A) INTRODUCTION.

B) TO THE LIST OF god’s IN THE BIBLE.

 

 

A) INTRODUCTION

 

 

Just as the force behind the king of Persia was Satan (Dan. 10:13), so the force behind the worship of these false deities and idols were/are demons.

 

 

B) TO THE LIST OF god’s IN THE BIBLE

 

 

Adrammelech & Anammelech- Second Kings 17:31.

Adrammelech, along with Anammelech, was worshipped by the Sepharvites and was considered to be the god of the sun.  Of all the gods, these are one of the worst because they inspired people to sacrifice their very own children to these demons.

 

Ashima - Second Kings 17:30.

One of the many gods of Babylon worshipped by the men of Hamath, in an area around Babylon.  He was the supposed war and hunting god.

 

Ashtoreth & Astarte - Joshua 9:10; First Kings 11:5 & 33; Second Kings 23:13.

Astarte was also called “Ashtoreth,” which would be the plural form.  This was the goddess of the Canaanites and was connected with fertility, maternity, love, and sex.  Worship of Ashtoreth was strong at Sidon.  She was sometimes called a consort or companion of “Ba-al.”  Also a goddess of war and hunting depending upon the Canaanites political situation.  Sometimes associated with the moon, horse and chariot.  She was later adopted by the Egyptians and the Greeks.

 

Ba-al - Numbers 22:41; Judges 2:13; Jeremiah 11:17; and many more.

The actual correct spelling would be “Ba-al,” pronounced “Bah-All.”  Sometimes called “Bel,” this false diety was the supreme god among the Canaanites, worshiped in many forms, but often as a sun god or storm god.  He was a fertility god who supposedly made the earth bear crops and women bear children.  Rites involved with Ba-al worship included cult prostitution and sometimes human sacrifice.  Worshiping Ba-al was a recurring temptation for the Israelites, as noted in the Book of Judges.  Hard to be totally specific because different regions, both in Israel and surrounding communities, paid homage to their own local variety of Ba-al.

 

Beelzebub - Second Kings 1:2; Matthew 10:25; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15.

Known as the “lord of flies,” his worship began in Ekron of Philstine.  Often associated with the Canaanite god Ba-al.  Also used as just another name for Satan.  He is known in demonology as one of the seven deadly demons or seven princes of Hell, Beelzebub representing gluttony and envy.

 

Bel (See Marduk; also could possibly be Ba-al) - Isaiah 46:1; Jeremiah 50:2; 51:44.

 

Castor & Pollux - Acts 28:11.

Known as the “twin brother gods.”  They were supposed to be the twin sons of Zeus (not mentioned in the Bible), who was invoked for the protection for sailors.

 

Chemosh - First Kings 11:33 & Second Kings 23:13.

Chemosh is known as “the subduer,” and was the national god of the Moabites.  He also gained headway in worship by the Ammonites.  Rites involving this god were said to be cruel and may have involved human sacrifice.

 

Chiun - Amos 5:26.

Worshipped by the Babylonians and was known as the star god.

 

Dagon - First Samuel 5:1-5.

Dagon was the false god of the Philistines.  This idol had the body of a fish, with a human head and hands in its statues.  Dagon was a god of water and grain.

 

Diana - Acts 19:24 & 27-28 & 34-35.

Worshipped by the Grecians, she was thought to be the goddess of the moon.  Also used for hunting.  She was the virginity goddess.

 

Gad - Isaiah 65:11.

Gad was worshipped by the Israelites.  Gad was the name of the pan-Semitic god of fortune, usually depicted as a male, but sometimes as a female, and is attested to in ancient records of Aram and Arabia.

 

Golden Calf (Actual Name, “Molten Calf”) - Exodus 32:4 & First Kins 12:26-30.

Golden calves occur twice in the Bible.  First at the foot of Mount Sinai, fashioned by Aaron, and Second in the reign of King Jeroboam.  In both instances, the idols were supposed physical representations of the True God.

 

Jupiter - Acts 14:12.

Worshipped by the Greeks along with Mercury, he was thought to be a messenger for the other gods.  Also known as Jove, meaning “father,” and as such, was the “sky father” in Greek mythology.  Thus, he was the god of the sky and thunder.  By the time the Romans picked him up, he became the chief deity of the Roman state religion.

