Damian Secol FdRel 302 Bro. Satterfield 16 Sept.

2009

The Nature of the Struggle Between the Israelite and Canaanite Religion
Bruce Satterfield
Article Summary

In the Old Testament following the entering of the Promised Land, the Lord instructed the Israelites to utterly destroy the Canaanite people and their culture. However, they failed to do so, much to the disappointment and anger of the Lord. Something in the religious practices attracted the Israelites, in so much that they even adopted much of the Canaanite religion at many different points in history, even though the Lord had forbade it and the prophets renounced it. Much of the Canaanite religion revolved around gods and goddesses that represented the often time unpredictable nature of the elements. It was the job of the people to persuade their deities to favor them with the ideal conditions with weather that would help in growing their crops and otherwise prosper. Various rituals and superstitions, that in many cases they considered magic, was used in the hopes that they would get the desired attention. This was especially so in the regions where rain was the sole source of water for the crops and was highly unpredictable in its timing and amount, as opposed to the more stable areas that relied upon irrigation. From tablets discovered in the ruins of a major Canaanite city called Ugarit on the upper end of the Syrian coast, an understanding can be gained about the myths of the gods of the Canaanite religion. El, the head god, was more passive than anything else, and lived in the far north. However, his permission was to be granted before anything major happens. Asherah was the wife/consort to El and was associated with the sea. There is some confusion between her role and Anat due to the Canaanites from Palestine that show their roles to be reversed. Asherahs name is also more commonly referred to as the grove in the KJV. Baal is the most prominent god in the religion as he is the source of the rain as a kind of storm god. He was referred to as Lord of the Earth, Eternal to all generations, Lord of Heaven, and Rider of the Clouds. Without him the land was arid and useless. Anat was Baal s wife/consort and was a goddess of love and war. However, she is almost never mentioned in the bible except for place names, with Ashtoreth, another goddess of war and sexual love, being put in the place of Baals wife in other Canaanite regions. Ashtoreth played major role in Egypt and Palestine and was even known by the Greek name of Astartes. She may have even been worshipped as an astral deity in other cults. Yam was the god of the waters (streams, lakes, rivers, etc.,) but wanted control over all the land. He was the source of floods that ruined crops. Then Mot, enemy of Baal, represented the god of death and drought and lived in the scorched wastelands. One of the many myths found at Ugarit was what is called the Baal cycle. In this myth Baal fights and defeats the god of water, Yam, for control over the waters. This happens

around the end of October, to usher in the end of the dry season with cool rain. Then in the winter season, Baal asks Els permission to build a palace for his eternal kingdom that he has just won, with a window to let the clouds gather and the rain flow to give fertility to the earth. Mot, god of death and drought, is banished to the underworld. However, Mot then asks for Baal to come down to the summer drought that is the netherworld. At first he refuses, but realizes that with his position as champion, he must do so and with compassion, he goes to his death knowing that he must pass through death and drought to do so, bringing forth summer. El mourns with his wife and they cut and abuse themselves in a strange set of mourning rites. Along with sacrifices, Baal is revived and fertility returns to the land, finishing the cycle. Magic, charms, spells, and symbols were often connected with the divine as a way thought to control certain forces and even to sustain them. It was believed that sexual rites were needed to act as a catalyst to get the energies of the gods going to perform their necessary duties. In Canaanite temples, these rites would involve sexual intercourse between priests and priestesses or sacred prostitutes of both sexes. It was also believed that women, as in many cultures in the world, represented agriculture and sexuality. Sexual intercourse was believed to have to exist between the god and his consort for anything to happen, and the people would play out that drama, representing the god and his consort for the insured fertility and prosperity of the land. Insights: The Israelites must have been attracted to this religion due to its extremely carnal nature and its attraction to the natural man. This religion had a profound effect on the Israelites progression since it attacked the sanctity of marriage and its associated powers. I noticed that El was the main god and a god of authority, indicating a remote relation to God as they once worshipped Him before apostasizing.