MY SHORT REPORT DEUT 17 - JOSH 4
The link that brought you to this page and the page title are a bit of a misnomer, because this short report is not long enough to cover so many chapters of the Bible. What the link and the title do, however, is track where we are in our plan to read through the entire Bible in 1 year. May each report pique your interest and help you to draw near to God. The Bible, James 4:8, tells us if we do so God will draw near to us. Works cited are at the end of the report. Internal links provide additional information.
BIBLE READING—WEEK 10—DEUT 17 – JOSH 4: In last week’s Short Report I looked at why the Law was told a second time and some passages from Deuteronomy used in the New Testament and concluded by affirming the purpose of the Law. This week my focus is on a term found in the First Commandment—other gods—which is given to us in the twentieth chapter of Exodus and again in Deuteronomy 5:7—“You shall have no other gods before me.” The term other gods is repeated sixteen times throughout Deuteronomy (three examples include 8:19; 18:20; 30:17) in addition to other multiple use terms like gods of the people (13.7), their gods (20.18), the gods of those nations (29.18), and strange gods (32.16).
These other gods, of course, are idols, and devotion to them is idolatry. Anything we devote ourselves to apart from God becomes another god (another idol). Luther expressed it this way, “We should fear, love and trust in God above all things” (LSC, 55). If we follow Luther’s advice, we leave no room for other gods. And our Lord left no room for other gods when He said, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16:13).
We know what money is, but what is Dagon, or Chemosh? To better understand the background of Bible narratives that mention these ancient idols, or speak of them in general terms like the gods of those nations I looked in my commentaries and the Christian Cyclopedia (http://cyclopedia.lcms.org), which states that there was 70 gods in the Canaanite pantheon, including Asherah, Baal and "the majestic god El, 'the father of years'.” The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary agrees that in the Canaanite pantheon El and Asherah are the parents of the 70. And goes on the say El, in Syria-Palestine mythology was both the progenitor of the gods and people, too. It also explains that the word el was the “common Semitic designation for god or deity, used both as a generic term and as a proper name, particularly for the supreme high god. In Biblical Hebrew (translated ‘God’ in most English versions) it is one of the most frequent names for the God is Israel” (p. 316). In other words, in the Semitic languages of the Bible lands el could refer to any deity—be it a false god (Isaiah 44:17) or the only living God (Josh 3:10).
The Christian Cyclopedia gives two different accounts where Baal becomes the king of the gods, once by defeating Yam, the god of the sea, and, in the other story, Baal dies and Anat, the goddess of love and war, defeats Mot, the god of death in a gruesome battle and scatters his remains, which allows Baal to return from the underworld.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia gives a different account to explain the death and rebirth cycle of Baal that is typical of ancient agrarian societies where the “arrival of the seasonal rains was the most important event for agriculture that did not depend on irrigation, and the divine figure connected with atmospheric phenomena was head of the pantheon” (Olive Tree). In the story the god of death, Mot, fights and kills Baal. Anat, Baal’s sister, brings Baal back from the dead. Once more Mot and Baal engage in battle and this time Baal is the victor and becomes the reigning god in the pantheon.
More Canaanite religion and mythology insight from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia comes in the form of an explanation of the “Ugaritic texts [which] constitute the principal source for direct knowledge of Canaanite religion. Cult practices, mythological patrimony, and temple organization can be studied from within, whereas the OT gives a picture colored by polemic.”
To that I add a statement from Michael S. Heiser. According to Wikipedia, Heiser holds a PhD in the Hebrew Bible and Semitic Languages from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is the Academic Editor for Logos Bible Software. He says the following in an article from https://www.logos.com/ugaritic:
These other gods, of course, are idols, and devotion to them is idolatry. Anything we devote ourselves to apart from God becomes another god (another idol). Luther expressed it this way, “We should fear, love and trust in God above all things” (LSC, 55). If we follow Luther’s advice, we leave no room for other gods. And our Lord left no room for other gods when He said, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16:13).
We know what money is, but what is Dagon, or Chemosh? To better understand the background of Bible narratives that mention these ancient idols, or speak of them in general terms like the gods of those nations I looked in my commentaries and the Christian Cyclopedia (http://cyclopedia.lcms.org), which states that there was 70 gods in the Canaanite pantheon, including Asherah, Baal and "the majestic god El, 'the father of years'.” The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary agrees that in the Canaanite pantheon El and Asherah are the parents of the 70. And goes on the say El, in Syria-Palestine mythology was both the progenitor of the gods and people, too. It also explains that the word el was the “common Semitic designation for god or deity, used both as a generic term and as a proper name, particularly for the supreme high god. In Biblical Hebrew (translated ‘God’ in most English versions) it is one of the most frequent names for the God is Israel” (p. 316). In other words, in the Semitic languages of the Bible lands el could refer to any deity—be it a false god (Isaiah 44:17) or the only living God (Josh 3:10).
