Using Bullinger’s King James Version Companion bible (Kregel)
Providing a list of other idolatrous gods that are referenced in the scriptures of the KJV Bible. Listed in alphabetic ordering, with their associated scripture verse(s) and some appropriate short commentary regarding each god/goddess is also given.
Addar –
(Joshua [15:3]),
(This name was also applied to a Babylonian deity, and
both the man and the town could have been named after it.)
Adrammelech –
(2 Kings [17:31]),
(worshipped by the Sepharvites.)
Amon –
(Jeremiah [46:25]),
(The Egyptian supreme god of Thebes.)
Anammelech –
(2 Kings [17:31]),
(one of two gods of the Sepharvites to whom they sacrificed
their children by burning. Like Moloch worshipers.)
Anath –
(Judges [3:31], Judges [5:60]),
(Father of Shamgar, who was the third judge of Israel.
perhaps named after the Assyrian goddess “Anat”.)
Artemis –
(Acts [19:24,27,28], Acts [19:34,35]),
(Greek goddess of Ephesus, known as “Diana” to Romans.)
Asherah –
(Exodus [34:13], Judges [6:25]),
(The Canaanite mother goddess, Asherah was linked
to the primary Canaanite male god, “Baal” (her son) and the evenly
prominent Canaanite god “El” (her mate).
Statues of Asherah made it into the temple of YHVH also vessels
dedicated to Asherah (2 Kings [23:4]) and even facilities for women
to weave hangings for her statue (2 Kings [23:7]). Statues of Asherah
were also erected in Bethel by Jeroboam (2 Kings [23:15]) and in
Samaria by Ahab (1 Kings [16:33].)
Ashtaroth –
(Judges [2:13], (Judges [10:6], (Judges [11:5], 1 Samuel [7:4],
1 Samuel [12:10], 1 Samuel [31:10]),
(Ashtaroth is the plural of the name Ashtoreth, which was the
Hebrew equivalent of the Phoenician goddess “Astarte”, the goddess
of sex and fertility. The goddess names of
“Ishtar” and “Astarte” are not found in the bible under these native
spellings but the Hebrew equivalents are used instead.)
Ashtoreth –
(1 Kings [11:5], 1 Kings [11:33], 2 Kings [23:13]),
(Hebrew name of a female fertility goddess, which was worshipped
from Egypt to Mesopotamia. Often connected with stars, or
specifically the (feminine) evening star or Venus. Esther, the
Jewish girl who became queen of Persia. Esther’s uncle and protector
was named Mordecai, which is an obvious reference to the name
Marduk, which belonged to an important male Babylonian deity.
Solomon’s shrines were not removed for over 300
years, almost 400 years later by the King Josiah.)
Baal –
(Judges [2:13], Romans [11:4]),
(Canaan god and Phoenician god; mate with the female goddess
called “Asherah’.)
Baal-berith –
(Judges [8:33], Judges [9:4]),
(Gideon (now called Jerubbaal) dies after guiding Israel for forty years
to bring the Israelites away from these dead gods, but after his
death, Israel returns to the idolatry, and they then erect statues of
Baal-berith, a Canaanite god.)
Baal-peor –
(Hosea [9:10]),
(Baal-peor is a Moabite god, which service specifically
included sexual acts. Literally means “Lord of the opening/hole”.
Numbers [25] reports that Israel joined in the worship of Baal-peor.
“peor” relates to a certain part of the female anatomy. Israelites
defiled themselves there with abundant fornication and sexual
perversion, and this was one example.)
Baal-zebub –
(2 Kings [1:2]),
(Baal-zebub is a Philistine god at Ekron. As “Lord of the Flies”,
this name became related with satan. Satan is king of the “lost”.
Flies do not have any capacity to realize any authority, only
themselves, just like the lost. Flies are homeless, don’t cooperate,
like dung and decaying flesh, make nothing, speak no language,
don’t care for their offspring,)
Baal-zephon –
(Exodus [14:2], Numbers [21:4], Numbers [33:7]),
(Not clear but said to be both a location and also perhaps a god
of Egypt. “Zephon” to be the same as the Egyptian god “Typhon”,
better known as “Set”. Also name is used for a location, related to
the particular area where the Israelites crossed the “Reed Sea”.
