Canaanite Gods and Religion

Studying the religion of the Canaanites helps us understand the religion of ancient Israel. The Canaanites worshiped many gods. God gave Israel its beliefs and religious practices, but the Israelites lived among peoples who followed other religions. These religions influenced them.

To understand Israel's faith in one God, it is important to understand this setting. The Israelites lived among peoples who worshiped many gods. These beliefs challenged Israel's faithfulness and unity as a nation.

Contact among the many religions of the ancient Near East caused tension. It also led to syncretism (the mixing of religious beliefs and practices). The Arameans and Philistines who settled in Canaan adopted many Canaanite practices. In the same way, when the Amorites moved into Mesopotamia, they accepted many parts of Sumerian religion.

The Hebrews, however, followed a different path. They worshiped one God, who was unique and ruled over all creation. Their God required them to worship him alone. This belief was very different from the other religions of that time.

Until the early 20th century, most knowledge about Canaanite religion came from the Bible. In 1928, many clay tablets were discovered at Ras Shamra, the site of the ancient Syrian city of Ugarit. These tablets gave scholars much new information about Canaanite religious life.

Most of the tablets were written in a cuneiform alphabet, a writing system made with wedge-shaped marks. They used a previously unknown Northwest Semitic language that was similar to Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic. These documents are often called the Ugaritic texts or the Ras Shamra tablets.

The discovery of these texts gave scholars new ways to understand Canaanite religion. The texts included important stories about the gods. They explained the names and roles of the gods and also gave much information about Canaanite society.

Canaanite gods and goddesses had two important features:

Their personalities and roles could change greatly.

The meanings and origins of their names were often easy to identify.

Together with the nature of the stories about these gods, these features show that Canaanite religion was relatively simple and early in its development.

The general Canaanite word for “god” probably meant “the strong or powerful one.” The chief god in the pantheon (the group of gods) was El, whose name meant “the mighty one.”

El was a distant and mysterious figure. He was said to live far from Canaan “at the source of the two rivers,” a place understood as paradise. He apparently had three wives who were also his sisters:

Astarte,

Athirat (Asherah, also called Elat), and

Anath.

El led a divine council, a group of gods who were described as his children. Although the stories say that he killed his own son, he was also called Lutpan, meaning “the kindly one.” He was described as an old man with white hair and a beard.

Baal, the great storm god, was called king of the gods. He was the central figure in the Canaanite pantheon and was much more important in practice than El. Baal served as El’s chief helper and later removed him from power.

The name “Baal” means “lord” and could be used for different gods. Over time, however, the ancient Semitic storm god Hadad became known especially as Baal. Hadad was called the “lord of heaven,” the “one who prevails,” and the “exalted lord of the earth.” He was said to rule over everything else, and his kingdom was described as lasting through all generations.

Baal was also believed to give fertility, meaning the ability of land, animals, and people to produce life. When he died, plants stopped growing and living creatures stopped reproducing. He was also described as a god of justice who brought fear to those who did evil.

Baal was called the “son of Dagon.” Dagon, meaning “fish,” was the chief god of Ashdod (compare 1 Samuel 5:1–7).

The Canaanites explained nature by reference to their gods. Each god represented some force of nature. The moon, sun, important stars, and visible planets were each considered a god or goddess. Baal, seen as god of the thunderstorm, personified the power of all nature.

The Canaanites believed that the actions of their gods explained the changing seasons. The dry season lasted from April until the end of October. They believed this was the time when Baal was dead after losing his battle with Mot each spring. At Ras Shamra, other figures called “the devourers” had a role similar to Mot.

The Canaanites believed that Baal, the god connected with rain and plant growth, returned to life near the end of October. His return marked the beginning of the autumn rains. These rains continued at different times until the following April.

The Canaanites also believed that the land became fertile again each year because Baal and Anath had sexual relations. They copied the sexual actions they believed their chief gods performed as part of their religious practices. For this reason, sexual activity was an important part of Canaanite religious worship.

The three main goddesses were:

Athtarat

Anath

Athirat

They had a complex set of relationships. Athtarat was also called Astarte or Ashtaroth in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 1:4; Judges 2:13, “Ashtoreths” in the Berean Standard Bible). Astarte was identified with Ashtar, or Venus, the evening star.

Anath’s original role is uncertain. Her name appears in the Old Testament in the name of the town Anathoth. She is also connected with Shamgar, who is called “son of Anath.”

Athirat was called Asherah in the Old Testament. She was mainly a goddess of the sea and the wife of El. She was also called Elat, the feminine form of the name El.

All three goddesses were mainly connected with sex and war. Their main role was to have sexual relations with Baal in a yearly cycle. Yet the stories still described them as “virgins.” They were called “the great goddesses who conceive but do not bear.”

The goddesses were also connected with sacred prostitution and were called “the holy ones.” Idols that represented them were often shown without clothing. Some also had exaggerated sexual features. Scholars still debate when and how early religious prostitution was practiced. There is no doubt, however, that both men and women served as temple prostitutes in Canaanite religious worship.

The fertility goddesses were also connected with war. In the Baal Epic from Ugarit, Anath is described as having a violent desire for blood. Egyptian sources from the New Kingdom period describe Astarte as a fierce warrior who rode in battle. She was shown without clothing and carried a shield and spear.

In the King James Version, the name Asherah was translated as “grove.” This followed the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament from the third century BC. Asherah seems to have been represented by a wooden object used in worship. This object was placed at “high places,” or worship sites on elevated ground, beside incense altars and stone pillars.

The Canaanites often struggled to survive. This may have led them to worship gods they believed could provide food and other material needs. They believed that if the gods and goddesses were pleased with their worship, they would receive a good harvest.

Canaanite worship often took place at a religious shrine or “high place.” People offered sacrifices there. Archaeological evidence shows that people sacrificed animals of different sizes at large temple sites such as Beth-shan.

The city of Beth-shan received its name from the temple there. The word beth means “temple,” and Shan was the patron god, or special god, of the city.

Human sacrifice also became part of religious practice in Canaan. Second Kings 3:27 tells about Mesha, the king of Moab. After he was defeated by a group of kings, he sacrificed his son as a burnt offering to his god, Chemosh.

See also Canaan, Canaanite; Gods and Goddesses; Idols, Idolatry.