The Christian Cyclopedia gives two different accounts where Baal becomes the king of the gods, once by defeating Yam, the god of the sea, and, in the other story, Baal dies and Anat, the goddess of love and war, defeats Mot, the god of death in a gruesome battle and scatters his remains, which allows Baal to return from the underworld.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia gives a different account to explain the death and rebirth cycle of Baal that is typical of ancient agrarian societies where the “arrival of the seasonal rains was the most important event for agriculture that did not depend on irrigation, and the divine figure connected with atmospheric phenomena was head of the pantheon” (Olive Tree). In the story the god of death, Mot, fights and kills Baal. Anat, Baal’s sister, brings Baal back from the dead. Once more Mot and Baal engage in battle and this time Baal is the victor and becomes the reigning god in the pantheon.
More Canaanite religion and mythology insight from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia comes in the form of an explanation of the “Ugaritic texts [which] constitute the principal source for direct knowledge of Canaanite religion. Cult practices, mythological patrimony, and temple organization can be studied from within, whereas the OT gives a picture colored by polemic.”
To that I add a statement from Michael S. Heiser. According to Wikipedia, Heiser holds a PhD in the Hebrew Bible and Semitic Languages from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is the Academic Editor for Logos Bible Software. He says the following in an article from https://www.logos.com/ugaritic:
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Ugaritic, the language of ancient Ugarit (in modern Syria), isn’t something that most people think about when it comes to Bible study. However, the clay tablets discovered and deciphered in the late 1920s and early 1930s provide an unparalleled glimpse into the life and religious worldview of the ancient Israelites. Some (including myself) would argue that they are as important as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Ugaritic is important because of the fact that its vocabulary is so close to biblical Hebrew — many Ugaritic words are letter-for-letter the same as biblical Hebrew. It is the religion of Ugarit, however, that is especially important to Old Testament scholarship.
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At this point I shift from an overview mode to a more close-up view. I also want to say, “Because the Bible does not provide a detailed list of the other gods in Canaan and the Bible lands, we know God did not consider such a list to be important for our knowledge of Him, nor our salvation. There is, of course, enough Biblical information provided about these foreign deities to gain a clear insight about God. For instance, God loves us and our children. He considers us and our children as His own, and wants our children raised in families were they are loved and nurtured (Prov 22:6, etc.). In Molech we see what God is not! He is not an overbearing taskmaster that takes the love of our lives, our children, as payment for his protection. Instead, He loves us so much He gave His only Son to us (John 3:16). That said, other gods is a topic in the Bible and worth learning more about.
Asherah: As stated above, Asherah was originally the wife of El in the Canaanite pantheon. She never lost her place in the hierarchy of the gods, but El did. He was transplanted by Baal, who became their king, and the god that controlled the weather. Thus Baal brought the spring rain for the crops. The Bible often links the worship of Baal and Asherah together (Judges 3:7; 1 Samuel 12:10). Infamous Idols of the Bible calls Asherah Baal’s “female counterpart.” Accordingly both played their part in the annual production of food crops. Worship of Asherah included Asherah poles—limbless tree trunks—and temple prostitution (Olive Tree). Indeed, Asherah worship included “male cult prostitutes” (1 Kings 14:24).
Just as King Solomon built high places near Jerusalem for his foreign wives to worship their idols during the period of the United Kingdom years later, King Ahab established idolatry in the Northern Kingdom (Israel) for his demanding wife Jezebel. We learn in 1 Kings the “He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made an Asherah” (16:32-33).
Terms:
Asherah—the Canaanite goddess
Asheroth—plural of Asherah in the ESV (Judges 3:7)
Asherahs—plural of Asherah in the NIV (1984) and NKJV (Judges 3:7)
Asherah pole—Asherah poles NIV (1984) (Ex 34:13); wooden Asherah pole NIV (Dt 16.21)
Asherah pole—wooden image NKJV (Ex 34:13; 1Kgs 16:33)
Asherah pole—Asherah ESV (1Kgs 16.33)
Asherah pole—tree as an Asherah ESV (Dt 16.21)
Asherah pole—Asherim (ESV) (Ex 34:13)
Asherah pole—grove (KJV uses grove for Asherah and Asherah pole)
Ashtoreth: A Canaanite fertility goddess. “Ashtoreth should not be confused with Asherah” (Eerdmans, 95). The Bible tells us that “Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonian” (1 Kings 11:5)
Other Terms:
Ashtaroth—a city named after the goddess Ashtoreth.
