The Doctrine of Baalim
1. We have covered the Doctrine of Baal back in Num. 22:41. Generally speaking, it refers to a Canaanite
deity, yet not their top god.
2. The im ending for a Hebrew word marks it as a plural, so Baalim is simply a transliteration which we might
think of as meaning Baals. Baalim occurs in the following verses: Judges 2:11 3:7 8:33 10:6, 10 1Sam. 7:4
12:10 1Kings 18:18 2Chron. 17:3 24:7 28:2 33:3 34:4 Jer. 2:23 9:14 Hosea 2:13, 17 11:2.
3. There is apparently a raging debate as to whether (1) Baalim refers to a heathen pantheon of gods; whether
(2) Baalim is the what as known as pluralis excellentiœ, which is where the plural is used rather than the
singular to describe the god in the wide extent of his influence and the various modes of his manifestation;
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whether (3) Baalim refers to the images of Baal and the other gods; or whether (4) Baalim is just the simple
plural usage of Baal. The short answer to that is that we can interpret it as meaning any combination of these.
Before I cover these four viewpoints, let me explain that some theologians get an idea that seems good to
them, based up the implications of perhaps one passage, and they run with it. Without carefully examining
relevant Scripture, these ideas often appear, at their face, valid. However, you should never allow yourself
to be swayed unless a good theory is backed up by Scripture. Furthermore, when you have a good idea, you
must test it out with God’s Word. There have been times that I came up with good ideas, notions and
interpretations, that, upon further and closer examination, I had to discard because they did not line up with
God’s Word.
I have found that the easiest way to determine which of these interpretations is correct is to examine each and
every passage where we find Baalim and let that context guide us. Judges 2:11 3:7 8:33 10:6, 10 1Sam. 7:4
12:10 1Kings 18:18 2Chron. 17:3 24:7 28:2 33:3 34:4 Jer. 2:23 9:14 Hosea 2:13, 17 11:2.
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The Occurrences of Baalim (Baals) in Scripture
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Scripture
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Interpretation
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Judges 2:10–13: And all that generation also were gathered to
their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who
did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel.
And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the
LORD and served the Baals. And they abandoned the LORD,
the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of
Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the
peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And
they provoked the LORD to anger. They abandoned the LORD
and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.
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The usage of Baalim here appears to simply
refer to heathen gods, but not necessarily to
a pantheon of gods or to a particular god,
but just to the various gods of the heathen.
Bowing down to them indicates that we are
speaking of idol worship as well; so Baalim
here seems to refer both to the gods of the
heathen as well as to the idols of the
heathen.
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Judges 3:5–7: So the people of Israel lived among the
Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites,
and the Jebusites. And their daughters they took to themselves
for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and
they served their gods. And the people of Israel did what was
evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God
and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
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The entire context is required here to get
the full impact of this verse; we are actually
transitioning between vv. 6 and 7, from
general to specific. However, even in the
specific sense, Israel is serving the Baals
and the Asheroth (this is the plural of
Asherah). We have some specific
instances in Scripture where both
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Judges 10:6–8: The people of Israel again did what was evil in
the sight of the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth,
the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods
of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they
forsook the LORD and did not serve him. So the anger of the
LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand
of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, and they
crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year.
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Baals and Ashtaroth here are simply used in
the plural in order to name the various gods
of the people named in context.
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1Sam. 7:3–4: And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, "If you
are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the
foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your
heart to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out
of the hand of the Philistines." So the people of Israel put away
the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the LORD only.
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The usage here appears to be the same as
that above; in the simple plural form. Since
these things are put away, the implication
is, we are speaking of idols and figurines as
well. They first worship the gods and
goddesses of the heathen, which requires
them to have figurines and statuettes as a
part of their worship.
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1Sam. 12:10: And they cried out to the LORD and said, 'We have
sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and have served
the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand
of our enemies, that we may serve you.'
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This use seems to be consistent with the
use above; the plural of both nouns is found
here.
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1Kings 18:18–19: And Elijah answered, "I have not troubled
Israel, but you have, and your father's house, because you have
abandoned the commandments of the LORD and followed the
Baals. Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount
Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of
Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."
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Since we have Baal and Baalim here, it
would make less sense for Baalim to be the
plural of great import; therefore, referring to
the variety of heathen gods is a more likely
usage here.
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2Chron. 17:3–4: The LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he
walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek
the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in his
commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel.
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Again, Baalim appears to be a simple plural
here.
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2Chron. 24:7: For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had
broken into the house of God, and had also used all the
dedicated things of the house of the LORD for the Baals.
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The simple plural usage fits well here, as
above.
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2Chron. 34:2–4: And he did what was right in the eyes of the
LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not
turn aside to the right hand or to the left. For in the eighth year
of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God
of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge
Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the
carved and the metal images. And they chopped down the altars
of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the incense altars
that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the Asherim and
the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and
scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
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Here, the images are clearly differentiated
from Baalim; however, it also appears as
though Asherim is used to represent images
and idols (which is consistent with where it
is found elsewhere in Scripture).
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Jer. 2:23–24: How can you say, 'I am not unclean, I have not
gone after the Baals'? Look at your way in the valley; know what
you have done-- a restless young camel running here and there,
a wild donkey used to the wilderness, in her heat sniffing the
wind! Who can restrain her lust? None who seek her need weary
themselves; in her month they will find her.
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Consistent with the typical plural usage.
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Jer. 9:13–14: And the LORD says: "Because they have forsaken
My law that I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice or
walked in accord with it, but have stubbornly followed their own
hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught
them.
