. The Israelites rejected the law of God and relied on the traditions of Gentile nations. Depending on the tradition, she was either Baal's mother, lover, or both. The laws given to Moses by God expressly forbade the Jews to do what was done in Egypt or in Canaan. This is not brand new, but it is picking up speed. He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. 10:25, 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 18). Their commitment went one way, and then it went the other way. The Lord said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel." Ugaritic texts tell of other fertility aspects of Baal, such as his relations with Anath, his consort and sister, and also his siring a divine bull calf from a heifer. That there were minor Baalim also at Ugarit is indicated by a god list in Akkadian (see Ugaritica, 5, p. 44 ll. This corrupt blending of a holy God with a pagan goddess became part of everyday religious practice, which is why evil king Manasseh put an Asherah pole . Gray, The Legacy of Canaan (rev. In others, they rejected Yahweh worship altogether and fully turned themselves over to the idols of Canaan (2 Kgs 17:14-17). The principal pillars of Baalism were child sacrifice, sexual immorality (both heterosexual and homosexual) and pantheism . The latter title has a biblical echo in the corrupted form Baal-Zebub (II Kings 1:2ff. Since El and Dagn are distinct deities, this seeming confusion over Baal's paternity needs explanation. 6:30; II Kings 16:3233) are associated with him. Anath then dismembered Mot, scattered and burned the pieces, and gave them to the birds. In their spiritually unaware state, they will be incredulous at God's punishment for "such a little bit of sin." This is exactly what God warns us to flee, and the only way to come out of it is by developing and maturing in our relationship with God. Baal worship is something I associated only with Old Testament Bible days. Nevertheless, despite the biblical tendency to avoid the use of the word as a proper name, it is now quite clear that by pre-Israelite times the term had become the usual name of the weather-god of Syria-Palestine. Matthew 5:17Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. Baal's sister-consort Anath demanded that Mot release her brother. Some of Judah's kings spent years tearing down shrines and high places to foreign gods (II Chronicles 34:1-7). Given Sidons position on the coast, it is not surprising that the storm god is Sidons most important god. When a person is freezing to death, he feels a pleasant numbness that he does not want to end. The Kingdom of Israel fell below the historian's radar. What modern-day Baals have we worshipped in place of God? Learn more about Biblical Sidon and Sidonian religion in Claude Doumet-Serhals article SidonCanaans Firstborn in the July/August 2017 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 1:711). As a Semitic common noun baal (Hebrew baal) meant owner or lord, although it could be used more generally; for example, a baal of wings was a winged creature, and, in the plural, baalim of arrows indicated archers. Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica. Check out her books at hopebolinger.comfor clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Mot refused and boasted how he had mangled Baal. Paul, in: Biblica, 49 (1968), 3436; U. Oldenburg, The Conflict Between El and Bal in Canaanite Religion (1969). The word bel can be transformed into vel or val. He was overseeing a tevilah (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_washing_in_Judaism#Full-body_immersion_.28Tvilah.29) in a mikveh (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikveh). Today, some evangelicals attempt to prepare the people for what is to come, but their teaching is a mixture of right and wrong.