Appendix 1 - False Gods and Goddesses in the Bible
This list is for informational use only, while none should be considered a god or even god-like, we know that many of Satan’s fellow fallen angels have been thought to have taken on the identities of many listed here, and as such should not be discounted as being harmless. Syncretism is the combining or merging various beliefs into one belief system. Sadly, many today add Jesus to their pantheon (collection) of deities, this is wrong, as God is the only true God, He is not one of many Gods, He alone is to be praised and glorified.
Regional Influences
It is interesting to note that in the book of Judges God used the same nations and people groups to oppress Israel that introduced them to their various gods, goddesses and other deities and idols. Here is a brief overview of the seven cycles with a list of their deities:
1. In Judges 3:7-11 a Mesopotamian king brought Israel oppression. God raised Othniel to bring peace. Their primary gods were the Baals (plural) and the Asheroth (plural). Other notable deities: Anu, Shamash, Ishtar, Nabu, Ashur, and Marduk.
2. We see in Judges 3:12-30 that the Moabites were used to punish the people of Israel and Ehud was called to return them back to God. The deities of the Moabites, Ammonites, and the Amalekites were Ashtar-Chemosh, Ishtar, Astarte, Baal-Peor, Milcom, and Molech.
3. We read about Shamgar in Judges 3:31 who killed many Philistines. Their deities included Dagon, Ashtoreth, and Baal-zebub.
4. Deborah and Barak were called to judge and save the people in Judges 4:1-5:31 from the Canaanites who worshiped Anat, El, Asherah, and Baal.
5. God called Gideon to lead an offense against the Midianites, Amalekites, and an unnamed people from the east (believed to be Arabs) in Judges 6:1-8:35. Their combined pantheon included Baal-peor and Ashteroth.
6. We read about Jephthah in Judges 10:6-12:7. They apparently weren’t satisfied with just one people group's set of deities, in Judges 10:6 we read, “The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the LORD and did not serve him.” (ESV) Which included Baal-shamin, Chemosh, Astarte, and Dagon.
7. Perhaps the best known Judge is Samson, we read about him in Judges 13:1-15:20 as he subdues the Philistines (see number three above).
False Deities Found in the Bible
Adrammelech - 2 Kings 17:31 A Sepharvaim deity associated with the sun and the Canaanite god Hadad. (Sepharvaim was a dual city on the Euphrates River, with one city on the east bank and the other on the west bank, the name essentially means "the two booktowns," the city was located approximately sixteen miles southwest of Bagdad)
Amun - Jeremiah 46:25 The god of wind came to be identified with the sun god Ra, becoming the creator and fertility god,
Anat (alternative spelling Anath - Joshua 19:38; Judges 1:33; 3:31. Anat was the consort (wife) of Baal and the mother of his offspring. Considered a fierce goddess of war, hunting, and fertility. Often seen as a toponym like Beth-anath. Believed to be e “Queen of Heaven,” mentioned in Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19.
Anammelech - 2 Kings 17:31 A Syrian and Mesopotamian deity associated with the moon and was worshiped alongside Adrammelech.
Árēs (Mars) - Acts 17:19, 22 The Greek god of war and courage. The apostle Paul delivered a remarkable speech on Areopagus (two Greek words, Areion, meaning belonging to Ares, and Pagon, referring to a hill, see Acts 17:22-34). Today the Supreme Court of Greece is called Áreios Págos.
Artemis - Acts 19 Goddess of the hunt, temple was in Ephesus (also known as Dianna), the daughter of Zeus. Also the protector of young children.
Asherah (Asheroth, Ashtaroth plural, alternative names include Astarte, Ashtoreth, Ianana, Ishtar, later Aphrodite, Venus) - Exodus 34:13; Deuteronomy 7:5; 12:2-3; 16:21; Judges 3:7; 6:25, 26, 28, 30; and over forty more locations. A Phoenician goddess of fertility, love, and war (“goddess of the Sidonians,” see 1 Kings 11:5). Archaeologists have found figurines believed to represent the goddess, portrayed as a nude female, sometimes pregnant, with exaggerated breasts holding out as symbols of fertility. The Bible mentions her worship near trees and poles called Asherah poles (see 2 Kings 16:4, 17:10; Jeremiah 3:6,13; Ezekiel 6:13). Asherah was worshiped in a variety of ways, including through ritual sex. Believing the sexual union of Baal and Asherah produced fertility, their worshipers engaged in sex to cause the gods to join together, ensuring good harvests.
