"...Aaron said to them, "Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of
your
wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." Then all the
people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to
Aaron. He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool
and made it into a molten calf; and they said, "This is your god, O Israel,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt." - Exodus 32:1-4
"...There are approximately 89 references to the god Baal in the Old
Testament (OT). Further, the OT makes reference to other Canaanite deities
including the goddess Asherah (40 times) as well as the goddess Ashtoreth
(10 times).3 In total, there appears to be about 139 clear references to
major Canaanite deities in the OT.4 In a brief survey of the passages in
which reference is made to Baal worship, such things are noted as the high
places at which Baal worship occurred within Israel (e.g., Num 22:41)5,
Israel's propensity for engaging in Baal worship at certain points in her
history (cf. Judges 2:11; 3:7; 8:33; 10:6, 10, Hosea 2:13, etc.), as well as
the cultic practices of certain Baal prophets (cf. 1 Kings 18:25-29). ..."
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