,illustration3 ,cover ,,the ,,religion ,,of ,,ancient ,,palestine ,,in ,,the ,,second ,,millennium ,b4,c4 ,in the ,light of ,archology and the ,inscriptions ,by ,,stanley ,a4 ,,cook1 ,m4,a4 ,,ex-,,fellow1 ,,and ,,lecturer ,,in ,,hebrew ,,and ,,syriac1 ,,gonville ,,and ,,caius ,,college1 ,,cambridge2 ,,author ,,of ',a ,,glossary ,,of ,,the ,,aramaic ,,inscriptions1' ',,the ,,laws ,,of ,,moses ,,and ,,the ,,code ,,of ,,hammurabi1' ',,critical ,,notes ,,on ,,old ,,testament ,,history1' ,,etc4 ,,london ,,archibald ,,constable ,,co ,,ltd #aijh v ,,preface ,the following pages deal with the religion of ,ancient ,palestine1 more particularly in the latter half of the ,second ,millennium1 ,b4,c4 ,they touch upon the problem of the rise and development of ,israelite religion2 a problem1 however1 which does not lie within the scope of the present sketch 7pp4 #d1 #aad sq474 ,the ,amarna tablets1 ,egyptian records1 and the results of recent excavation form the foundation1 and the available material has been interpreted in the light of comparative religion4 ,the aim has been to furnish a fairly self-contained description of the general religious conditions from external or non-biblical sources1 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 research4 ,every effort has been made to present the evidence accurately and fairly2 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 time4 vi ,some difficulty has been caused by the absence of any more or less comprehensive treatment of the subject2 although1 from the list of authorities at the end it will be seen that the most important sources have only quite recently become generally accessible4 ,these1 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 religion4 ,special acknowledgements are due to ,mr4 ,f4 ,ll4 ,griffith1 ,m4,a41 ,reader in ,egyptology1 ,university of ,oxford2 to the ,rev4 ,c4 ,h4 ,w4 ,johns1 ,m4,a41 ,lecturer in ,assyriology1 ,queen's ,college1 ,cambridge1 and ,king's ,college1 ,london2 and to ,mr4 ,r4 ,a4 ,s4 ,macalister1 ,m4,a41 ,f4,s4,a41 ,director of the ,palestine ,exploration ,fund's excavations at ,gezer4 ,these gentlemen enhanced their kindness by reading an early proof1 and by contributing valuable suggestions and criticisms4 ,but the responsibility for all errors of statement and opinion rests with the present writer4 ,,stanley ,a4 ,,cook4 ,july #aijh4 vii ,,contents ,,chap4 ,i4 ,,introductory3 ,the ,subject--,method--,survey of ,period and ,sources--,the ,land and ,people1 4 4 4 #a-ab ,,ii4 ,,sacred ,,sites3 ,the ,sanctuary of ,gezer--,other ,sacred ,places--,their ,persistence--,the ,modern ,places of ,cult1 4 4 4 #ac-bc ,,iii4 ,,sacred ,,objects3 ,trees--,stones--,images and ,symbols1 4 4 4 #bd-cb ,,iv4 ,,sacred ,,rites ,,and ,,practices3 ,general ,inferences--,disposal of the ,dead--,jar-burial--,human ,sacrifice--,foundation ,sacrifice--,importance of ,sacrifice--,broken ,offerings--',holy' and ',unclean'--,sacred ,animals1 4 4 4 #cc-di ,v4 ,,the ,,world ,,of ,,spirits3 ,awe--,charms--,oracles--,representative s of ,supernatural ,powers--,the ,dead--,animism--,the ,divinity of ,kings--,recognised ,gods1 4 4 4 #ej-fe viii ,,vi4 ,,the ,,gods3 ,their ,vicissitudes--,their ,representative ,character--,in ,political ,treaties and ,covenants--,the ,influence of ,egypt--,treatment of ,alien ,gods1 4 4 4 #ff-hb ,,vii4 ,,the ,,pantheon3 ,asiatic ,deities in ,egypt--,sutekh--,baal--,resheph-- ,kadesh--,anath--,astarte--,ashirta ,sun-deity--7,shamash7--,moon-god 7,sin7 --,addu 7,hadad7--,dagon--,nebo--,ninib --,shalem--,gad--',righteousness'--,nerg al --,melek--,yahweh 7,jehovah71 4 4 4 #hc-ig ,,viii4 ,,contemporary ,,thought3 ,miscellaneous ,ideas--,the ,underlying ,identity of ,thought--,influence of ,babylonia--,conclusion1 4 4 4 #ih-aae ,,principal ,,sources ,,and ,,works ,,of ,,reference1 4 4 4 #aaf ,,chronological ,,table1 4 4 4 #aah ,,index1 4 4 4 #aai #a ,,the ,,religion ,,of ,,ancient ,,palestine ,,chapter ,i ,,introductory ,the ,subject4--,by the ,religion of ,ancient ,palestine is meant that of the ,semitic land upon which was planted the ethical monotheism of ,judaism4 ,the subject is neither the growth of ,old ,testament theology1 nor the religious environment of the ,israelite teachers3 it anticipates by several centuries the first of the great prophets whose writings have survived1 and it takes its stand in the second millennium ,b4,c41 and more especially in its latter half4 ,it deals with the internal and external religious features which were capable of being shaped into the forms with which every one is familiar1 and our ,palestine is that of the ,patriarchs1 of ,moses1 ,joshua1 and the ,judges1 an old land which modern research has placed in a new light4 ,successive discoveries of contemporary #b historical