Ashima - 2 Kings 17:30 Goddess of fate related to Akkadian goddess Shimti.
Baal (or Ba’al) - The root word can be found over 270 times in the Old Testament. The word is a common Semitic noun meaning ‘lord’, ‘master’, ‘owner’, etc. But when applied to the name of a god it is a reference to the Canaanite false deity which appears not only in the Bible but also in Ugaritic texts found in ancient Mesopotamian cuneiform. He is considered the “storm god” associated with fertility. There are several hyphenated names that begin with the name Baal followed by a location name, these are known as ’toponyms’ and while still revering and serving the same Baal, the toponym effectively relates the deity with their local community (effectively recognizing their god with the city, a common Canaanite practice). Some of the hyphenated names are not locations (for example, Baal-berith meaning “Baal of the covenant,” see Judges 8:33; 9:4; also El-berith in Judges 9:46, although the covenant itself is never identified). Baal-zebub essentially means lord of the flies (per Ugaritic texts). Baal-shamin (also Baal-shamen) means lord of heavens, often associated with the god ‘El’ and Melqart (a Phoenician patron deity). Baal's worshipers appeased him by offering sacrifices, most often the same animals sacrificed to God, such as sheep and bulls (see 1 Kings 18:23). It is believed that some practitioners offered human sacrifices.
Belial - Deuteronomy 13:13; 15:9; Judges 19:22; 20:13; 1 Samuel 1:16; 2:12; 10:27 (plus 20 more locations in the Bible) A Hebrew word that is normally translated as “wickedness” or “worthless,” but some Bibles transliterate and make it into a proper name (evil pesonified) as it is believed to also refer to the devil or a demon (see 2 Corinthians 6:15).
Chemosh - Numbers 21:29; Judges 11:24; 1 Kings 11:7, 33; 2 Kings 23:13; Jeremiah 48:7, 13, 46. The primary god and protector of the Moabites.
Dagon (or Dagan) - Joshua 15:41; 19:27; Judges 16:23; 1 Samuel 5:2, 3, 4, 5, 7; 1 Chronicles 10:10. The god of Ashdod and an important deity of the Philistines, often called the “fish god” he is believed to have been depicted with a body of a fish and a head of a man (dāg means fish in Hebrew). He was the chief deity for the Amorites, Babylonians and the Philistines. In some parts of Mesopotamia he was called Enlil.
Dioskouroi (or Dioscuri) - Acts 28:11 Considered a plural proper noun referring to Castor and Pollux (or Polydeukes), the twin sons of Zeus by Leda, they are the patron deities that are believed to protect sailors. The name essentially means “heavenly twins.”
El - In the Old Testament El is Hebrew for the word ‘God’ relating to the true God, the God of Israel, but it is also the name of a deity that is the master of the Ugaritic pantheon for some he was the father of all gods, seen only in the Bible as a toponym (see Judges 9:46). He was the earliest deity that was recognized by the peoples of the ancient Near East and was the creator god. His mistress, the fertility goddess Asherah, gave birth to many gods, including a powerful god named Baal. There appears to have been only one Baal, who was manifested in lesser Baals at different places and times. Over the years, Baal became the dominant deity, and the worship of El faded.
Gad (not related to the son of Jacob, the tribe, or the territory) - Isaiah 65:11 Considered the god of fortune, but sometimes depicted as being a goddess.
Hadad - Zechariah 12:11 (seen as a toponym Hadad-rimmon) The Canaanite storm god, bringer of rain, thunder, and fertility. Also known as Adad, Haddu, and closely associated with Baal and Rimmon. Note that there were several people named Hadad in the Old Testament including being a title for the king of Syria.
Haurun (also Horon) - Joshua 6:3, 5 (seen as a toponym Beth-horon) An Egyptian god worshiped in Giza associated with magic.
