Easton's Bible Dictionary

Azmaveth Strong as death. (1.) One of David's thirty warriors (Sa2 23:31). (2.) An overseer over the royal treasury in the time of David and Solomon (Ch1 27:25). (3.) A town in the tribe of Judah, near Jerusalem (Neh 12:29; Ezr 2:24). (4.) Ch1 8:36

Azotus The Grecized form (Act 8:40, etc.) of Ashdod (q.v.).

Azubah Deserted. (1.) The wife of Caleb (Ch1 2:18, Ch1 2:19). (2.) The daughter of Shilhi, and mother of king Jehoshaphat (Kg1 22:42).

Azur And Azzur, helper. (1.) The father of Hananiah, a false prophet (Jer 28:1). (2.) The father of Jaazaniah (Eze 11:1). (3.) One of those who sealed the covenant with Jehovah on the return from Babylon (Neh 10:17).

Baal Lord. (1.) The name appropriated to the principal male god of the Phoenicians. It is found in several places in the plural BAALIM (Jdg 2:11; Jdg 10:10; Kg1 18:18; Jer 2:23; Hos 2:17). Baal is identified with Molech (Jer 19:5). It was known to the Israelites as Baal-peor (Num 25:3; Deu 4:3), was worshipped till the time of Samuel (Sa1 7:4), and was afterwards the religion of the ten tribes in the time of Ahab (Kg1 16:31; Kg1 18:19, Kg1 18:22). It prevailed also for a time in the kingdom of Judah (Kg2 8:27; compare Kg2 11:18; Kg2 16:3; Ch2 28:2). till finally put an end to by the severe discipline of the Captivity (Zep 1:4). The priests of Baal were in great numbers (Kg1 18:19), and of various classes (Kg2 10:19). Their mode of offering sacrifices is described in Kg1 18:25. The sun-god, under the general title of Baal, or "lord," was the chief object of worship of the Canaanites. Each locality had its special Baal, and the various local Baals were summed up under the name of Baalim, or "lords." Each Baal had a wife, who was a colourless reflection of himself. (2.) A Benjamite, son of Jehiel, the progenitor of the Gibeonites (Ch1 8:30; Ch1 9:36). (3.) The name of a place inhabited by the Simeonites, the same probably as Baal-ath-beer (Ch1 4:33; Jos 19:8).

Baalah Mistress; city. (1.) A city in the south of Judah (Jos 15:29), elsewhere called Balah (Jos 19:3) and Bilhah (Ch1 4:29). Now Khurbet Zebalah (2.) A city on the northern border of the tribe of Judah (Jos 15:10), called also Kirjath-jearim, q.v. (Jos 15:9; Ch1 13:6), now Kuriet-el-Enab, or as some think, ' Erma . (3.) A mountain on the northwestern boundary of Judah and Dan (Jos 15:11).

Baalath A town of the tribe of Dan (Jos 19:44). It was fortified by Solomon (Kg1 9:18; Ch2 8:6). Some have identified it with Bel'ain , in Wady Deir Balut.

Baalath-beer Baalah of the well, (Jos 19:8, probably the same as Baal, mentioned in Ch1 4:33, a city of Simeon.

Baalbec Called by the Greeks Heliopolis i.e., "the city of the sun", because of its famous Temple of the Sun, has by some been supposed to be Solomon's "house of the forest of Lebanon" (Kg1 7:2; Kg1 10:17; Ch2 9:16); by others it is identified with Baal-gad (q.v.). It was a city of Coele-Syria, on the lowest declivity of Anti-Libanus, about 42 miles north-west of Damascus. It was one of the most splendid of Syrian cities, existing from a remote antiquity. After sustaining several sieges under the Moslems and others, it was finally destroyed by an earthquake in 1759. Its ruins are of great extent.

Baal-berith Covenant lord, the name of the god worshipped in Shechem after the death of Gideon (Jdg 8:33; Jdg 9:4) In Jdg 9:46 he is called simply "the god Berith." The name denotes the god of the covenant into which the Israelites entered with the Canaanites, contrary to the command of Jehovah (Exo 34:12), when they began to fall away to the worship of idols.