|
|
Origin of the name BAAL.
Etymology of the
name BAAL.
Meaning of the baby name BAAL.
|
|
|
|
|
| BAAL (בַּעַל). Greek
Βάαλ.
A
Semitic word, meaning "Lord," which was applied to a god as a
term of adoration. Baal was the chief god of Babylonians, Phoenicians, Canaanites, Chaldeans, Moabites,
and of some of the surrounding nations. It was common to compound Baal
to names. We hear of Baal-Berith, Baal-Peor, Baal-Gad (the god of
fortune), Baal-zebub ("The Lord of Flies"), Baal-Khamman or
Ammon (the sun as "Lord of Heat"), Bel-samen (Baal-shemaim,
"The Lord of Heaven"), etc. The plural is Baalim, and in
the Old Testament is equivalent to "gods." The contracted
form is Bel. In Assyria,
Merodach, the patron deity of Babylon, was usually called Bel-Merodach,
and was distinguished as "The Younger Bel" from "The Old
Bel," Bellithon (Baal-éthan), the creator of the
universe. The latter was Bel, Belus, par-excellence, and
answered to the Accadian Mul-ge or "Lord of the
Underworld." Bel-Merodach was a form of the Sun-god, and so was
identical with the Phenician Baal (Bel-samen and Bel-Ammon). Human
sacrifices were offered to the Phenician Sun-god Baal, and he was
represented by the khamman, an upright stake or pillar of stone
(erroneously translated "image" in the Authorised
Version). At Tyre, Baal, there called Melkarth, or "King of the
City," had two pillars, one of gold and one of smaragdus, or emerald,
in front of his temple (comp. 1 Kings vii. 21). The organised
worship of the Phenician Baal was introduced into Israel by the marriage
of Ahab with Jezebel. The Canaanite Baal and Baalim woshipped before
the time of Samuel were Sun-gods, but not the special state-gods of
Phenicia. With Baal were conjoined Ashtoreth (Assyrian, Istar), the
Moon-goddess, and Ashera (wrongly rendered "grove" in the
Authorised Version), the goddess of fertility, who was represented by an
upright pillar. Bel-Merodach, originally the Sun, came afterwards to
be identified with the planets Jupiter and Mercury. (Notes: Critical,
Explanatory, and Practical, on The Book of the Prophet Isaiah,
Barnes, 1840)
|
|
|
|
A-Z
Baby Names
|
|
Girl Names
A,
B, C,
D, E,
F, G,
H, I,
J, K,
L, M,
N, O,
P, Q,
R, S,
T, U,
V, W,
X, Y,
Z
Boy
Names
A,
B, C,
D, E,
F, G,
H, I,
J, K,
L, M,
N, O,
P, Q,
R, S,
T, U,
V, W,
X, Y,
Z
|
|
| *** |
|
New Page 1
|
|
| *** |
|
New Page 1
|
|
|
|
|
