Dictionary of Bible Themes Any gods other than the LORD himself. Some of these divinities took the form of images, others were mythical. Some Israelites became involved in idolatrous worship of such gods. The book of Acts records attempts to deify human beings. See also False gods associated with foreign nations in the OT Jeremiah 46:25Amon, the chief god of Egypt Exodus 34:13-14Asherah, a Canaanite goddess See also Deuteronomy 7:5Asherah was the consort of El, the chief Canaanite god. Wooden poles, perhaps carved in her image, were often set up in her honour and placed near other pagan objects of worship. Judges 6:25-301 Kings 14:15,23; 15:13; 16:33; 18:19 Gideon destroys an Asherah pole 2 Kings 23:4-7,13-16Elijah summons 400 prophets of Asherah to Mount Carmel. Isaiah 27:9King Josiah's reforms: Jeremiah 17:2Micah 5:14 Judges 2:12-13 Ashtoreth, a goddess of war and fertility See also Judges 10:6Ashtoreth, the consort of Baal, was associated with the evening star and was worshipped as Ishtar in Babylon and as Athtart in Aram. To the Greeks she was Astarte or Aphrodite and to the Romans, Venus. 1 Samuel 7:3-4; 12:10; 31:101 Kings 11:5,33 Judges 2:10-13 Baal, a Canaanite and Phoenician god of fertility and rain Matthew 12:24Baal, meaning "lord", was pictured standing on a bull, a popular symbol of fertility and strength. Baal was associated with Asherah and Ashtoreth, goddesses of fertility. Baal-Zebub, a popular deity of the Philistines pp Mk 3:22 See also pp Lk 11:15 2 Kings 1:1-6,16-17Beelzebub is the Greek form of the Hebrew name "Baal-Zebub", meaning "lord of the flies". Isaiah 46:1Bel, the chief deity of Babylon See also Jeremiah 50:2; 51:44Bel was another name for the sun god, Marduk. Nebo, the god of learning and writing was the son of Marduk. 1 Kings 11:7See also Chemosh, the chief god of Moab Numbers 21:291 Kings 11:33 2 Kings 23:13 Jeremiah 48:7,13,46 Judges 16:23 See also Dagon, worshipped in Babylonia and Philistia 1 Samuel 5:2-71 Chronicles 10:10 1 Kings 11:4-5 See also Molech, the chief deity of Ammon Leviticus 18:21Leviticus 20:2-5 1 Kings 11:7,33 The practice of sacrificing children to Molech was common in Phoenicia and the region 2 Kings 23:102 Kings 23:13 Isaiah 57:9 Josiah destroyed the area where the altars for child sacrifice were located Jeremiah 32:35; 49:1,3Zephaniah 1:5 Acts 7:43 Ezekiel 8:14 Tammuz, a Babylonian fertility god 1 Kings 14:23-24; 19:18The worship of false gods was a snare to God's people Jeremiah 7:31Their worship included disgusting rites Hosea 13:2Judges 6:28-32 1 Kings 18:17-40 Numerous attempts were made to stop the worship of Baal and other false gods See also 2 Kings 10:18-28; 11:18; 23:4-5,132 Kings 21:3 Attempts to stop false worship proved unsuccessful See also 2 Chronicles 28:1-4The word "Baal" was not orginally a proper name but came to be used as such. Hosea 13:1-2Psalms 40:4 Warnings against and condemnation of, the worship of false gods Daniel 3:29See also Psalms 4:2Nebuchadnezzar came to realise the foolishness of worshipping false gods Jeremiah 13:25; 16:19Amos 2:4 Zephaniah 1:4 Acts 14:12 The first Christians were confronted with the worship of Greek and Roman deities Zeus and Hermes Acts 19:24-28Zeus was the patron god of the city of Lystra and his temple was there. Paul was identified as the god Hermes (the Roman Mercury), Zeus' attendant and spokesman. Artemis See also Artemis was the Greek name for the Roman goddess, Diana. Acts 28:11Castor and Pollux the two "sons of Zeus", regarded as the guardian deities of sailors Acts 12:21-22; 14:12-15; 28:6Attempts to deify human beings See also 1085 God, love of4254 mountains 6106 addiction 6243 adultery, spiritual 7312 Baal 7328 ceremonies 7386 incense 7474 Tent of Meeting 8753 favouritism 8768 idolatry 8800 prejudice 8841 unfaithfulness to people |
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