Who were the Baals and Ashtaroth, and why were they so attractive?
In Judges 2, the tragic crisis of Israel's fidelity is described in detail, "and they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the hand of Egypt, and followed other gods [lit. the Baals] from among the gods of the people who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the LORD to anger. So they forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtaroth" (2:12-13, NASB). Also, "And yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them" (17a, NASB). Who were these gods, Baal and Ashtaroth? Why would a covenanted community of YHWH run after them instead of Him?
David Howard adds these illuminating facts: "Baal was the storm-god; he ended up as the most powerful god in the [Canaanite] pantheon, probably because of his connections with fertility. The storm represents power but also life-giving rain, rain that makes the land fertile. In the Baal cycle of texts from Ugarit, he is shown dying and rising, in keeping with is role as fertility god, reflecting the annual cycle of the seasons. He is mentioned often in the Bible; the climax of his influence in Israel came under the permissive reign of Ahab. Astarte/Ashtoreth was a female fertility goddess and a goddess of love and war, closely associated with Baal. She also appears to have had some astral connections. She is not mentioned very often in the Ugaritic texts but corresponds to Ishtar in Mesopotamian texts, and she appears in Egyptian representations of Canaanite religion. The "Ashtaroth" (i.e. the Ashtoreths) are mentioned in the Bible, along with the Baals (e.g. Judges 10:6, 1 Sam. 7:3, 12:10)" (pg. 107, emphasis his).
Howard lists no less than five reasons that Israel would "play the harlot" after these Canaanite gods. First, "The Canaanites were clearly superior to the Israelites on many levels: art, literature, architecture, trade, political organization, and more. It is not difficult to see how the Israelites would have been tempted by the elaborate Canaanite religious system, which ostensibly supported--even provided all of this. Second, the military threat of the Canaanites would be reduced through tacking on treaties and gods. Third, the desire and need for fertility was paramount in people's minds. Canaanite religion had "drawing power because of its association with agricultural fertility." Fourth, the obvious Canaanite wealth would have been attractive, and the common Israelite would have drawn an immediate connection between material prosperity and strength of deity. Fifth and most lurid, was the system of sacred prostitutes. Howard says, "A follower of Baal could go in to a priestess and, by means of lovemaking with Baal's representative in a human "fertility" rite, persuade Baal to grant fertility to the worshiper's fields. This mixture of sex with religion undoubtedly was a positive factor in many Israelite minds (Howard, pg. 106).
In Judges 2, the tragic crisis of Israel's fidelity is described in detail, "and they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the hand of Egypt, and followed other gods [lit. the Baals] from among the gods of the people who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the LORD to anger. So they forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtaroth" (2:12-13, NASB). Also, "And yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them" (17a, NASB). Who were these gods, Baal and Ashtaroth? Why would a covenanted community of YHWH run after them instead of Him?
David Howard adds these illuminating facts: "Baal was the storm-god; he ended up as the most powerful god in the [Canaanite] pantheon, probably because of his connections with fertility. The storm represents power but also life-giving rain, rain that makes the land fertile. In the Baal cycle of texts from Ugarit, he is shown dying and rising, in keeping with is role as fertility god, reflecting the annual cycle of the seasons. He is mentioned often in the Bible; the climax of his influence in Israel came under the permissive reign of Ahab. Astarte/Ashtoreth was a female fertility goddess and a goddess of love and war, closely associated with Baal. She also appears to have had some astral connections. She is not mentioned very often in the Ugaritic texts but corresponds to Ishtar in Mesopotamian texts, and she appears in Egyptian representations of Canaanite religion. The "Ashtaroth" (i.e. the Ashtoreths) are mentioned in the Bible, along with the Baals (e.g. Judges 10:6, 1 Sam. 7:3, 12:10)" (pg. 107, emphasis his).
Howard lists no less than five reasons that Israel would "play the harlot" after these Canaanite gods. First, "The Canaanites were clearly superior to the Israelites on many levels: art, literature, architecture, trade, political organization, and more. It is not difficult to see how the Israelites would have been tempted by the elaborate Canaanite religious system, which ostensibly supported--even provided all of this. Second, the military threat of the Canaanites would be reduced through tacking on treaties and gods. Third, the desire and need for fertility was paramount in people's minds. Canaanite religion had "drawing power because of its association with agricultural fertility." Fourth, the obvious Canaanite wealth would have been attractive, and the common Israelite would have drawn an immediate connection between material prosperity and strength of deity. Fifth and most lurid, was the system of sacred prostitutes. Howard says, "A follower of Baal could go in to a priestess and, by means of lovemaking with Baal's representative in a human "fertility" rite, persuade Baal to grant fertility to the worshiper's fields. This mixture of sex with religion undoubtedly was a positive factor in many Israelite minds (Howard, pg. 106).
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