Babylon Trinity

2.2 Babylon Trinity

Baal is one of the sons of El or Dagon, the chief god of the Canaanites. The word Baal means Lord. He is the god most actively worshipped in Canaan and Phoenicia, the Storm God, source of the winter rain storms, spring mist, and summer dew which nourish the crops. Therefore He is considered responsible for fruitfulness, particularly of the Earth, for the growth of vegetation, and for the maintenance of life. While the word "Baal" also means simply "master" or "owner," he is considered a prince. Among his other epithets are Rider of the Clouds, Prince, and Master of the Earth. Baal champions the divine order against the menacing forces of chaos. Baal is often depicted striding forward, wearing a horned helmet and short wrap kilt, carrying a mace and spear or lightning-bolt staff. Another of His names is Re`ammin, meaning Thunderer. He is also called ´Aleyin, meaning "Most High," "Mightiest," "Most Powerful," or "Supreme."

There are approximately 89 references to the god Baal in the Old Testament. When the children of Israel went "a-whoring after other gods" (Judges 2:17), as they often did, they went generally after Baal and Astarte. Baal, known also as Hadad, was the Canaanite god of fertility. He had many local manifestations, such as Baal of Peor (Num. 25:3), and Baal-berith, "lord of the covenant," at Shechem (Judge. 8:33), hence the plural form Baalim. Baal died in the spring, wailed over and buried by his wife, the love and war goddess, his sister the virgin Anat. But in the fall Baal revived, vanquishing Mot, the god of death and drought, and bringing with him the autumn rains. Celebrations were held commemorating the death and resurrection of Baal which marked the beginning and end of the growing season. In a graphic but fragmentary text from Canaanite Ugarit (excavated at Ras Shamra in Syria), Baal was out hunting, Anat followed him. He spotted her, fell in love and had sex with her in the form of a cow. She gave birth to 'a wild ox' or a 'buffalo'.

The actual tablets describing Baal's story do not preserve an exact account of Baal's death; that portion of the tablets are lost, and the events are concluded from remaining parts of the story. In what we have left, Baal is discovered dead and given a burial; but later in the narrative, he reappears alive. The passion play of Baal, the Babylonian Sun-God, was in existence centuries before the birth of Jesus. It was a mystery play acted every year in the beginning of spring. The main features of the play have been deciphered from some tablets discovered from Babylonian ruins. The tablets disclose very remarkable facts which must be disturbing to thousands of honest minds in Christendom.

Baal refused to acknowledge Mot, denying him hospitality and confining him to the deserts of the earth. Much angered, the god of death challenged Baal to come to the underworld and eat mud, the food of the dead. Baal accepted, and died.

He was mourned by weeping women. His sister and wife, the ferocious virgin Anat (or Ashtoreth or Astarte), a fertility goddess, traveled to the underworld and attempted to retrieve the corpse of the dead god, but could not. Mot refused to help (in some accounts refused to bring Baal back to life), and Anat went into a frenzy, stabbing Mot "with a sharp knife," scattering the pieces with a winnowing fan." She finally burnt the remains, ground them into dust and tossed the dust over a field. When she had destroyed the god of death, Baal was instantly resurrected. Anat's actions are symbolic of planting, growing and threshing, with the rebirth of Baal indicating the renewal of the cycle.

During the long period of trade and exchange between the Canaanites/Phoenicians with the Egyptians, Baal was associated with several Egyptian gods. Osiris was known to the Canaanites; the head of Osiris after his dismemberment was said to have floated to the Phoenician city of Byblos. Some scholars related Baal to the Egyptian Osiris, considering both as dying-resurrecting gods.

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