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16 On the first day you shall hold a solemn and holy assembly, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn and holy assembly; no kind of work shall be done in them, save [preparation of] that which every person must eat � that only may be done by you.
17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day have I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore shall you observe this day throughout your generations as an ordinance forever.
18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread [and continue] until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.
19 Seven days no leaven [symbolic of corruption] shall be found in your houses; whoever eats what is leavened shall be excluded from the congregation of Israel, whether a stranger or native-born. [1 Corinthians 5:6-8.]
20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread [during that week].
21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said to them, Go forth, select and take a lamb according to your families and kill the Passover [lamb].
22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood in the basin, and touch the lintel above the door and the two side posts with the blood; and none of you shall go out of his house until morning.
23 For the Lord will pass through to slay the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood upon the lintel and the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to slay you.
24 You shall observe this rite for an ordinance to you and to your sons forever.
25 When you come to the land which the Lord will give you, as He has promised, you shall keep this service.
26 When your children shall say to you, What do you mean by this service?
27 You shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He slew the Egyptians but spared our houses. And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
28 The Israelites went and, as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
29 At midnight the Lord slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.
30 Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. AMP
The Pagan Gods of Canaan. The pagan peoples who inhabited the land of Canaan before the Israelites arrived also worshiped many gods and goddesses. The Canaanite literature discovered at RAS SHAMRA (on the site of the ancient city of Ugarit) on the Syrian coast provides abundant information about several gods mentioned in the Bible.
The Canaanite god most often referred to is Baal, which means "lord" or "master." The word could be used as a title for any person who owned something, or any god considered to be a lord or master. But the word Baal soon became identified with various regional gods that were thought to provide fertility for crops and livestock. As a god who symbolized the productive forces of nature, Baal was worshiped with much sensuality (Numbers 22:41; Judges 2:13; 1 Kings 16:31-32).
Numbers 22:41
41 And on the following day Balak took Balaam and brought him up into the high places of Bamoth-baal; from there he saw the nearest of the Israelites. AMP
Judges 2:13
13 And they forsook the Lord and served Baal [the god worshiped by the Canaanites] and the Ashtaroth [female deities such as Ashtoreth and Asherah]. AMP
1 Kings 16:31-32
31 As if it had been a light thing for Ahab to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he took for a wife Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and served Baal and worshiped him.
32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal which he built in Samaria. AMP
Baal appeared in many forms and under many different names. The Bible often makes reference to the Baalim (the plural of Baal; KJV) or to the Baals (NKJV; Judges 2:11; 1 Kings 18:18; Jeremiah 2:23).
Judges 2:11
11 And the people of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. AMP
1 Kings 18:18
18 Elijah replied, I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father's house, by forsaking the commandments of the Lord and by following the Baals. AMP
Jeremiah 2:23
23 How can you say, I am not defiled; I have not gone after the Baals [other gods]? Look at your way in the valley; know what you have done. You are a restive young female camel [in the uncontrollable violence of her brute passion eagerly] running hither and thither, AMP
The word Baal was often used in forming names, such as Baal of Peor (Deuteronomy 4:3; Baal-peor, KJV). Peor was the name of a mountain in Moab. Baal of Peor was an idol of Moab (probably to be identified with Chemosh) which Israel was enticed to worship with immoral practices. In several passages the idol is simply called Peor (Numbers 25:18; Joshua 22:17).
Deuteronomy 4:3
3 Your eyes still see what the Lord did because of Baal-peor; for all the men who followed the Baal of Peor the Lord your God has destroyed from among you, [Numbers 25:1-9.] AMP
Numbers 25:18
18 For they harass you with their wiles with which they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and of Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor. AMP
Joshua 22:17
17 Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed even now, although there came a plague [in which 24,000 died] in the congregation of the Lord, [Numbers 25:1-9.] AMP
Baal-Berith, which means "lord of the covenant," is a name under which Baal was worshiped in the time of the judges at Shechem, where he had a temple. In Judges 9:46 he is called simply the god Berith.
Judges 9:46
46 And when all the men of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the house of El-berith [the god of Berith]. AMP
Baal-Zebub, which means "lord of the fly," was "the god of Ekron" (2 Kings 1:2-3,6,16) - the name under which Baal was worshiped at the Philistine city of Ekron. This god was worshiped as the producer of flies, and consequently as the god that was able to defend against this pest. In the New Testament, reference is made to Beelzebub, a heathen god considered the chief evil spirit by the Jewish people (Matthew 10:25; 12:27; Luke 11:18-19). The Pharisees called him "the ruler of the demons" (Matthew 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15), and Jesus identified him with Satan.
2 Kings 1:2-3
2[King] Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria and lay sick. He sent messengers, saying, Go, ask Baal-zebub, the god of [Philistine] Ekron, if I shall recover from this illness.
3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king in Samaria and say to them, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? AMP
2 Kings 1:6
6 They replied, A man came up to meet us who said, Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, Thus says the Lord: Is there no God in Israel that you send to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not leave the bed on which you lie, but shall surely die. AMP
2 Kings 1:16
16 Elijah said to [King] Ahaziah, Thus says the Lord: Since you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel of Whom to inquire His word? Therefore you shall not leave the bed on which you lie, but shall surely die. AMP
Matthew 10:25
25 It is sufficient for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant or slave like his master. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub [master of the dwelling], how much more will they speak evil of those of His household. [2 Kings 1:2.] AMP
Matthew 12:27
27 And if I drive out the demons by [help of] Beelzebub, by whose [help] do your sons drive them out? For this reason they shall be your judges.
AMP
Luke 11:18-19
18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom last? For you say that I expel demons with the help of and by Beelzebub.
19 Now if I expel demons with the help of and by Beelzebub, with whose help and by whom do your sons drive them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. AMP
Matthew 12:24
24 But the Pharisees, hearing it, said, This Man drives out demons only by and with the help of Beelzebub, the prince of demons. AMP
Mark 3:22
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, He is possessed by Beelzebub, and, By [the help of] the prince of demons He is casting out demons. AMP
Luke 11:15
15 But some of them said, He drives out demons [because He is in league with and] by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, AMP
This word Baal was also used in personal names, but when the worship of Baal became a problem in Israel, Baal was replaced by Bosheth, which means "shame" (probably because it was shameful to have the name of a pagan god as part of one's name and because Baal was a shameful god). For instance, Merib-Baal (1 Chronicles 8:34; 9:40), the name of the son of Jonathan, became Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9:6-13), and Esh-Baal (1 Chronicles 9:39) became Ishbosheth (2 Samuel 2:8).
1 Chronicles 8:34
34 The son of Jonathan was Merib-baal (Mephibosheth) the father of Micah. AMP
1 Chronicles 9:40
40 The son of Jonathan was Merib-baal (Mephibosheth); Merib-baal was the father of Micah. AMP
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