Ashtaroth—a plural form of the goddess Ashtoreth.
Ashtaroths—a plural form of the goddess Ashtoreth.
Chemosh: The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible tells us that very little is known about Chemosh. It points to the Moabite Stone as a source of information, and says “the name, Chemosh, appears [there] twelve times…and indicates he was a savage war god” (p. 786). We also know he was the god of Moab (Numbers 21:29), and the name of this idol appears in the Bible eight times. We know that between his 700 wives and 300 concubines Solomon, in his old age, had a change of heart and was no longer completely devoted to God. For his foreign wives he built a place of worship for “Chemosh the abomination of Moab” (1 Kings 11:7). Although Chemosh is mostly associated with the Moabites, the deity is mentioned once in relation to the Ammonites (Judges 11:23-24).
Infamous Idols of the Bible tells us that Chemosh means “’the destroyer’ or ‘the subduer’, ” and calls the idol a terrible “taskmaster” that demanded human sacrifice. We can see this in 2 Kings 3:27 where the king of the Moabites sacrificed his firstborn son as a burnt offering on the city wall in order to gain Chemosh’s favor, when under attack by Israel.
Dagon: Fish god or grain god? That would appear to be a question posed from the Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, which is indecisive based on the etymology (the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history (thanks Wiki)) of the word Dagon. If Dagon comes from dag, then fish would be correct, and that makes sense because the Philistines once were a seafaring people. However, at one point Dagon was worshiped by the Amorites as Dagan. And dagan means grain (vol. 2, p. 2). Also, Dagan was, “in Babylonian mythology, the god of the Earth” (Encarta Dictionary online).
To the above information I add a paragraph from the Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (p. 829):
Asherah: As stated above, Asherah was originally the wife of El in the Canaanite pantheon. She never lost her place in the hierarchy of the gods, but El did. He was transplanted by Baal, who became their king, and the god that controlled the weather. Thus Baal brought the spring rain for the crops. The Bible often links the worship of Baal and Asherah together (Judges 3:7; 1 Samuel 12:10). Infamous Idols of the Bible calls Asherah Baal’s “female counterpart.” Accordingly both played their part in the annual production of food crops. Worship of Asherah included Asherah poles—limbless tree trunks—and temple prostitution (Olive Tree). Indeed, Asherah worship included “male cult prostitutes” (1 Kings 14:24).
Just as King Solomon built high places near Jerusalem for his foreign wives to worship their idols during the period of the United Kingdom years later, King Ahab established idolatry in the Northern Kingdom (Israel) for his demanding wife Jezebel. We learn in 1 Kings the “He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made an Asherah” (16:32-33).
Terms:
Asherah—the Canaanite goddess
Asheroth—plural of Asherah in the ESV (Judges 3:7)
Asherahs—plural of Asherah in the NIV (1984) and NKJV (Judges 3:7)
Asherah pole—Asherah poles NIV (1984) (Ex 34:13); wooden Asherah pole NIV (Dt 16.21)
Asherah pole—wooden image NKJV (Ex 34:13; 1Kgs 16:33)
Asherah pole—Asherah ESV (1Kgs 16.33)
Asherah pole—tree as an Asherah ESV (Dt 16.21)
Asherah pole—Asherim (ESV) (Ex 34:13)
Asherah pole—grove (KJV uses grove for Asherah and Asherah pole)
Ashtoreth: A Canaanite fertility goddess. “Ashtoreth should not be confused with Asherah” (Eerdmans, 95). The Bible tells us that “Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonian” (1 Kings 11:5)
Other Terms:
Ashtaroth—a city named after the goddess Ashtoreth.
Ashtaroth—a plural form of the goddess Ashtoreth.
Ashtaroths—a plural form of the goddess Ashtoreth.
Chemosh: The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible tells us that very little is known about Chemosh. It points to the Moabite Stone as a source of information, and says “the name, Chemosh, appears [there] twelve times…and indicates he was a savage war god” (p. 786). We also know he was the god of Moab (Numbers 21:29), and the name of this idol appears in the Bible eight times. We know that between his 700 wives and 300 concubines Solomon, in his old age, had a change of heart and was no longer completely devoted to God. For his foreign wives he built a place of worship for “Chemosh the abomination of Moab” (1 Kings 11:7). Although Chemosh is mostly associated with the Moabites, the deity is mentioned once in relation to the Ammonites (Judges 11:23-24).
