"Baal, the god worshiped by the Canaanites and Phoenicians, was variously known to them as the son of Dagon and the son of El. In Aram (Syria) he was called Hadad and in Babylonia Adad. Believed to give fertility to the womb and life-giving rain to the soil, he is pictured as standing on a bull, a popular symbol of fertility and strength (see 1Ki 12:28). The storm cloud was his chariot, thunder his voice, and lightning his spear and arrows. The worship of Baal involved sacred prostitution and sometimes even child sacrifice (see Jer 19:5). The stories of Elijah and Elisha (1Ki 17-2Ki 13), as well as many other OT passages, directly or indirectly protest Baalism (e.g., Ps 29:3-9; 68:1-4, 32-34; 93:1-5; 97:1-5; Jer 10:12-16; 14:22; Hos 2:8, 16-17; Am 5:8)." (THE NIV STUDY BIBLE NOTES, Judges 2:13)
"Asherah was the name of the consort (wife) of El, the chief Canaanite god. Wooden poles, perhaps carved in her image, were often set up in her honor and placed near other pagan objects of worship (see, e.g., Jdg 6:25)." (THE NIV STUDY BIBLE NOTES, Exodus 34:13)
