1.
Is there any record of the old israelites stand on Baal's existence?
I mean…it is pretty clear what they thought about praising or obeying him (baaaad idea) but does that mean they believed that he and all the other gods where made up
2.
As far as I know most antique people of that area handled other peoples religion by
a) including their gods in the believe system
b) finding an equivalent to their gods (for example re-name them and make them your god…or compare them and say: "Oh thats their version of Marduk/Zeus/Osiris")
c) allowed to pray to both (even if the version favored by the king, was of course the most important)
As far as I understood the bible that wasn't the way those called "the Prophets" handled it (even if some leaders like Jezebel or Salomon ignored that and been pretty tolerant about other religions)
So do they think that Baal & Co were...
a product of imagination
or some kind of competing deity
or an illusion made by the devil or god or an angel
or was he somehow included in the jewish believe-system (as a fallen angel or gods evil uncle or somehting
3.
And in case that they thought Baal wasn't real...is there a passage in Talmud, Bible, Apocrypha's or Thora that clearly states that they believed that Baal (or an other foreign god) wasn't real
Spoiler…I don't think that the 1. commandment is such a proof. In islam it's said that there IS only one god…(pretty clear)
the 1. commandment states that you shall not HAVE other gods…which doesn't negate the possibility that other gods exist as far as I understand the sentence.
4.
Do you think that the opinion about others god affected the jews popularity? Are there some sources about how Egyptians or Babylonian viewed the israelites monotheism? Have they been liked and respected for that or rather seen as intolerant fundamentalists
Looking forward to your answers.