Baal-berith
Baal-Berith was the god of the Canaanite city, who later came to be viewed as the demon Baalberith by Christian demonology. According to the Book of Judges, his temple was destroyed when Abimelech quelled the rising of his subjects.[1][2] The name denotes a form of Ba'al-worship prevailing in Israel, according to the Book of Judges,[3] and particularly in Shechem. The term "Ba'al" is shown by the equivalent "El-berith" to mean "the God of the Covenant." The 'Covenant' (Hebrew: Berith) to which this refers may refer to treaties such as one with the Canaanitic league of which Shechem was the head, or the covenant between Israel and the people of Shechem.[4] The term is considered by some to be too abstract to have been occasioned by a single set of conditions. Moreover, the temple of the god in Shechem implies a permanent establishment. Probably the name and the cult were widespread and ancient (see Baalim), though it is mentioned only in connection with the affairs of Shechem.
Contents |
[edit] In Rabbinical Literature
The idol Baalberith, which the Jews worshipped after the death of Gideon, was identical, according to the Rabbis, with Baal-zebub, "the ba'al of flies," the god of Ekron (II Kings i. 2). He was worshipped in the shape of a fly; and Jewish tradition states that so addicted were the Jews to his cult that they would carry an image of him in their pockets, producing it, and kissing it from time to time. Baal-zebub is called Baal-berith because such Jews might be said to make a covenant (Hebrew: "Berit") of devotion with the idol, being unwilling to part with it for a single moment (Shab. 83b; comp. also Sanh. 63b). According to another conception, Baal-berith was an obscene article of idolatrous worship, possibly a simulacrum priapi (Yer. Shab. ix. 11d; 'Ab. Zarah iii. 43a). This is evidently based on the later significance of the word "berit," meaning circumcision.
[edit] Baalberith in Christian demonology
Baalberith was the chief secretary of Hell, head of its public archives, and the demon who tempted men to blasphemy and murder. When seated among the princes of Hell, he was usually seen as a pontiff. He tells things of the past, present and future with true answers; he can also turn all metals into gold, give dignities to men and confirm them. He was also quite a voluble sort: according to the Admirable History written by Father Sebastien Michaelis in 1612, Baalberith once possessed a nun in Aix-en-Provence. In the process of the exorcism, Baalberith volunteered not only his own name and the names of all the other demons possessing her, but the names of the saints who would be most effective in opposing them.
To speak with him the conjurer must wear a silver ring and put it before his face in the same form as it is needed in Beleth's case and demons do before Amaymon. He is depicted as a soldier wearing red clothes, a golden crown, and riding a red horse; according to other grimoires his skin is red. Books on the subject tell that he is called according to whom invokes him, being called Berith by the Jews (see below). According to some demonologists from the 16th century, his power is stronger in June.
- Consider the use of the Hebrew word, 'berith' which means 'covenant' and 'to cut until blood appears'. Baal berith might be the demon associated with Ahab and Jezebel's reign whereas Elijah opposed the 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. The prophets of Baal were cutting themselves to gain the demon's favor, but the demon has no power in the presence of Almighty God, Yahweh.
(Please refer to 1 Kings 18; more specifically verse 28.)
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
- J.C. DeMoor, בעל, Theologisches Wörterbuch zum Alten Testament, hrsg. G.J. Botterweck, H. Ringgren, Bd. 1, Col. 706-718.
- S. L. MacGregor Mathers, A. Crowley, The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King (1904). 1995 reprint: ISBN 0-87728-847-X.
- "Berith - Goetia, the Lesser Key of Solomon the King: Lemegeton." DeliriumsRealm.com - Demonology, Fallen Angels, and the Philosophy of Good and Evil. 30 Apr. 2009 <http://www.deliriumsrealm.com/delirium/articleview.asp?Post=120>.
[edit] External links
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Baal-berith". Jewish Encyclopedia. 1901–1906. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=4&letter=B.- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
