Israelite Religion before Monotheism

Stele depicting Baal, ca. 1400 - 1200 BC.

    The ancient Israelite religion was not the monotheistic form of Judaism that we see in the modern era. Drawing from the Canaanite pantheon, the Israelite religion contained other gods and goddesses from the region like Baal and Asherah. Originally, Yahweh was likely a god worshipped by the "Shasu Yhw(h)", a nomadic tribe in the Negev desert, who would be introduced to the Israelites (Davis). It was only later in history, during the Babylonian Exile, that the Israelites decided Yahweh was the only God (Armstrong 48). Before that time period, the people of Israel venerated a much more diverse pantheon. Some elements of the Israelite treatment of Yahweh are drawn from worship surrounding Baal. Occasionally, Yahweh was depicted as a calf, similar to the ways in Baal was depicted (Davis). Yahweh's myth adapted elements of Baal's myth, as Yahweh is said to have "battled with the sea monster Lotan", a story adopted directly from the myths surrounding Baal (Armstrong 78). Of course, similar depictions and adapted myths between Baal and Yahweh do not necessarily mean both gods were simultaneously worshipped by all Israelites. It, however, suggests the extreme monotheism denying the existence of other gods had not emerged yet.

 

Figure depicting Asherah, ca. 700 - 500 BC.

    The goddess Asherah occupies an interesting role in the pre-monotheistic Israelite religion. Asherah was associated with Yahweh, and her worship was eventually banned by later kings of Judah (Davis). The fact that her worship was banned suggests that she occupied a space in the Israelite pantheon simultaneously with Yahweh. However Asherah's position in the Israelite pantheon likely went beyond simply being a co-deity. Inscriptions within a tomb in the West Bank from the Iron Age reference "Yahweh and his Asherah", the exact meaning of which is up to interpretation (Dever 30). One possible interpretation is that Asherah was the consort of Yahweh. Yahweh succeeded the Canaanite god El in the Israelite religion, and Asherah is known to have been the consort of El (Dever 31). From the tomb inscription, the idea that Yahweh serves as El's successor, and El's connection to Asherah, it is not far fetched to say that Asherah may have been viewed as Yahweh's consort at some point in history. However, "near total suppression of the cult" of Asherah by authorities between the 8th and 6th centuries BC stripped Asherah of her status and relevance to the Israelites (Dever 31). The cult of Asherah, and other Canaanite religious elements adopted by the Israelites, though now long forgotten, serve as fascinating points on the eventual evolution of monotheistic religion.

Works Cited:

David, A. (2016, June 13). How the Jews Invented God, and Made Him Great. Haaretz. https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-how-the-jews-invented-god-and-made-him-great-1.5392677

Armstrong, K. (1997). Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths. Ballantine Books.

Dever, W. G. (1984). Asherah, Consort of Yahweh? New Evidence from Kuntillet ʿAjrûd. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 255, 21-37. https://doi.org/10.2307/1357073