Early Israel – The Israelites and The Religions

Imge Credit: The Student Bible Atlas by Tim Dowley – Amazon CHAPTER I THE ISRAELITES Image Credit: Detail of a Map from the Student Bible Atlas by Tim Dowley “Israel traced its origin to Babylonia. It was from “Ur of the Chaldees” that Abraham “the Hebrew” had come, the rock out of which it was…

Idolatry in the Old Testament

I recently BEGAN studying Old Testament Kings and Queens, and I noticed a repeating pattern: It seemed that every other king was either building idols and worshiping them or driving them out of his empire. That is an exaggeration, but the worship of idols has been a problem for monotheists–perhaps forever. The Ancient Israelites were…

From Where in the East Did the Magi Come?

Map of the Known World at about the time that Jesus was born. On the following map, Bethlehm is in Israel– south of Jerusalem and  near the Dead Sea. Image Credit: Crystal Links Jesus was born in Bethlehem which, on the above map, is near the top of Judah, which is colored lime green. Judah…

Canaanite Religion – Canaanite Mythology – gods and goddesses

Canaanite religion was a group of ancient Semitic religions practiced by the Canaanites living in the ancient Levant from at least the early Bronze Age to the first centuries CE. Canaanite religion was polytheistic and in some cases monolatristic. It was influenced by neighboring cultures, particularly ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian religious practices. The pantheon was headed by the god El and his consort Asherah, with other significant deities including Baal, Anat, Astarte, and Mot. Canaanite religious practices included animal…