 

Marduk (Not in the Bible except as “Bel”) - Isaiah 46:1.

This god of the Babylonians was associated with fertility and vegetation.  Confusion about Mesopotamian gods is common because Marduk had 50 names, including Bel.  He was also worshiped by the Assyrians and Persians.  Marduk, in the Mesopotamian religion, was the chief god of the city of Babylon and the national god of Babylonia; as such, he was eventually called simply Bel, or Lord.

 

Mercury - Acts 14:12.

Worshipped by the Greeks along with Jupiter, he was also thought to be a messenger for the other gods.  Also considered to be the son of Jupiter and Maia, goddess of the plains (not mentioned in the Bible).  Mercury was considered a god of abundance and commercial success, particularly in the land of Gaul.

 

Merodach (Another name for [see] “Marduk”) - Jeremiah 50:2.

 

Milcom - Second Kings 23:13; Amos 5:26.

This national god of the Ammonites was associated with divination, seeking knowledge of the future through occult means.  Child sacrifice were sometimes connected with Milcom.  Other names for this false god were/are “Moloch,” Amos 5:26; Acts 7:43, where he is identified as the star god, and “Molech,” Leviticus 18:21; 20:2-5; First Kings 11:7; Second Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 32:35.  All three are the same god, associated mostly with child sacrifice.  Of the gods, you could determine our Lord hated this one the most.

 

Nebo - Isaiah 46:1.

Worshipped in Chaldea in Babylon, he was thought to be the god of writing, speech, literature and the arts.

 

Nehushtan - Second Kings 18:4.

Originally a token of the True God’s power, the serpent Moses made in the wilderness (Num. 21:4-9) began to be worshipped by the Israelites as the true god.

 

Nergal - Second Kings 17:30.

Worshipped by the men of Cuth, an area around Babylon.  He was the supposed god of war and hunting.

 

Nibhaz - Second Kings 17:31.

Worshipped by the Avites, introduced by them into Samaria in the time of Shalmaneser.  The rabbis derived the name from a Hebrew root “nabach,” meaning, “to bark,” and hence assigned to it the figure of a dog, or a dog-headed man.

 

Nisroch - Second Kings 19:37.

Worshipped by the Assyrians, this idol is identified with the eagle-headed human figure, which is one of the most prominent on the earliest Assyrian monuments.  He is always represented as contending with and conquering the lion or the bull.  However, he was the god of agriculture, which seems out of line, since Sennacherib went to him before all his campaigns; thus one should associate this false god with war.

 

Queen of heaven - Jeremiah 7:18 & 44:17-19.

Popularly known as “Ishtar,” she was worshipped by both the Babylonians (originated there) and the Assyrians.  She is the goddess of war and sexual love.  She is also known as “Inanna” in Sumerian sources and “Astarte” in West Semitic sources.  In an interesting fact, she is the first known deity for which we have the oldest written evidence.

 

Rimmon - Second Kings 5:18.

Worshipped by the Syrians, he is thought to be the weather god.

 

Succothbenoth - Second Kings 17:30.

One of the many gods of Babylon.  He was the supposed war and hunting god.

 

Tammuz - Ezekiel 8:14.

Worshipped by both the Babylonians (originated there) and the Samarians, he is thought to be the vegetation god.  It was also the name of a Phoenician deity, the “Adonis” of the Greeks.  He was originally a Sumerian or Babylonian sun-god, called “Dumuzu,” pretended to be the husband of “Ishtar,” who corresponds to “Aphrodite” of the Greeks.  The worship of these deities was introduced into Syria in very early times under the designation of “Tammuz” and “Astarte,” and appears among the Greeks in the myth of “Adonis” and “Aphrodite,” who are identified with “Osiris” and “Isis” of the Egyptian pantheon, showing how widespread the cult became.  The Babylonian myth represents “Dumuzu,” or “Tammuz,” as a beautiful shepherd slain by a wild boar, the symbol of winter.  “Ishtar” supposedly long mourned for him and descended into the underworld to deliver him from the embrace of death.  All according to “Frazer, Adonis, Attis and Osiris.”

 

Tartak - Second Kings 17:31.

A god worshiped by the Avites, a people who were transplanted from their land to Samaria after its fall to Assyria.  Tartak is said to have been worshipped under the form of an ass.  This is one of those cases where one makes themselves into an ass.  Said to be the prince of darkness.