Baal
Baal is the name of several gods that date back to the 14th century BC among the ancient Semitic peoples, the descendants of Shem, the oldest son of Biblical Noah. Semitic is more of a linguistic classification than a racial one. Thus, people speaking the same or similar languages first worshiped Baal in his many forms. In ancient religions the name denoted sun, lord or god. Baal was common a name of small Syrian and Persian deities. Baal is still principally thought of as a Canaanite fertility deity. The Great Baal was of Canaan. The cult of Baal celebrated annually his death and resurrection as a part of the Canaanite fertility rituals and involved human sacrifices and temple prostitution. [1] The worship of Baal often led the Israelites astray from God due to the carnal pleasures derived from temple prostitutes.