#39 What was Baal? 1 Kings 18:17-41
Baal is displayed in several different ways in ancient near eastern literature. In the Old Testament Baal or the Baals are described in terms of a plaque on society that must be removed so that everyone may worship the true God. 1 Kings 18:17-41 described an interaction between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Where prophets of both gods call on their god to light a fire to prove their strength. Baal is depicted as powerless even as his prophets riotously cut themselves. Whereas God is strong as he is able to light the fire even after it is drenched in water. The Baal Myth continually shows Baal to be powerful. The Karatepe Inscription also describes Baal as a sender of people i.e. powerful. The Baal of the Bible is similar to the one in these other texts in that they both show a god with many followers. But they differ in regard to his description. In the Bible it seems that Baal is not acknowledged as a deity or even to exist but rather that his temples and prophets did and in turn were destroyed. Whereas in the The Karatepe Inscription and the Baal Myth Baal is described as a real being who is powerful.
The biblical depictions of Baal are illuminated by other descriptions of Baal as they provide more context to how Baal acted and how his followers were expected to act. The Baal Myth shows how his followers perceived him. That is as someone who routinely battled the gods and won. In 1 Kings 18:17-41 the prophets of Baal brought an enemy to Baal and expected him to easily be triumphant. What they did not expect was for Baal to not show up. Which is why in verse 28 “they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.” This ritual bloodletting may be a seen that they were tryinh to coerce Baal into a mock battle. Or alternatively it was just a blood sacrifice but this seems less likely to me as they used weapons.
These stories are affected by context and point of view. The Baal Myth is written as a story where you could imagine yourself there in the fight. The Karatepe Inscription on the other hand tries to curry favor with the reader by associating himself with Baal by saying that Baal is the cause of his accomplishments he heaps on the honor of Baal to himself. 1 Kings 18:17-41 is written as an account of events where Baal doesn’t even exist or is to afraid to show up. Hosea 2 shows Baal to be the cause of Israel’s downfall as he attracted the worship of people.
Baal served different purposes for different people in the ancient near east. furthermore, since he is not a person he may not really be denigrated wrongly because if he is it is only to the purpose of the authors that give him life. To Israel Baal was positioned against their God. It gave them a common enemy and helped form their identity that helped establish Israel as a nation. Rather than just joining the ancient near eastern milieu. Whereas for others in the ancient near east Baal served a different purpose which was to serve as their god.
