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any of numerous local deities among the ancient semitic peoples, typifying the productive forces of nature and worshiped with much sensuality.
(sometimes lowercase) a false god.
historical examples

there he sat like a black sentinel with old baalim at his side, and the pair kept off all inquiring visitors.
settling day nat gould

it was because ahab and his subjects worshiped a false g-d (baalim).
the bible of bibles; kersey graves

when baalim was left in charge of dr tom’s sanctum no man dare enter it.
settling day nat gould

should i then fear a king who wants to sell his people to the baalim?
master olof august strindberg

the cause of the drought was not the menace of elijah, but the apostasy to baalim.
the expositor’s bible: the first book of kings f. w. farrar

the baalim mostly represented forces of nature—the sun, the stars.
judges and ruth robert a. watson

as they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
the world’s progress, vol. i (of x) various

but the lords indicated were baalim who were lords of the sun.
the lords of the ghostland edgar saltus

moreover, he is an -ss of a dog, that’s why i call him baalim.’
settling day nat gould

from hence we may, in some degree, infer who are meant by the baalim.
a new system; or, an -n-lysis of antient mythology. volume i. jacob bryant

noun
any of several ancient semitic fertility gods
(phoenician myth) the sun god and supreme national deity
(sometimes not capital) any false god or idol

“the name of many deities of the semitic peoples” [klein], late 14c., biblical use is from hebrew ba’al, literally “owner, master, lord,” from ba’al “he took possession of,” also “he married;” related to akkadian belu (source of hebrew bel), name of marduk. also related to the first element in beelzebub. used figuratively for any “false god.”

plural of baal; images of the god baal (judg. 2:11; 1 sam. 7:4).

lord. (1.) the name appropriated to the princ-p-l male god of the phoenicians. it is found in several places in the plural baalim (judg. 2:11; 10:10; 1 kings 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; deut. 4:3), was worshipped till the time of samuel (1 sam 7:4), and was afterwards the religion of the ten tribes in the time of ahab (1 kings 16:31-33; 18:19, 22). it prevailed also for a time in the kingdom of judah (2 kings 8:27; comp. 11:18; 16:3; 2 chr. 28:2), till finally put an end to by the severe discipline of the captivity (zeph. 1:4-6). the priests of baal were in great numbers (1 kings 18:19), and of various cl-sses (2 kings 10:19). their mode of offering sacrifices is described in 1 kings 18:25-29. the sun-god, under the general t-tle 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 (1 chr. 8:30; 9:36). (3.) the name of a place inhabited by the simeonites, the same probably as baal-ath-beer (1 chr. 4:33; josh. 19:8).