B
B The 2d letter of the English alphabet, is pronounced as in• most other European languages, by pressing the wholelength of the lips together, and forcing them open with a strongbreath. It has a near allinity with tlie other labial letter.-, anu isconfounded by tae Germans with P, and by the Gascons with V ;from which an epigrammatist remarks, that bibere and virere arein Gascony the same. The Spaniards, in most words, use R or /'"indifferently', It is often used for P by the Armenians and etherorientals, as in Betrus for Petrus, apsens for abserw, &e. ; and bythe Romans for V, as in amabit for amavit, berna for verntt, &c.Hence that pun of Aurelian on the emperor Bonosus , Non utvivat natus est, sed ut bibat. The Latins said suppono, oppono,for suhpono, obpono; and pronounced optinuit, though theywrote obtinuit, as Quintilian has observed. The modern Greekscall the Beta, Vita. B was used by the Greeks and Hebrews todenote 2; but among the Romans "for 300; with a dash over it(thus E) for 3000 ; and with a kind of accent under it for 200.As an abbreviation, B. A. stands for bachelor of arts ; B. LL. forbachelor of laws ; and B. D. for bachelor of divinity. B. F. inthe preface to the decrees, or senatus-consulta of the old Romans,signified bonum factum. In music, B stands for the tone aboveA ; as Bb, or frB, does for B flat, or the semitone major above A.B also stands for bass; and B. C. for basso continuo, or thoroughbass.
BAAL , [Sjf3, Lord, ^/r.] the same as Bel, or Belus ; an idolof the Chaldeans, and Phoenicians, or Canaanites . The formerworshipped Mars under this name, according to Josephus : who,speaking of Thurws the successor of Ninus , says, “ To this Marstire Assyrians erected the first statue, and worshipped him as agod, calling him Baal .” It is probable, from what is recorded,II Kings xxiii. 5, 11. that the Phoenicians worshipped (he sununder the name of Baal . The temples consecrated to this god,are called in Scripture Chamanim, which signifies, places inclosedwith walls, in which was kept a perpetual fire. As the wordbaal, in the Punic language, signifies lord or master, it doubtlessmeant the supreme Deity , the Lord and Master of the universe.It is often joined with the name of some false god, as Baal-berith,Baal-peor, Baal-zephoii, &c-. Some learned men think, that theBaal of the Phoenicians is the Saturn of the Greeks; which is pro-bable enough from the conformity there is between the humansacrifices offered to Safurn, and those which the Scripture tellsus were ottered to Baal. Others are of opinion, that Baal wasthe Phoenician or Tyrian Hercules, a god of great antiquity inPhoenicia .
Baal-beck, or the Valley of Baal, a fertile country of Asia ,between Lebanon and Antilibzims, about 30 miles from Damas-cus , where there was formerly a magnificent temple of the sun, themins of which are still visible. Some geographers make it apart, and others the whole of Cadosyria ; hut all agree, that itwas one of the most pleasant spots on the earth. The ruins of thetemple are still admired by travellers.
Baal-Berith, the god of the Shechemites. Eocharl conjec-tures, that Bcritii is the same as Beroe, the daughter of Venusand Adonis, who was given in marriage to Bacchus; and that shegave her name to the city of Berith in Phoenicia , and becameafterwards the goddess of it. Baal-berith signifies Lord of thecovenant, and may be taken for the god who presides over alli-ances and oaths, in like manner as the Greeks had their 7.iu;» 5 'o© j , and the Romans their Deus Fidius, or Jupiter Pistius.The idolatrous Israelites made Baal-berith their god. Judgesviii. 33.
Baai.-gad, Bagad, or Begad, in ancient mythology, an idolof the Syrians whose name was composed of haul, lord, and gad,chance, or fortune ; the god of chance orfoitune.
BAALIM, in antiquity, inferior deities among the Phoenicians .Baal-peor, Baal-phegor, or Bel-phegor, an idol of theMoabites and Midianites. AVe are told, that Israel joined him-self to Baal-peor ; and that Solomon erected an altar to this idol •
upon the mount of Olives. Baal-peor has been supposed aPviapus, and that the’ worship of him consisted in the most ob-scene practices. Others have thought, that, as Baal is a generalname signifying Lord, Peor may be the name of some greatprince deified after his deal!).
BAAL'I IS, a goddess among the Phoenicians . Some supposethat she was the same wilii the Diana of the Greeks.
Baal-zebub, Beei.-zebub, or Beelzebub , [a’O'iSjn i. e. thelord of Hie?,'] the idol, or god of the Ekronites. In Scripture lieis called the Prince of Devils. His name, the God -tly, some thinkwas a mock appellation bestowed on him by the Jews . But thisseems not very probable, as his worshipper, Ahaziah, called himby his name: Perhaps Beelzebub was characterised like the godAchor, who was worshipped at Gyrene, as the preserver fromflies. See Achor, No. 4. He had a famous temple and oracleat Ekron.
BAANITES, the followers of Baancs, who adopted anddisseminated the Manichean notions in the 9th century, about theyear 810.
BAAR, a landgraviate of Suabia , of which Eurstenburg, is thecapital.
BABA, 1. a river, and, 2. a province or lieutenancy of S. Ame-rica, in Guayaquil .
Baba, 1 . a town, and 2. a gulf of European Turkey, in Bul-garia, on the Black Sea, N. E. of Silistria .
BABBLING, among hunters, is when the hounds are too busyafter they have found a good scent.
BABLL, a city and tower undertaken to he built by the wholehuman race soon after the flood, and remarkable for the miraculousfrustration of the attempt by the confusion of languages. As tothe situation of ancient Babel, most authors are, of opinion that itwas exactly in the place where the celebrated city of Babylonafterwards stood. Authors have been much divided about” themotive by which the whole race of mankind were induced to joinin such an undertaking. Some have imagined that it was out offear of a second deluge ; others, that they knew beforehand, that theywere to be dispersed through all tlu: different countries of theworld, and built this tower in order to defeat the design of theDeity , because having a tower of such vast height as they pro-posed, those who were at a distance could easily find their wayback again. But it appears most rational to lake the word, in tlielimited sense, in which it is often used by Moses and his country-men, where they speak of cities walled up to heaven. Othersimagine that the top of this lower was to reach up to heaven,i. e. to the worship of the sun, moon, and stars ; of the fire, air, &c.and other natural powers as deities ; and therefore that the trueDeity interposed in order to prevent a total and irrecoverabledefection. Oriental writers say, that the city was 313 fathomsin length, and 151 in breadth ; that the walls were 5533 fathomshigh, and 33 in breadth ; and that the tower itself was no lessthan 10,000 fathoms, or 12 miles high. See Babylon.
BaBei.-Mandel, i. e. the gate of mourning, a famous straitat the entrance into the Red Sea , by some called the Straits ofMoka.
Babel-m andel, or Bab, a small island, at the mouth of the strait.
BABENHAUSEN, a town of Germany, in Suabia , 5 miles N.of Tubingen .
BABINA, Commonwealth of, a society ludicrously socalled, which was founded in Poland in the reign of Segismund-Augustus, in the 16th century. It took its rise from a set of gen-tlemen, inhabitants of Lublin , who had agreed to meet at Babina,merely for the purposes of mirth and jollity. In time their num-ber increased, and they formed themselves into a regular govern-ment, under the presidency of a king, senate, and chief magis-trates. The magistrates were elected from something which ap-peared ridiculous in the character or conduct of anv of the mem-bers. For. instance, if any person were meddling or officious, hewas immediately created an archbishop ; a blundering or dispu-
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