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THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

Ba'al Shem-Tob Baalbek

when God sent the tenth plague upon Egypt, which not only brought death to men and animals, but also destroyed the idols. When Pharaoh overtook Israel at the sea, near Baal-zephon (Ex. xiv. 9), he said, " This idol is indeed mighty, and the God of Israel is powerless over him." But God intentionally blows the SHOPAK. spared Baal-zephon in order to strengthen the infatA. , ' F. L. C. uation of the wicked Pharaoh (Mek., Beshallah, 2; BAAL-ZEBUB.Biblical Data: Name of a Bo, 13). god of the Philistine city of Ekron, mentioned only J. SR. L. G. in connection with the illness of Ahaziah, king of BAALAH: 1. A border town of Judah (Josh, Israel, in 842 B.C (II Kings i. 2, 3, 6, 16), when the ' sick monarch sent messengers to Ekron to consult xv. 9,10; I Chron. xiii. 6) called elsewhere KIRJATHhim on the prospects of his recovery. There has JEARIM. been much speculation as to the character of the god. 2. A mount on the border of Judah (Josh. xv. 11). As the word stands, it means "Baal of flies." This 3. A city in the south of Judah (Josh. xv. 29), is usually explained as the god who expels or des- held by the Simeonites (Josh. xix. 3, where it is troys flies; though it may also mean'the patron or called Balah, while in the corresponding list of I controller of flies. The two explanations may be Chron. iv. 29, it is called Bilhah). combined in one, or rather the second may include J. JR. G. B. L. the first; for the god who has power to drive away BAALATH: 1. A Danite city (Josh. xix. 44). any plague has also p'ower to send it. A Zevc. 'Arr6- 2. A city built by Solomon mentioned in connecpviog was worshiped at Elis in Greece as a disperser tion with Tadmor (I Kings ix. 18; II Chron. viii. 6). offlies,and further analogies drawn from the occur- Its site has not been determined. rence of "flygods " among other nations (see Frazer's J. JR. G. B. L. note to his ed. of Pausanias, v. 14) warrant us in reBAALATH BEER : A city in the possession of taining the common explanation until decisive proof Simeon (Josh. xix. 8); but in the corresponding list to the contrary is forthcoming. It has been sug- of I Chron. iv. 33 called "Baal." gested that the second element of the name has been J. JR. G. B. L. modified from an original "Zebul," or rather "beth BAALBEK : A city situated at the base of the Zebul," so that the name would mean "lord of the western slope of the Anti-Lebanon, in a fertile region. high-house" (compare I Kings viii. 13). The drop- It is the Heliopolis of the Greek and Roman writers, ping of " Beth " is not without example (see BAAL- and is famous for the magnificent ruins of several temPEOR) ; but the warrant for assuming textual corrup- plesa large one with a vast courtyard; a smaller tion is not sufficient. It was not unusual to cail a one (the Temple of the Sun); and a still smaller one, god by the name of things that were particularly elegantly built in rococo style. The last two buildtroublesome, and which he was asked to destroy ings, distinguished not only for their large propor(Nowaek, "Hebr. Arch." p. 304; compare Apollo tions, but also for fine detail work, were probably Smintheus as the destroyer of mice among the in the second century; and information Greeks). The New Testament form "Beelzebub" constructed the seventh century indicates that the large tem(Matt. x. 25, etc.) is probably not based upon any from ple was erected by Antoninus Pius. In classic literaOld Testament reading, but is due to phonetic dis- ture the first mention of Heliopolis is in the third censimilation. See BEELZEBUB. tury ; but coins found in the city show that it existed J. JR. J. F. McC. in the first century, when it was a Roman colony. BAAL-ZEBUB IN RABBINICAL LITERAIts origin, however, belongs to a still earlier period, T U R E . See BAAL-BERITH IN RABBINICAL LITERAfor it was the principal center of the Syrian sunTURE. worship. This is corroborated by the fact that the BAAL-ZEPHON.Biblical Data: An Egyp- name "Baalbek" is found among the Syrians and tian locality in the neighborhood of the Red Sea. the Arabians. The meaning of the second part of the In spite of all attempted combinations (Dillmann- name is inexplicable; but the first part suggests the Ryssell on Ex. xiv. 2) its situation is still unknown. old Semitic "Baal." It is doubtful whether this An Egyptian god, B'irati Dapunathat is, Ba'alat city is mentioned in the Old Testament. Some idenZaphonis mentioned by the Egyptians themselves tify it with Baal-gad; but Baal-gad could not have (W. Max Milller, " Asien und Europa," p. 315). The lain so far north. Others think that it is Aven name calls to mind the Phenician jlSS bi!2, which (Amos i. 5), because the Greek translation renders designates both a god and a place. It particularly " Aven" by " On "the usual designation of " Heliopsignifies a city on Mount Lebanon, which, in the olis. " The word " On," however, borrowed from the opinion of H. Winckler, occurs also in the Old Testa- Egyptians, can not with justification be applied to a ment ; for he interprets Jer. x v. 12 (" Alttestamentliche Syrian city; and the place mentioned by Amos is Untersuchungen," p. 179), as "ironof Baalzephon." undoubtedly in the neighborhood of Damascus. However, it is not certain whether the Egyptian Baalbek is mentioned several times in Talmud and city and the Egyptian god Ba'alat Zaphon are Midi-ash ; compare Neubauer, "G. T." p. 286; comdirectly connected with the Phenician name of a god. pare also SOLOMON IN RABBINICAL LITERATURE. j. JR. F. Bu. B I B L I O G R A P H Y : Robinson, Biblical Researches, 1 1 1 . 505-527; Wood and Dawson, Ruins of Baalbec, 1757; Volney, Voyage In Rabbinical Literature: The idol at Baalen Syric; Baedeker-Socln, Palestine, s.v. zephon was the only one that remained unharmed j. JR. F. Bu.

tamar under the name of " Beth-thamar "; but at the present day it can not be located. J. JR. F. Bu. BA'AL TOKEA' (ypin $>jn, literally " the master of blowing ") : Term applied to the person wdio