Incorrectly called “Red Sea” in English. Hebrew at Exodus [10:19]
is “yama sup”, meaning the “toward the sea of reeds”.
Bel –
(Jeremiah [51:44], Isaiah [46:1]),
(Form of the god Baal of Canaan. Bel is also
said to be another name of “Marduk”, see Jeremiah [50:2].
Bel also found in the associate Apocryphal book of “Bel and the
Dragon”.)
Berith –
(Judges [9:46]),
(A Canaanite deity. The temple of this god is where the ruling elite of
Shechem tries to hide, but whre found and burned away
by Abimelech who had recieved 70 pieces of Silver from this temple’s coffers via
these men of Shechem.)
Chemosh –
(Numbers [21:29], Judges [11:24]),
(Moabite god, also worshipped by Ammonites. Israel would
also begin to worship this god when Solomon setup a mountain top
temple for Chemosh, near another temple for the god Moloch
(see 1 Kings [11:7]). Israel’s king Josiah would eventually remove all
such temples, while Moab kept Chemosh temples until
the Babylonian invasion, for Moabites were also deported as well
as Israelites, more to be read at Jeremiah [48:7].)
Dagon –
(Judges [16:23], 1 Chronicles [10:10], 1 Samuel [4], 1 Samuel [5:2]),
(Philistine’s chief god. Both Samson and also king Sauls’ head were
paraded before this god. The ark was brought towards a battle with
the Philistines and the Philistines won the fight and took the Ark
and placed it in the temple of Dagon in Ashdod. The next morning,
however, they found the statue of Dagon on its face in front of the
Ark. They hoisted the statue back in place, but the morning after
that they found the statue again on the floor, but this time the
head and hands had broken off.)
Diana –
(Acts [19:24-35]),
(The actual name of “Diana” does not occur in the
bible, but the equivalent of the goddess “Artemis” does. Roman goddess
of the hunt but also of the moon.)
Dike –
(Acts [28:4]),
(Found in the actual manuscripts but not in translated KVJ text.
Called as “justice” instead of using this goddess’ name outright.)
Dioscuri –
(Acts [28:11]),
(The Greek twin gods “Castor” and “Pollux” were known together as
the “Dioscuri”.)
El –
(Found throughout the scriptures),
(Originally “El” was the name of a Canaanite god,
but also is used for other references of named locations and people,
without any relation to this god. This name aside from the
Canaanite god is used with meaningful references of the true
God of Heaven, YHVH.)
El-berith –
(Judges [9:46)]),
(Same explanation as the god “Berith” above.)
Gad –
(Isaiah [65:11]),
(A god named “Gad” is not related to the 7th son of Jacob or the
Gadite tribe. Related to a god and apparently in conjunction with the
god “Meni”. More explained at “Meni” below.)
Hadad –
(“Hadad”, or “Adad”, is the name of a Semitic deity, probably
“Baal”.)
(A number of men were named after this god, but while no god of
this name is necessarily directly referenced in the bible, it is
reasonable to presume that these men were named after a god as
such.)
Hermes –
(Acts [14:12]),
(Greek deity “Hermes” was the son of “Zeus” and “Maia”, one of
the seven Pleiades, and his defining qualities of swiftness and
cunning mad the god of crossing boundaries and transitions. He
moved freely between the realm
of the gods and that of man, delivered messages and escorted souls
to the afterlife, like the Roman god Mercury. The people of Lystra
begin to call the man named Barnabas as “Zeus” and calling apostle
Paul as “Hermes”.)
Jupiter –
(Acts [14:12-13], Acts [19:35]),
(Jupiter doesn’t really exist in the original scriptures.