Hermes - Acts 14:11-12 The Greek messenger god (similar to Mercury), in this application we see Paul and Barnabas were mistaken for gods in Lystra.
Justice (or Dikē) - Acts 28:4 The daughter of the Greek god Zeus and goddess Themis, while her mother is the goddess of divine justice, she is the goddess of moral justice who seeks out and punishes those that are guilty.
Marduk - Jeremiah 50:2 The patron deity of Babylon who had dominion over everything. Also known as Merodach.
Milcom - 1 Kings 11:5, 33; 2 Kings 23:13. The chief god of the Ammonites. Often associated with Molech.
Molech (or Mōlek, Moloch, Melek) - Leviticus 18:21; 20:2-5; 1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 32:35. Son of the high god El, Molech was a primary Canaanite deity that required child sacrifice (especially during national emergencies and war time). Associated with Topheth (see 2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 7:31; 19:6), referring to a place in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom where children were burned to death as an offering to pagan deities. It was also a “high place” (see Jeremiah 7:32), an open-air shrine, believed to have been located at a point outside the southern end of Jerusalem where the Hinnom Valley meets the Kidron Valley in the vicinity of Akeldama, the “Field of Blood.” It is interesting to note that the word 'Gehenna' (which is translated as 'hell' in most English Bibles) is derived from the Hebrew phrase "the Valley of the Son of Hinnom."
Nebo (Nabu) - Isaiah 46:1 Son of Marduk, god of wisdom and writing, prophecy, learning, and civilization.
Nibhas - 2 Kings 17:31 A deity of the Avim (or Avvim, people of the coast, perhaps inhabitants of southwest coastal land prior to the Philistines), may be associated with Nebo. Often depicted as a dog.
Nishroch - 2 Kings 19:37; Isaiah 37:38 An Assyrian god of agriculture. Possibly associated with or is the same as Ninurta (Sumerian god associated with farming).
Qos - Ezra 2:53; Nehemiah 7:55 The national god of the Edomites associated with light.
Resheph - 1 Chronicles 7:25; Job 5:7 LXX Widely worshiped, a god of war and plague.
Rimmon (not the man or a pomegranate) - 2 Kings 5:18 A Syrian deity considered a storm god.
Shahar - (Hebrew for Dawn) Job 3:9; 41:10; Psalm 139:9; Isaiah 14:12 A Canaanite god associated with the sun rising (dawn) The god known as Shalim (or Salim) was the counterpart being the god of dusk.
Shamash - (Hebrew Shemesh) Genesis 19:23; Judges 19:14; Malichi 4:2 A Canaanite sun deity (similar to Greek Apollo), god of justice and truth (also known as Shapshu, Shaphs, and Utu).
Succoth-benoth - 2 Kings 17:6, 30-31 A Babylonian deity. Depicted as a hen.
Tammuz - Ezekiel 8:14-15 (also known as Dumuzid or Dumuzi, to the Canaanites he was Adon) A Mesopotamian deity associated with agriculture.
Tartak - 2 Kings 17:31 A deity of the Avim, considered the god of the underworld, otherwise very little is known as this god/idol. Often worshiped alongside Nibhas. Thought to be depicted as a donkey.
Yam (or Yamm) - Indirectly referred to in Job 7:12; Psalm 18:16; 74:13-14; 89:10; Nahum 1:4 A god of water and the sea. Worshiped by various people groups especially along the Mediterranean Sea. Considered an enemy of YHWH.
Yarikh - 2 Kings 23:5; Job 31:26-28 A widely worshiped moon god especially by the Amorites (known as as the god Sin by the Mesopotamians and Sumerians).
Zeus - Acts 14:12 The sky and thunder god, considered king of gods, mentioned when Paul and Barnabas were mistaken for gods in Lystra (similar to Jupiter)
It should be noted that each of the Ten Plagues that Egypt experienced due to Pharaoh's refusal to let God's people go demonstrated God's authority over their many gods and goddesses. Click here to review the plagues and view a partial list of the Egyptian gods and goddesses (although not referenced directly in the Bible) who lost authority as a result.