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Consistent with plural usage.
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Hosea 2:13: And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals
when she burned offerings to them and adorned herself with her
ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers and forgot me,
declares the LORD.
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This is one of the few places where Baalim
could refer to a pantheon of gods or to the
intensive plural. It could also be a simple
plural usage as well.
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Hosea 2:17: For I will remove the names of the Baals from her
mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more.
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This is in the same chapter as the previous
verse, and indicates either a pantheon of
gods or the simple plural usage.
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Hosea 11:1–2: When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of
Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they
went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning
offerings to idols.
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Here, Baalim is spoken of separately from
the idols, although they could be seen as
equivalent in this passage. Seeing it as a
simple plural is also consistent with the
context.
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What we find over and over again, is the use of Baalim is consistently reasonably thought of as a simple plural;
and occasionally, as a possible reference to the idols used in the worship of the Baals. So, even though we
could see this as a pantheon of gods or as an intensive plural on occasion, there is no context which requires
us to understand this plural form of Baal in the same way.
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4. The reasons in favor of Baalim standing for the images which represent Baal (and the other gods):
a. This occurs in tandem with Asheroth, which is though by some to refer to the images of Asherah
(Judges 3:7).
5. The reasons in favor of Baalim standing for one god, but in sort of a big way:
a. This is a theory held mostly by those who hold to the theory the Elohim refers to One God. To support
that Elohim refers to One God or to a Unity of Plurality, we often have the plural noun but a singular verb
(Gen. 1:1). We don’t, however, find this with the word Baalim.
6. The reasons in favor of Baalim standing for the pantheon of gods:
a. We do not have verbs such as set up, cast down, adorn or break used with Baalim. This is what we
would expect when dealing with this noun if it referred simply to images.
b. In connection to Baalim, we usually find the verbs serve (Judges 2:11 3:7), worship (Judges 2:11 3:7—it
depends upon the translation), seek (2Chron. 17:3), go after (Jer. 2:23), follow after (1Kings 18:18), and
put away (1Sam. 7:4). Obviously, the latter verb could go either way.
c. That Baalim refers to a pantheon of gods is fairly clear by Hosea 2:17: “For I will remove the names of
the Baalim from her mouth, so that they will be mentioned by their names no more.”
d. The most convincing argument that these refer to a pantheon and not to the states or images is
2Chron. 28:2, which reads: But he [Jotham] walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also made
molten images for the Baalim. Obviously, Jotham wasn’t making images to represent other images.
e. That Baalim generally stands for the pantheon of gods and that Asheroth stands for the images of female
deities can be seen clearly in 2Chron. 33:3: For he [Manasseh] rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah
his father had broken down; he also erected altars for the Baalim and made Asheroth and worshiped all
the host of heaven and served them. This is also obvious in 2Chron. 34:4: And they tore down the altars
of the Baalim in his presence, and the incense altars that were high above them he chopped down; also
the Asherim,
the carved images, and the molten images he broke into pieces and ground to powder and
scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
f. That Baalim stands for several gods as opposed to the term standing for one heathen god is found in
Hosea 2:17: “For I will remove the names of the Baalim from her mouth, so that they will be remembered
by their names no more.” It would be reasonable for these names to refer to the many local Baal’s, such
as Baal-Peor (Num. 25:3, 5 Deut. 4:3), Baal-Berith (Judges 8:33 9:4), and Baal-Zebub (2Kings 1:2, 3,
6, 16).
7. Conclusion: I think that we can safely conclude that whenever we find the word Baalim, that it refers to
heathen gods in the plural, but not necessarily a pantheon of gods.
I have found that it is helpful to abbreviate doctrines and place them within the exegesis.
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The Abbreviated Doctrine of Baalim
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1. There are 4 possible interpretations of the use of the word Baalim (translated Baals, lords, Baalim):
a. This can be the intensive plural usage, as Elohim is occasionally used; when the noun often takes a
singular verb, even though it is a plural noun.
b. This word can be used to refer to a specific pantheon of gods worshiped by the heathen.
c. Baalim could be a simple plural noun, referring to the variety of gods worshiped by the surrounding
heathen.
d. Baalim might refer to the idols, carved images, and statuettes so often found among the heathen and
in heathen Baal worship.
2. In several passages, it is clear that this simply refers to the several gods worshiped by the heathen
(Judges 3:5–7 10:6–8 Hosea 2:17).
3. There is at least one instance where this may be reasonably interpreted as referring to the images and idols
of Baal worship (1Sam. 7:3–4).
4. There are a few instances where this word might be seen as an intensive plural or referring to a pantheon
of gods; however, there is no passage which is so compelling as to demand that interpretation.
5. The plural use of the noun; and its occasional use to refer to the images and idols, is a consistent
application of this plural noun, which does no damage that I can see to the interpretation of any of the
passages wherein the word I found.
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If you would like to confirm this for yourself, either go to the complete doctrine of Baalim or examine the
passages for yourself: Judges 2:11 3:7 8:33 10:6, 10 1Sam. 7:4 12:10 1Kings 18:18 2Chron. 17:3 24:7
28:2 33:3 34:4 Jer. 2:23 9:14 Hosea 2:13, 17 11:2.
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You may think, this is a lot of time to spend on this little word; or, if you went to the doctrine itself, which is 5
pages long, you might think, this is way too much time to spend on this little word; the idea is, I want it to be
clear what the meaning of the word is; and that there are no questions or preconceived notions to be applied;
whether you spend anytime learning the entire doctrine is a whole other question.
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