The KJV followed Jerome’s Vulgate and substituted “Jupiter” for the
original “Zeus
word found in the true Greek manuscripts.”. Jupiter was the Roman
equivalent of Zeus.)
Kiyyun –
(Amos [5:26]),
(Amos is talking about Israel’s forty years of wandering, refer to
the gods “Sikkuth”, “Moloch”, “Kiyyun”, “Selem”, the Heavenly
Host and perhaps also Asher and El. Likely the name of a Babylonian
and Assyrian god known as “Kaiwanu”.)
Marduk –
(Jeremiah [50:2]),
(Chief god of Babylon. AKA “Merodach” and also in the book of
Ester as “Mordecai”since the letters in Hebrew were as “MRD”.
Marduk became known as King of the Gods of Heaven and the
Underworld by defeating the chaos that was “Tiamat”.
This god was attributed to have created existence
and to hold all forms of destinies. Often referred to as “Bel” (lord).
Represented by a 2 pronged tongued dragon named “Mushussu”.
“Mushussu” means fiery serpent, or red serpent) Daniel didn’t
only destroy Bel and his priests, he also had a go at the “huge
snake which the Babylonians worshipped”, see Daniel [14:23].)
Mars –
(Acts [17:22]),
(Mentioned in KJV as “Mars Hill” A Roman god, but the very same
as the Greek god “Ares” found only in the Greek manuscripts in a
compounded form. The Greek god “Ares” was the god of actual
combat and the destruction that followed, and he needed the
guidance of the wise goddess “Athena” to not destroy everything.
The Roman god “Mars” expressed in his romance with goddess
“Venus”, and became the god of peace by means of military
superiority. This explains why Mars could also be the god of
husbandry, of shepherds and seers.
Mars was also considered the father of Romulus for which the city
of “Rome” was so named.
Melecheth-hashamayim –
(Jeremiah [7:18], Jeremiah [44:17-19]),
(Queen of Heaven. Where to begin. See Ashtaroth, Ashtareth, Ishtar,
Astarte, Ianna)
Meni –
(Isaiah [65:11]),
(Pagan god of fate, found in association with the god called “Gad”.
In KJV, the translated text has “that troop” and “that number”
instead of the actual manuscript’s use of “Meni” and “Gad”. This is
a mistranslated as the tribe of “Gad” is mistakenly replacing actual
masorectic text by mistake.)
Merodach –
(—),
(See “Marduk”.)
Milcom –
(Zephaniah [1:5], 1 Kings [11:5], 2 Kings [23:10,13]),
(Ammonite god. King Solomon follows his wives and then provides
serve and temples to serve other gods. The Sidon goddess
“Ashtoreth”, and “Milcom” the god of the Ammonites. Solomon’s
high places of idolatry are demolished by Josiah well over 300 years
later.)
Molech/Moloch –
(1 Kings [11:7], Jeremiah [32:35], Acts [7:43]),
(Originally an Ammonite god, but became worhsipped in a greater area as well.
Worship of this god included the burning of one’s own children for sacrifice.
Writers of old report that statues of Molech would be heated from within and
children would be placed on this monster’s outstretched arms. Priests, in the mean
time, would beat drums so that the parents of the sacrificial children wouldn’t hear
their screams. Just sick. After Josiah rids the land of Moloch temples/idols, Jerusalem will
be conquered by Babylonians at about 12 years later.
“Moloch” is the Greek transliteration.)
Nebo –
(Isaiah [46:1], Jeremiah [48:1]),
(The very mountain that Moses climbed just prior to his own death, and
from there he could see the promised land that he could not enter into.
This mount was named for “Nebo”, or “Nabu”, who was the Babylonian god of
wisdom and writing.)
Nehushtan –
(2 Kings [18:4]),
(Not a god, but the name the Israelites gave to the bronze serpent that
was placed upon a staff that the people could have their lives saved
after being bitten by “Fiery” serpent while traveling about in the
Sinai desert. This artifact, which laid upon a table that was placed near the Jerusalem’s temple’s “Holy of Hollies” entrance. It was never used during any temple rite or priestly services.
