Ancient Semitic religion encompasses the polytheistic religions of the Semitic speaking peoples of the ancient Near East and Northeast Africa. Its origins are intertwined with Mesopotamian mythology. As Semitic itself is a rough, categorical term (when referring to cultures, not languages), the definitive bounds of the term "ancient Semitic religion" are only approximate.
These traditions, and their pantheons, fall into regional categories: Canaanite religions of the Levant, Assyro-Babylonian religion influenced by Sumerian tradition, and pre-Islamic Arabian polytheism. There is also a possible transition of Semitic polytheism into Abrahamic monotheism, by way of the god El, a word for "god" in Hebrew and cognate to Islam's Allah.
Proto-Semitic pantheon
Abbreviations: Ac. Akkadian-Babylonian; Ug. Ugaritic; Pp. Phoenician; Ib. Hebrew; Ar. Arabic; OSA Old South Arabian; Et. Ethiopic
- <span>ʼIlu - "god" (Sky god, head of pantheon: Ac. Ilu, Ug. il, Pp. ʼl/Ä'los, Ib. El/Elohim, Ar. AllÄh, OSA ʼl).
- ʼAṯiratu - (Ilu's wife: Ug. aṯrt, Ib. AÅ¡Ä"rÄh, OSA ʼṯrt) - The meaning of the name is unknown. She is also called ʼIlatu "goddess" (Ac. Ilat, Pp. ʼlt, Ar. AllÄt).
- ʻAṯtaru - (God of Fertility: Ug. ʻṯtr, OSA ʻṯtr, Et. ʻAstar sky god).
- ʻAṯtartu - (Goddess of Fertility: Ac. Ištar, Ug. ʻṯtrt, Pp. ʻštrt / Astarte, Ib. ʻAštoreṯ). The meaning of the name is unknown and not related to ʼAṯiratu.
- Haddu/Hadadu - (Storm god: Ac. Adad, Ug. hd, Pp. Adodos). The meaning of the name is probably "thunderer". This god is also known as Baʻlu "husband, lord" (Ac. Bel, Ug. bʻl, Pp. bʻl/Belos, Ib. Baʻal).
- Śamšu - "sun" (Sun goddess: Ug. špš, OSA: šmš, but Ac. Šamaš is a male god).
- Wariḫu - "moon" (Moon god: Ug. yrḫ, Ib. YÄrÄ"aḥ, OSA wrḫ).
Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia
When the five planets were identified, they were associated with the sun and moon and connected with the chief gods of the Hammurabi pantheon. A bilingual list in the British Museum arranges the sevenfold planetary group in the following order:
- The moon, Sin
- The sun, Shamash
- Jupiter, Marduk
- Venus, Ishtar
- Saturn, Ninurta
- Mercury, Nabu
- Mars, Nergal
The religion of the Assyrian Empire (sometimes called Ashurism) centered around the god Ashur, patron deity of the city of Assur, besides Ishtar, patroness of Niniveh. The last positively recorded worship of Ashur and other Assyrian gods dating to the 3rd century AD.
Ashur, the patron deity of the eponymous capital from the Late Bronze Age was in constant rivalry with the patron deity of Babylon, Marduk. In Assyria, Ashur eventually superseded Marduk even in his role as husband of Ishtar.
The major Assyrian-Babylonian and Akkadian gods are as follows;
- Ashur/Assur (Aramaic: Üܵܫܿܘܪ‎) / Anshar, patron of Assur
- Ishtar, (Astarte/Eshtar), the goddess of love and war, patroness of Nineveh (Aramaic: ܥܸܫܬܵܪ‎)
- Nabu - God of Writing and Scribes
- Nergal - God of the Underworld
- Tiamat - Sea Goddess
- Samnuha
- Kubaba
- Marduk
- Ellil
- Ninlil
- Sin/Nanna
- Nisroch
- Hanbi - father of Pazuzu
- Anu
- Ea, Sumerian Enki - God of Crafts
- Kishar
- Sin / Suen, sumerian Nanna - Moon God
- Ishara
- Shamash - Sun God
- Adad/Hadad
- Dagan/Dagon
- Bel
- Tammuz
Assyro-Babylonian demons and heroes:
- Oannes, Adapa
- Gilgamesh
- Lugalbanda
- Lilitu/Lilith
- Pazuzu
- Ninurta
Canaan
Canaanite religion was the group of belief systems utilized by the people living in the ancient Levant throughout the Bronze Age and Iron Age. Until the excavation of Ras Shamra in Northern Syria (the site historically known as Ugarit), and the discovery of its Bronze Age archive of clay tablet alphabetic cuneiform texts, little was known of Canaanite religion, as papyrus seems to have been the preferred writing medium, and unlike Egypt, in the humid Mediterranean climate, these have simply decayed. As a result, the highly antagonistic and selective accounts contained within the Bible were almost the only sources of information on ancient Canaanite religion. This was supplemented by a few secondary and tertiary Greek sources (Lucian of Samosata's De Dea Syria (The Syrian Goddess), fragments of the Phoenician History of Philo of Byblos, and the writings of Damascius). More recently detailed study of the Ugaritic material, other inscriptions from the Levant and also of the Ebla archive from Tel Mardikh, excavated in 1960 by a joint Italo-Syrian team, have cast more light on the early Canaanite religion.
