Bel

"The Aramaic form of Baal, the national god of the Babylonians" "(Isa. 46:1; Jer. 50:2; 51:44). It signifies "lord." (See" [57]BAAL.)

"A thing swallowed. (1.) A city on the shore of the Dead Sea, not" "far from Sodom, called also Zoar. It was the only one of the" "five cities that was spared at Lot's intercession (Gen. 19:20," "23). It is first mentioned in Gen. 14:2, 8." "(2.) The eldest son of Benjamin (Num. 26:38; "Belah," Gen. 46:21). "(3.) The son of Beor, and a king of Edom (Gen. 36:32, 33; 1 Chr. 1:43). "(4.) A son of Azaz (1 Chr. 5:8).

"Worthlessness, frequently used in the Old Testament as a proper" name. It is first used in Deut. 13:13. In the New Testament it "is found only in 2 Cor. 6:15, where it is used as a name of" "Satan, the personification of all that is evil. It is translated" wicked in Deut. 15:9; Ps. 41:8 (R.V. marg.); 101:3; Prov. "6:12, etc. The expression "son" or "man of Belial" means simply" "a worthless, lawless person (Judg. 19:22; 20:13; 1 Sam. 1:16;" 2:12).

The bells first mentioned in Scripture are the small golden "bells attached to the hem of the high priest's ephod (Ex. 28:33," "34, 35). The "bells of the horses" mentioned by Zechariah" (14:20) were attached to the bridles or belts round the necks of "horses trained for war, so as to accustom them to noise and" tumult.

"Occurs only in Jer. 6:29, in relation to the casting of metal." Probably they consisted of leather bags similar to those common in Egypt.

The seat of the carnal affections (Titus 1:12; Phil. 3:19; Rom. 16:18). The word is used symbolically for the heart (Prov. 18:8; "20:27; 22:18, marg.). The "belly of hell" signifies the grave or" underworld (Jonah 2:2).

"Bel protect the king!, the last of the kings of Babylon (Dan." "5:1). He was the son of Nabonidus by Nitocris, who was the" daughter of Nebuchadnezzar and the widow of Nergal-sharezer. When still young he made a great feast to a thousand of his "lords, and when heated with wine sent for the sacred vessels his" "father (Dan. 5:2), or grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar had carried" "away from the temple in Jerusalem, and he and his princes drank" out of them. In the midst of their mad revelry a hand was seen by the king tracing on the wall the announcement of God's "judgment, which that night fell upon him. At the instance of the" "queen (i.e., his mother) Daniel was brought in, and he" interpreted the writing. That night the kingdom of the Chaldeans "came to an end, and the king was slain (Dan. 5:30). (See" [58]NERGAL-SHAREZER.) "The absence of the name of Belshazzar on the monuments was long regarded as an argument against the genuineness of the Book of Daniel. In 1854 Sir Henry Rawlinson found an inscription of "Nabonidus which referred to his eldest son. Quite recently," "however, the side of a ravine undermined by heavy rains fell at" "Hillah, a suburb of Babylon. A number of huge, coarse" earthenware vases were laid bare. These were filled with "tablets, the receipts and contracts of a firm of Babylonian" "bankers, which showed that Belshazzar had a household, with" secretaries and stewards. One was dated in the third year of the king Marduk-sar-uzur. As Marduk-sar-uzar was another name for "Baal, this Marduk-sar-uzur was found to be the Belshazzar of" "Scripture. In one of these contract tablets, dated in the July" "after the defeat of the army of Nabonidus, we find him paying" tithes for his sister to the temple of the sun-god at Sippara.

"Beltis protect the king!, the Chaldee name given to Daniel by" Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 1:7).