The Worship of Baalim in Israel, Based Upon the Work of R. Dozy, 'the Israelites at Mecca', Tr. and Enlarged with Notes by J. W. Colenso

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1865 edition. Excerpt: ...were unlawful,93 were declared to be idolatrous. It is obvious that the worship of the Baalim was an offence to them. Yet is there no indication that before Ahab's time Baal was an idolatrous name.94 97. Idolatrous, or anti-JHVH-istic, the Baal-worship could not have been, until the worshipping of Baal appeared as something anti-national: and that did not happen till after Solomon's days.95 But the grounds for it were already laid in his time. In Tyre, as we know, Hiram reigned simultaneously with David and Solomon, under whom that state attained an unprecedented glory. Hiram employed for the maintenance of his authority the same meaDS as his friend Solomon, viz. the erection of a splendid Temple for the national Deity, the Baal--that is, first of the Tabernacle, and then of the Temple. Bnt it does not seem that the Priests in later days--except, perhaps, Hilkiah in Josiah's time--were Reformers of the worship of JHVH. There were some spiritually-minded Prophets all along, who laboured for this, and Jeremiah was of a priestly family: but these were very commonly opposed to the Priests, as well as to other, non-reforming, Prophets: see Jer.i.18, ii.8,26, v.31, especially xx.1,2, xxvi.7,8,11, xxix.26,27. That is, as we may suppose, all worship of JHVH, which was conducted after the idolatrous fashions of the tribes around them. But see note ss, where some indications are given of the existence of a dislike for the use of the name 'Baal' in connection with JHVH, even as early as the time of David. M The worshipping of the Baal was never anti-JHVH-istic, but it was anti-JeHOv-istie, --that is, it was opposed to the spirit of the Reformers, Samuel and his followers. The attempt to centralise the worship of Jehovah at Jerusalem, in David's time...