Infamous Idols of the Bible tells us that Chemosh means “’the destroyer’ or ‘the subduer’, ” and calls the idol a terrible “taskmaster” that demanded human sacrifice. We can see this in 2 Kings 3:27 where the king of the Moabites sacrificed his firstborn son as a burnt offering on the city wall in order to gain Chemosh’s favor, when under attack by Israel.
Dagon: Fish god or grain god? That would appear to be a question posed from the Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, which is indecisive based on the etymology (the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history (thanks Wiki)) of the word Dagon. If Dagon comes from dag, then fish would be correct, and that makes sense because the Philistines once were a seafaring people. However, at one point Dagon was worshiped by the Amorites as Dagan. And dagan means grain (vol. 2, p. 2). Also, Dagan was, “in Babylonian mythology, the god of the Earth” (Encarta Dictionary online).
To the above information I add a paragraph from the Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (p. 829):
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The Philistines were primarily warriors and did not displace the Canaanites whose territory they settled in. Instead they adopted the culture of the Canaanites and became their rulers. Philistia was ruled by officials called sᵉrānîm (RSV “lords”; e.g., 1 Sam. 29:2). Most Philistine names in the Bible are Canaanite, as are the names of their deities, Dagon, Ashtaroth (perhaps Anat), and Baalzebub (Judg. 16:23; 1 Sam. 5:2-5, 31:10; 2 Kgs 1:2).
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Wikipedia agrees, saying “There is not enough information of the language of the Philistines to relate it confidently to any other language” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philistine_language). No doubt the Philistines left much of their old ways behind them to adapt the Canaanite culture.
My conclusion (though this is not an in-depth study): Dagon is not a fish god from the Philistines seafaring past; but a grain god from, in Bible times, their present as the overseers of their “corner” of Canaan where they intergraded into the local culture as the ruling class and fought against the invading Israelites that flooded into the Promised Land.
Milcom: is called the abomination of the Ammonites” (1 Kings 11:5), but little is known if this idol. In its study notes, the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) calls Milcom, “An Ammonite god who was the equivalent of Baal, the Canaanite storm god. On the other hand, the Eerdmans Bible Dictionary says, “It is generally assumed that Molech (Heb. mōleḵ) is a deliberately distorted form of Milcom’s name” (p. 719). But it also tells us “inscriptional evidence for Milcom as the name of an Ammonite deity has been found at Amman” (p. 718). If the inscription predates the time period were it is thought that Milcom is a distortion of Molech, the theory would be invalid.
The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible adds clarity here when it says, “Most scholars identify Milcom with Molech on the basis of 1 Kings 11:7 where Molech is called the abomination of the Ammonites (cf. 1 Kings 11:5, 33). The best Gk. MMS, however, read Milcom” (vol. 4, p. 225). 1 Kings 11:33 does add more clarity because both gods are addressed in the same passage.
Molech: was a Canaanite idol. According to the Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, in the original language the word, melek, means king. Molech, however, is a purposely distorted name that happened by first removing the vowels from melek (mlk) and interjecting the vowels of the Hebrew word for shame. The result is Molech (p. 728).
Verses like 2 Kings 23:10, “And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech” leave no doubt that Molech worship involved child sacrifice.
My conclusion (though this is not an in-depth study): Dagon is not a fish god from the Philistines seafaring past; but a grain god from, in Bible times, their present as the overseers of their “corner” of Canaan where they intergraded into the local culture as the ruling class and fought against the invading Israelites that flooded into the Promised Land.
Milcom: is called the abomination of the Ammonites” (1 Kings 11:5), but little is known if this idol. In its study notes, the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) calls Milcom, “An Ammonite god who was the equivalent of Baal, the Canaanite storm god. On the other hand, the Eerdmans Bible Dictionary says, “It is generally assumed that Molech (Heb. mōleḵ) is a deliberately distorted form of Milcom’s name” (p. 719). But it also tells us “inscriptional evidence for Milcom as the name of an Ammonite deity has been found at Amman” (p. 718). If the inscription predates the time period were it is thought that Milcom is a distortion of Molech, the theory would be invalid.
The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible adds clarity here when it says, “Most scholars identify Milcom with Molech on the basis of 1 Kings 11:7 where Molech is called the abomination of the Ammonites (cf. 1 Kings 11:5, 33). The best Gk. MMS, however, read Milcom” (vol. 4, p. 225). 1 Kings 11:33 does add more clarity because both gods are addressed in the same passage.
Molech: was a Canaanite idol. According to the Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, in the original language the word, melek, means king. Molech, however, is a purposely distorted name that happened by first removing the vowels from melek (mlk) and interjecting the vowels of the Hebrew word for shame. The result is Molech (p. 728).
Verses like 2 Kings 23:10, “And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech” leave no doubt that Molech worship involved child sacrifice.