Bel

(supreme lord) (Isa. 46:1; Jer. 50:2; 51:44; Dan. 14:14–22) — the name of the supreme deity, worshiped in Babylon as the god of the sun and light. In honor of Bel a most magnificent temple was erected in Babylon, in the form of a high, four-sided tower, in the shape of eight towers built one upon another. However, according to more recent research, it is supposed that this structure served as an astronomical observatory of the ancient Chaldeans, and that its eight stories were actually designed for observing the sun, the moon, and the various planets.

A golden image of Bel stood on the lower level, and on the very topmost level was a bed and a golden table, on which the priests of the temple placed for him every day a variety of food, which, however, they themselves ate — a deception that was discovered and exposed by the prophet Daniel. In one of the citations noted above, Bel stands together with the name Nebo (Isa. 46:1), and in another (Jer. 50:2) with the name Merodach. Nebo and Merodach were also considered Babylonian deities.