Baal, << BAY uhl or bayl, >> was a chief god of the Canaanites in Biblical times. The word means lord or master and was sometimes used to apply to the God of Israel. But it generally refers to the Canaanite storm god, who supposedly brought rain to make the soil fertile. Because the Israelites who settled in Canaan also wanted fertility for their flocks and crops, they were tempted to worship Baal. Queen Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab of Israel, worshiped Baal. She tried to convert the Israelites but was opposed by the prophet Elijah (I Kings 18:18-40). The rivalry of Baal remained a problem for the Israelite religion until the Babylonian conquest of the kingdom of Judah in 587 or 586 B.C.
