This analysis reveals that “Yahweh came to be associated with the language, imagery, and traditions of Baal worship.” But why? Most likely, the Omride kings of Israel borrowed from Baal “to elevate Yahweh’s profile and status as the patron deity of the Northern Kingdom.” Stahl discusses the language and iconography associated with the Phoenician storm god Baal, pointing out the intriguing similarities with the later Yahwistic vocabulary-in the Bible and artistic representations. Stahl examines the relevant historical evidence in his article “ Yahweh or Baal: Who Was the God of Northern Israel?” Professor of Hebrew Bible at the Pennsylvania State University and an expert on the origins of Yahweh, Stahl looks critically at the biblical accounts that present the early kings of Israel as Baal worshipers and compares this image with what we know from ancient inscriptions and artistic and literary depictions of Baal and Yahweh. In the Fall 2023 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Michael J. But was that true? How does this biblical narrative, which seeks to explain the demise of the Omride dynasty, measure up against the historical evidence we have from archaeology, inscriptions, and artistic depictions? We are told that King Ahab and his villain wife Jezebel sponsored Baal worship and persecuted Yahweh’s prophets, including Elijah (1 Kings 18–19). The Hebrew Bible portrays the ninth-century BCE Omride kings of Israel as worshipers of the Phoenician storm god Baal. Photo: Scott Nevins Memorial, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. The historical evidence, however, suggests the Omrides not only did not seek to erase Yahweh but rather elevated him as Israel’s patron deity. The Bible paints the Omride kings of Israel as worshipers of Baal and adversaries of Yahweh.

Elijah’s battle with the prophets of Baal, as depicted in the third-century CE synagogue from Dura Europos in eastern Syria.

Battle of the gods game