JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT SUPPLEMENT SERIES 265 Editors David J.A. Clines Philip R. Davies Executive Editor John Jarick Editorial Board Richard J. Coggins, Alan Cooper, J. Cheryl Exum, John Goldingay, Robert P. Gordon, Norman K. Gottwald, Andrew D.H. Mayes, Carol Meyers, Patrick D. Miller Sheffield Academic Press A Continuum imprint This page intentionally left blank Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan John Day Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 265 Copyright © 2000, 2002 Sheffield Academic Press A Continuum imprint Published by Sheffield Academic Press Ltd The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX 370 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017-6550 www.continuumbooks.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Typeset by Sheffield Academic Press Printed on acid-free paper in Great Britain by Bookcraft Ltd, Midsomer Norton, Bath ISBN 1-85075-986-3 hbk 0-82646-830-6 pbk CONTENTS Preface 7 Abbreviations 8 Chapter 1 YAHWEHANDEL 13 Chapter 2 YAHWEH AND ASHERAH 42 Chapter 3 YAHWEH VERSUS BAAL 68 Chapter 4 YAHWEH'S APPROPRIATION OF BAAL IMAGERY 91 Chapter 5 YAHWEH AND THE GODDESSES ASTARTE AND ANAT (AND THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN) 128 Chapter 6 YAHWEH AND THE ASTRAL DEITIES (SUN, MOON AND LUCIFER) 151 Chapter 7 YAHWEH AND THE UNDERWORLD DEITIES (MOT, RESHEPH, MOLECH AND THE REPHAIM) 185 Chapter 8 CONCLUSION: THE CANAANITE GODS AND GODDESSES AND 226 THE RISE OF MONOTHEISM 6 Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan Bibliography 234 Index of References 264 Index of Authors 276 PREFACE Ever since I started doctoral research under Professor John Emerton at Cambridge in 1973 much of my time has been devoted to studying the impact, both positive and negative, of Canaanite mythology and religion on ancient Israel and the Old Testament. Although I have written various books and articles on the subject over the years, I have long harboured the ambition of completing a more thoroughgoing and comprehensive investigation of the relationship between Yahweh and the gods and goddesses of Canaan, and this is what now appears before the reader. Unfortunately, various other projects have delayed the appearance of this work. I should therefore express my thanks to those who have helped speed the book on its way. First of all I must express my deep gratitude to the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust for the honour of awarding me a British Academy/Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship for a year, which enabled me to make considerable progress on the work that would not otherwise have been possible. Next, I am once again greatly indebted to Carol Smith, who over the years and even in the midst of adversity has cheerfully word processed countless drafts of the various chapters which appear in this book. Finally, I am grateful to Sheffield Academic Press for accepting this work into their Old Testament Supplement Series and to all those who work for the Press for the careful attention they have bestowed on the work. ABBREVIATIONS AB Anchor Bible ABD David Noel Freedman (ed.), The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992) ABRL Anchor Bible Reference Library AcOr Acta orientalia AfO Archivfiir Orientforschung AION Annali dell'istituto orientate di Napoli AJSL American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures AnBib Analecta biblica ANEP James B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1954) ANET James B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1950) AOAT Alter Orient und Altes Testament AOS American Oriental Series AP A. Cowley (ed.), Aramaic Papyri of the Fifth Century B.C. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1923) ArOr Archiv orientdlni ARW Archivfiir Religionswissenschaft AT ANT Abhandlungen zur Theologie des Alten und Neuen Testaments ATD Das Alte Testament Deutsch AulOr Aula Orientalis AulOr Sup Aula Orientalis Supplement AV Authorized Version BA Biblical Archaeologist BARev Biblical Archaeology Review BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research BBB Bonner biblische Beitrage BETL Bibliotheca ephemeridum theologicarum lovaniensium BH3 Biblia hebraica, 3rd edition BHS Biblia hebraica stuttgartensia BHT Beitrage zur historischen Theologie Bib Biblica Abbreviations 9 Biblnt Series Biblical Interpretation Series BibOr Biblica et orientalia BJRL Bulletin of the John Ry lands University Library of Manchester BKAT Biblischer Kommentar: Altes Testament BN Biblische Notizen BNTC Black's New Testament Commentaries BR Bible Review BSO(A)S Bulletin of the School of Oriental (and African) Studies BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin BWANT Beitrage zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament BZ Biblische Zeitschrift BZAW Beihefte zur ZAW CAD Ignace I. Gelb et al. (eds.), The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (Chicago: Oriental Institute, 1964-) CAT Commentaire de 1'Ancien Testament CBC Cambridge Bible Commentary CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly CBQMS Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Monograph Series CGTC Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary ConBOT Coniectanea biblica, Old Testament CT Cuneiform Texts from Babylonian Tablets, &c in the British Museum DBSup Dictionnaire de la Bible, Supplement DDD K. van der Toorn, B. Becking, P.W. van der Horst, Dictionary of Deities and Demons (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1995; 2nd edn, 1999) DID Discoveries in the Judaean Desert EPROER Etudes Preliminaires aux religions orientales dans 1'empire romain EstBib Estudios biblicos ET English Translation EvQ Evangelical Quarterly ExpTim Expository Times FRLANT Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments HAR Hebrew Annual Review HAT Handbuch zum Alten Testament HCOT Historical Commentary on the Old Testament HDR Harvard Dissertations in Religion HKAT Handkommentar zum Alten Testament HR History of Religions HSM Harvard Semitic Monographs HSS Harvard Semitic Studies HTR Harvard Theological Review