While Baal may be one of the most well-known idols of ancient Israel, there were plenty more which the Bible refers to as false gods.
Dagon
The god Dagon was prominent in Philistine culture, especially at Ashdod and Gaza.
For ages, the scholarly consensus painted Dagon as a fish god, due to the supposed likeness of his name to the Hebrew word for “fish.” Others have seen parallels between his name and grain/agriculture.
In 1 Samuel, after the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant, they put it in the temple of Dagon in Ashdod. The next morning they discovered the statue of Dagon fallen over, face down before the ark. They raised it up again, but when they returned the next day it had fallen again, this time with its head and hands broken clean off.
Chemosh
Chemosh was the national god of the Moabites, associated with Moabite monarchy and military victories.
In 2 Kings 3, facing a military crisis when his army is hemmed in by Israel and its allies, the king of Moab burned his firstborn son as a sacrifice to Chemosh, their god.
It does not actually say that the sacrifice was made to Chemosh, it just says that this took place in front of the Moabites’ god. Furthermore, Solomon built a shrine for Chemosh east of Jerusalem later on (1 Kings 11).
Nisroch
Nisroch is referenced briefly in 2 Kings 19 and Isaiah 37 as an Assyrian god. During a period of worship in Nisroch’s temple, King Sennacherib was killed by two of his sons.
Aside from that mention, Nisroch is largely mysterious. Some historians and biblical experts believe that Nisroch may be a garbled reference to another Assyrian god, such as Nusku. However, there’s no hard evidence to confirm Nisroch’s true identity.
Milcom
Milcom was the national god of the Ammonites who lived to the east of Israel. Within the Bible, Milcom is directly identified as the god worshipped by the Ammonites.
According to 1 Kings 11, Solomon constructed a shrine for Milcom, influenced by his foreign wives to embrace other deities.
While the Bible links Molech to child sacrifice, it offers no such direct confirmation regarding Milcom’s worship. However many scholars continue to debate whether Milcom and Molech were actually the same deity.
Ashima
Ashima is a deity mentioned a few times in the Bible, but little is known about them. The biblical account in 2 Kings 17 notes that resettled Hamathites fashioned an idol of Ashima.
This short reference is about all we have regarding this particular deity. Scholars have put forth numerous theories regarding Ashima’s identity and origins, yet no single explanation has gained widespread agreement.
Rimmon
Rimmon was an Aramean god of storms, rain and thunder. He can be identified with the broader West Semitic storm-god pantheon, particularly Hadad.
In the fifth chapter of 2 Kings, Naaman, the Syrian general, is cleansed of leprosy by the prophet Elisha and subsequently vows his allegiance to Yahweh. But he asks for forgiveness because he has to go with the king of Syria into the temple of Rimmon and bow down where the king bows down.
Tammuz
Tammuz was a Mesopotamian god of vegetation and fertility, originally associated with the yearly life-cycle of growth.
In Ezekiel 8, God gives Ezekiel a vision of the Jerusalem Temple. Angry at Israel’s idolatry, he sees women weeping for Tammuz at the north gate of the temple.
In an ancient yearly ritual, Israelite women grieved for Tammuz’s demise around the summer solstice, a time of drought when plant life faded before his expected springtime revival.
Artemis of the Ephesians
The goddess Artemis worshipped at Ephesus was very different from the Greek goddess Artemis of legend who hunts wild animals with bow and arrow.
With deeply rooted Anatolian characteristics, the Ephesian Artemis stood as a potent symbol of fertility and abundance. She was served by eunuchs and her temple was gigantic, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Paul’s preaching in Acts 19 threatened the livelihoods of silversmiths who made goddess images. Their heated plea to the city magistrates then escalated into a massive riot, with the crowd chanting “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” for nearly two hours.
Succoth-Benoth
We encounter the somewhat obscure deity Succoth-Benoth in the book of 2 Kings 17. The biblical text simply notes that the Babylonian settlers who moved to Samaria fashioned an image of Succoth-Benoth.
Scholars have equated Succoth-Benoth with everything from a variant pronunciation of the Babylonian goddess Sarpanitu (wife of Marduk), to completely different gods.
What is known about Succoth-Benoth is very limited compared to other gods and goddesses of that time period. And given this lack of evidence, we cannot confirm the presence of rituals for Succoth-Benoth, as we can for some other gods from that period.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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