‘No longer will you call me ‘my Ba’al’’: Hosea’s polemic and the semantics of ‘Ba’al’ in 8th century B.C.E. Israel
The anti-Ba’al polemics of Hosea 2.16-18 have typically been interpreted as evidence for the existence of a cult of Ba’al in 8th century B.C.E. Israel. However, research on the semantic range of the term בעל indicates an alternate possibility: within certain sections of Israelite religious culture,...
Published in: | Journal for the study of the Old Testament |
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Main Author: | |
Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Sage
[2020]
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In: |
Journal for the study of the Old Testament
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Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Baal, God
/ Adoration
/ Genericalness (Linguistics)
/ Jahwe
/ History 700 BC-800 BC
/ Semantics
/ Idolatry
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IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament |
Further subjects: | B
YHWHism
B Hosea B history of Israelite religion B Ba’al worship B Semantics B Keywords Ba’al worship B Bibel. Hosea, 2,16-18 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | The anti-Ba’al polemics of Hosea 2.16-18 have typically been interpreted as evidence for the existence of a cult of Ba’al in 8th century B.C.E. Israel. However, research on the semantic range of the term בעל indicates an alternate possibility: within certain sections of Israelite religious culture, בעל had come to be used as an appellative for YHWH. Theophoric and topynomic names from the 8th century B.C.E., both biblical and extra-biblical, point to the fact that בעל was regularly used as a category meaning ‘lord’ or ‘master’ rather than as a proper name referencing the Canaanite storm-god Ba’al-Hadad. Seen in this way, Hosea’s warnings against idolatry do not indicate Israelite worship of a deity believed to be ontologically distinct from YHWH. Rather, they reveal an intra-religious debate about the character of YHWHism itself regarding the extent to which religious language from other traditions ought to be appropriated for a YHWHistic context. |
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ISSN: | 1476-6728 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0309089219862804 |