مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري

Abstract :

The history of ancient Israel provides a classic example of religions in collision. When the Israelite tribes settled in Canaan about 1.200 B.C., they encountered the Baalism of the Canaanite inhabitants of the land. For centuries the god of Israel and the gods of the Canaanites were worshipped side by side. Such a pious king as Saul thought it nothing wrong to name of his sons Jonathan (Yahweh Gives) and another Ishbaal (Man of Baal). The cult of Baal became an independent, aggressive religious movement in Israel, parallel with and in opposition to the worship of the ancient god of Israel. Thereupon Elijah and after him Elisha vigorously contended against Baal worship. For the next 600 years the supporters of Yahwism fought a desperate battle to check the inroads of Baalism into the life and thought of Israel. The old Testament reported as having extirpated the worshippers of Baal in Israel. A victory for Baalism would have radically altered the shape of eastern and western civilization, and the course of world history