Eventually, some certain priests, together with the Israelites
worshippers would corruptly begin to regularly include this into some ceremonies. The king Hezekiah (2 Kings [18:4]) broke this ill-worshipped staffed serpent into pieces.
Much later in time, in Pergamos, a form of a living serpent was worshipped.
Revelations [2:12,14] calls Pergamos the seat of Satan, but before this reference,
Babylon was the seat. However when Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians,
the priest-king, Attalus fled the city and went to Pergamos with his
priests and sacred mysteries and conducted ongoing serpent involved
religious ceremonies raising this serpent idol for the reverence of the gathered people.
We know that in the future tense, that Jerusalem will become the next “seat of Satan”.
** There is a deeper meaning on the bronze serpent subject
worthy of a separate study. See more at:
http://www.ourgoodshepherd.org/bronze-serpent/
Nibhaz –
(2 Kings [17:31]),
(After the Northern 10 tribes were deported away by the Assyrians, a people
called the “Avvites”, among others were settled into Samaria.
This is a god of the Avvites along with a god called “Tartak”. Name may be
derived by the name of a ancient demon called “Nabaz” of the Sabeans.)
Rephan –
(Acts [7:43]),
(Could be linked with the god “Kiyyun” (Amos [5:26]).)
Rimmon –
(2 Kings [5:18]),
(Chief god of Aram people. Could be called also as “Hadad”. Rimmon means “Pomegranate”,
by metaphorically applied to mean one’s matured and harvest ready mind.)
Sikkuth –
(Amos [5:26]),
(Similar to a Babylonian and Assyrian god called “Sak-kut”,
AKA “Kaiwanu”, AKA “Ninib”, Likely related to the planet Saturn. Not to be
confused with the Hebrew word of “sukka” (booth).)
Sin –
(Ezekiel [30:15]),
(A city which Ezekiel calls the stronghold of Egypt, and
which was possibly named after a prominent Mesopotamian moon god named “Sin”;
The word “Sin” also known as a wilderness area between Elim and Sinai
[Exodus 16:1]. Could be the genitive basis for the land called as “Sin-ai”.)
Succoth-benoth –
(2 Kings [17:30]),
(Introduced in Canaan by Babylonian settlers who came to the
region after king Shalmaneser V of Assyria had deported much of the
Northern 10 tribes of Israelites. Directly means “booth of daughters”.)
Tammuz –
(Ezekiel [8:14]),
(AKA “Dummuzi”. “Dumuzu” likely the original form. Originally a Sumerian fertility
god who’s mate was the Sumerian goddess Ianna (Ishtar, Astarte, Ashtoreth).
When Ezekiel was sitting in his house in Babylon together with the elders of
Judah. Ezekiel saw and wrote of a vision where he is taken towards the north
gate of a particular Temple, and then he sees women sitting there weeping for
Tammuz, who was a Babylonian god, son of Semiramis.
Although a god he was mortal, his death was lamented in an annual feast in
March-April during a few days of mourning followed by a few days of rejoicing
about the resurrection (coinciding with Christian Easter), and about three
months before the Hebrew month of “Tammuz”, which was named after this
god. This story is replicated by the Egyptian goddess/god of Isis/Osiris.)
Tartak –
(2 Kings [17:31]),
(Avvites god “Tartak” could have been originally known as
“Tarkat”. See more on god called “Nibhaz”.)
Zeus –
(Acts [14:12], Acts [14:13]),
(The chief Greek god. Name derived from the word “Dios”.)
Zoheleth –
(1 Kings [1:9]),
(David’s son “Adonijah” thought he could assume the kingship
by provided a feast for attendees, declared himself king, along with a sacrifice
at a location named “Eben-zoheleth”. David then quickly provided another son,
“Solomon” with the formal kingship. Adonijah repented to God, and Solomon
forgave him. “Zoheleth” refers to a snake like god, but not
clear what people created him.)
** Some of the above references were obtained from a site
( https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/ ).
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