One of the chief "gods" of Babylon (Isa. xlvi. 1; Jer. l. 2; li. 44).  He corresponded to the Phoenician Baal (q.v.).  Gesenius considered that he symbolised the planet Jupiter; but it is now believed that, like Baal, he was the Sun-god, and was the supreme divinity.  He appeared in two aspects, the one beneficent, giving life and light, the other in wrath.  In the latter case he demanded the sacrifice of the first-born to gain his favour.  He was the same as Merodach.  His consort was Bilat or Beltis.  The germs of his worship were to be seen among the Accadians, with whom, however, he was not the chief divinity.  The Assyrians borrowed from the Babylonians the adoration of Bel.  They first reared idols in his honour.
    ¶ The Idol Bel and the Dragon [Apocrypha, ¶ ii.]. (The Sunday School Teacher's Bible Manual, Hunter, 1894)

... This second member of the Assyrian Nature Triad is called "lord of the world," "lord who protects the land."  He was the ruler of the earth. (Encyclopedia Britannica, Chambers, v.1, 1901).  It is a contracted form of Baal (בַּעַל), possibly meaning "lord, master" or "possessor."  Many compound names have been made with Bel; for example, Belshazzar. (Notes, Barnes, 1840)

    Bel, this word is to be understood as a contracted form of the name Belinus, or Apollo, in all cases where it occurs connected with topographical names in Great Britain, as in the words Belerion, Beltyne, etc.  But where it forms part of archaic words it seems better to understand it in the more primitive form of Bel, or Baal, i.e. "the lord," as in the word Belatucadr for Bel-at-o-cadr.  This word occurs in a lapidary inscription in England, conjoined with Mars, in this form, Deo Sancto Marti Belatucadro, as in Lysons' Reliquiæ Romance, No. 37, and is to be interpreted as "the lord, i.e., the divinity; accustomed to the dire onslaught of battle," or, in other words, Mars.  The word Baal, Bel, or Belus, it seems has two significations; one as a proper name, the other as "lord."  This double form is quite agreeable to the ancient oriental use of the word.  Compare Judges vi, 31, and 1 Kings xviii, 21, with 1 Samuel xii, 10; in the two former of which passages the word Baal means some determinate divinity, while in the latter passage baalim, the plural number of the word baal, means divinities generally.  When Baal, Bel, or Belinus, is to be taken as the name of any specific divinity, it is to be understood to signify, in the western parts of Europe, Apollo, while in the east it implied Jupiter, according to Pliny, who, in describing Babylon, says, "Ibi Jovis Beli templum."  In English, "There is the temple of Jupiter Belus." (Celtic Inscriptions on Gaulish & British Coins, Poste, 1861)

BEL.  The great national deity of the Babylonians, as Assur was of the Assyrians.  He was one of the deities of the first triad, consisting of Anu, Hea, and Bel, and in Accadian his name was written Engi.  He was also called Elu, or Ilu, in which form he takes a prominent position in the Izdubar Legends, and more generally Bilu, whence the Greek name Bel.  His chief titles were "The God of the World," that is of the affairs of the world, "Determiner of Destinies," and "Father of the Gods," in this case the term gods being applied to the stars.  He is now considered to represent the great deification of physical power, and he was the presiding deity of the moving heavenly bodies.  Hence, therefore, the great astronomical work of Sargon I. was called Namar-Bili, "The Illumination (or the eye of) Bel."  In the ancient mythical tablet recording the war of the gods, Sin, the moon, Shamas, the sun, and Ishtar, the queen of the stars, are called his children.  In the Deluge Legend, Bel is the chief god by whom the destruction of mankind is effected, and he was the only deity who murmured at Harisadra being saved; as a punishment for which offence he was shut out of heaven and no offerings were made by the patriarch to him.  Bel is continually represented as taking council of the wise and benevolent Hea, and generally his characteristics were those of force and wrath, rather than of wisdom or love.  The consort of Bel was the goddess Bilat, or Belat, who was a goddess of reproductive nature and a feminine form of himself, in which latter character she was also a goddess of war.  Bel was represented on the sculpture under the figure of a king, wearing a tiara crested with bulls' horns and a sceptre as the emblems of power.  See also Baal. (An Archaic Dictionary, Cooper, 1876).