Canaanite religion was strongly influenced by their more powerful and populous neighbours, and shows clear influence of Mesopotamian and Egyptian religious practices. Like other people of the ancient Near East, Canaanite religious beliefs were polytheistic, with families typically focusing worship on ancestral household gods and goddesses while acknowledging the existence of other deities such as Baal and El. Kings also played an important religious role and in certain ceremonies, such as the sacred marriage of the New Year Festival may have been revered as gods.
According to the pantheon, known in Ugarit as 'ilhm (=Elohim) or the children of El (cf. the Biblical "sons of God"), supposedly obtained by Philo of Byblos from Sanchuniathon of Berythus (Beirut) the creator was known as Elion (Biblical El Elyon = God most High), who was the father of the divinities, and in the Greek sources he was married to Beruth (Beirut = the city). This marriage of the divinity with the city would seem to have Biblical parallels too with the stories of the link between Melkart and Tyre; Yahweh and Jerusalem; Tanit and Baal Hammon in Carthage. El Elyon is mentioned as 'God Most High' occurs in Genesis 14.18â€"19 as the God whose priest was Melchizedek king of Salem.
Philo further states that from the union of El Elyon and his consort were born Uranus and Ge, Greek names for the "Heaven" and the "Earth". This closely parallels the opening verse of Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God (Elohim) created the Heavens (Shemayim) and the Earth (Eretz)." This also has parallels with the story of the Babylonian Anunaki (i.e. = "Heaven and Earth"; Shamayim and Eretz) too.
Abrahamic religions
The Enuma Elish has been compared to the Genesis creation narrative. Some writers trace the story of Esther to Babylonian roots.
El Elyon also appears in Balaam's story in Numbers and in Moses song in Deuteronomy 32.8. The Masoretic Texts suggest
- When the Most High (`ElyÅn) divided to the nations their inheritance, he separated the sons of man (Ä€dÄm); he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the sons of Israel
The Septuagint suggests a different reading of this. Rather than "sons of Israel" it suggests the angelÅn theou or "angels of God" and a few versions even have huiÅn theou (sons of God). The Dead Sea Scrolls version of this suggests that there were in fact 70 sons of the Most High God sent to rule over the 70 nations of the Earth. This idea of the 70 nations of Earth, each ruled over by one of the Elohim (sons of God) is also found in Ugaritic texts. The Arslan Tash inscription suggests that each of the 70 sons of El Elyon were bound to their people by a covenant. Thus as Crossan translates it
- The Eternal One (`Olam) has made a covenant oath with us,
- Asherah has made (a pact) with us.
- And all the sons of El,
- And the great council of all the Holy Ones (Qedesh).
- With oaths of Heaven and Ancient Earth.
See also
References
- Moscati, Sabatino (1968), "The World of the Phoenicians" (Phoenix Giant)
- Ribichini, Sergio "Beliefs and Religious Life" in Moscati Sabatino (1988), "The Phoenicians" (by L.B. Tauris in 2001)
- Donald A. Mackenzie, Myths of Babylonia and Assyria (1915).[1]
- Thophilus G. Pinches, The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, The World Wide School, Seattle (2000)[2]
- van der Toorn, Karel (1995). Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. New York: E.J. Brill. ISBNÂ 0-8028-2491-9.Â