THE
RELIGION OF ANCIENT
PALESTINE

IN THE SECOND MILLENNIUM B.C.

In the Light of Archæology and the Inscriptions

By

STANLEY A. COOK, M.A.

EX-FELLOW, AND LECTURER IN HEBREW AND SYRIAC, GONVILLE AND CAIUS
COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE; AUTHOR OF 'A GLOSSARY OF THE ARAMAIC
INSCRIPTIONS,' 'THE LAWS OF MOSES AND THE CODE OF
HAMMURABI,' 'CRITICAL NOTES ON OLD
TESTAMENT HISTORY,' ETC.

LONDON
ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE & CO LTD
1908

PREFACE

The following pages deal with the religion of Ancient Palestine, more particularly in the latter half of the Second Millennium, B.C. They touch upon the problem of the rise and development of Israelite religion; a problem, however, which does not lie within the scope of the present sketch (pp. 4, 114 sq.). The Amarna tablets, Egyptian records, and the results of recent excavation form the foundation, and the available material has been interpreted in the light of comparative religion. The aim has been to furnish a fairly self-contained description of the general religious conditions from external or non-biblical sources, and this method has been adopted partly on account of the conflicting opinions which prevail among those who have investigated the theology of the Old Testament in its relation to modern research. Every effort has been made to present the evidence accurately and fairly; although lack of space has prevented discussion of the more interesting features of the old Palestinian religion and of the various secondary problems which arose from time to time. Some difficulty has been caused by the absence of any more or less comprehensive treatment of the subject; although, from the list of authorities at the end it will be seen that the most important sources have only quite recently become generally accessible. These, and the few additional bibliographical references given in the footnotes are far from indicating the great indebtedness of the present writer to the works of Oriental scholars and of those who have dealt with comparative religion. Special acknowledgements are due to Mr. F. Ll. Griffith, M.A., Reader in Egyptology, University of Oxford; to the Rev. C. H. W. Johns, M.A., Lecturer in Assyriology, Queen's College, Cambridge, and King's College, London; and to Mr. R. A. S. Macalister, M.A., F.S.A., Director of the Palestine Exploration Fund's excavations at Gezer. These gentlemen enhanced their kindness by reading an early proof, and by contributing valuable suggestions and criticisms. But the responsibility for all errors of statement and opinion rests with the present writer.

STANLEY A. COOK.

July 1908.

CONTENTS

CHAP.

I.  INTRODUCTORY:

The Subject—Method—Survey of Period and Sources—The Land and People, . . . 1-12

II.  SACRED SITES:

The Sanctuary of Gezer—Other Sacred Places—Their Persistence—The Modern Places of Cult, . . . 13-23

III.  SACRED OBJECTS:

Trees—Stones—Images and Symbols, . . . 24-32

IV.  SACRED RITES AND PRACTICES:

General Inferences—Disposal of the Dead—Jar-burial—Human Sacrifice—Foundation Sacrifice—Importance of Sacrifice—Broken Offerings—'Holy' and 'Unclean'—Sacred Animals, . . . 33-49

V.  THE WORLD OF SPIRITS:

Awe—Charms—Oracles—Representatives of Supernatural Powers—The Dead—Animism—The Divinity of Kings—Recognised Gods, . . . 50-65

VI.  THE GODS:

Their Vicissitudes—Their Representative Character—In Political Treaties and Covenants—The Influence of Egypt—Treatment of Alien Gods, . . . 66-82

VII.  THE PANTHEON:

Asiatic Deities in Egypt—Sutekh—Baal—Resheph—Kadesh—Anath—Astarte—Ashirta—Sun-deity—(Shamash)—Moon-god (Sin)—Addu (Hadad)—Dagon—Nebo—Ninib—Shalem—Gad—'Righteousness'—Nergal —Melek—Yahweh (Jehovah), . . . 83-97

VIII.  CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT:

Miscellaneous Ideas—The Underlying Identity of Thought—Influence of Babylonia—Conclusion, . . . 98-115

PRINCIPAL SOURCES AND WORKS OF REFERENCE, . . . 116

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE, . . . 118

INDEX, . . . 119

THE RELIGION OF ANCIENT PALESTINE

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY

The Subject.—By the Religion of Ancient Palestine is meant that of the Semitic land upon which was planted the ethical monotheism of Judaism. The subject is neither the growth of Old Testament theology, nor the religious environment of the Israelite teachers: it anticipates by several centuries the first of the great prophets whose writings have survived, and it takes its stand in the second millennium B.C., and more especially in its latter half. It deals with the internal and external religious features which were capable of being shaped into the forms with which every one is familiar, and our Palestine is that of the Patriarchs, of Moses, Joshua, and the Judges, an old land