and archological material have made it impossible to ignore either the geographical position of ,palestine1 which exposes it to the influence of the surrounding seats of culture1 or its political history1 which has constantly been controlled by external circumstances4 ,although ,palestine reappears as only a small fraction of the area dominated by the ancient empires of ,egypt and ,western ,asia1 the uniqueness of its experiences can be more vividly realised4 ,if it is found to share many forms of religious belief and custom with its neighbours1 one is better able to sever the features which were by no means the exclusive possession of ,israel from those which were due to specific influences shaping them to definite ends1 and the importance of the little land in the history of humanity can thereby be more truly and permanently estimated4 ,method4--,although ,palestine was the land of ,judaism and of ,christianity1 and has subsequently been controlled by ,mohammedanism1 it has preserved common related elements of belief1 which have formed1 as it were1 part of the unconscious inheritance of successive generations4 ,they have not been ousted by those positive religions which traced their origin to deliberate and epoch-making #c innovators1 and they survive to-day as precious relics for the study of the past4 ,indeed1 the comparative method1 which investigates points of resemblance and difference among widely-severed peoples1 can avail itself in our case of ,oriental conservatism1 and may range over a single but remarkably extensive field4 ,from the archology and inscriptions of ,ancient ,babylonia to ,punic ,carthage1 from the ,old ,testament to the writings of ,rabbinical ,judaism1 from classical1 ,syrian1 and ,arabian authors to the observations of medieval and modern travellers1 one may accumulate a store of evidence which is mutually illustrative or supplementary4 ,but it would be incorrect to assume that every modern belief or rite in ,palestine1 for example1 necessarily represents the old religion3 there have been reversion and retrogression2 some old practices have disappeared1 others have been modified or have received a new interpretation4 ,this warning is necessary1 because one must be able to trace the paths traversed by the several rites and beliefs which have been arrested1 before the religion of any age can be placed in its proper historical perspective4 ,unfortunately the sources do not permit us to do this for our period4 ,the ,old ,testament1 it is true1 covers this period1 and its writers frequently #d condemn the worship which they regard as contrary to that of their national ,god4 ,but the ,old ,testament brings with it many serious problems1 and1 for several reasons1 it is preferable to approach the subject from external and contemporary evidence4 ,although its incompleteness has naturally restricted our treatment1 the aim has been to describe1 in as self-contained a form as possible1 the general religious conditions to which this evidence points1 and to indicate rather more incidentally its bearing upon the numerous questions which are outside the scope of the following pages4 ,survey of ,period and ,sources4--,many different elements must have coalesced in the history of ,palestinian culture from the days of the early palaeolithic and neolithic inhabitants4 ,it is with no rudimentary people that we are concerned1 but with one acquainted with bronze and exposed to the surrounding civilisations4 ,the ,first ,babylonian ,dynasty1 not to ascend further1 brings with it evidence for relations between ,babylonia and the ,mediterranean coast-lands1 and intercourse between ,egypt and ,palestine dates from before the invasion of the ,hyksos4#a ,with the expulsion of #e these invaders 7about #aehj ,b4,c471 the monarchs of ,egypt enter upon their great campaigns in ,western ,asia1 and ,palestine comes before us in the clear light of history4 ,the ,egyptian records of the ,eighteenth to ,twentieth ,dynasties furnish valuable information on the history of our period4 ,babylonia and ,assyria lie in the background1 and the rival parties are the kingdom of the ,nile and the non-,semitic peoples of ,north ,syria and ,asia ,minor 7',hittites'7 whose influence can probably be traced as far south as ,jerusalem4 ,under ,thutmose ,,iii4 7fifteenth century7 ,egypt became the queen of the known world and the meeting-place of its trade and culture4 ,but the northern peoples only awaited their opportunity1 and fresh campaigns were necessary before ,amenhotep ,,iii4 7about #adjj ,b4,c47 again secured the supremacy of ,egypt4 ,his successor1 the idealist ,amenhotep ,,iv4 7or ,ikhnaton71 is renowned for his temporary religious reform1 and1 at a time when ,egypt's king was almost universally recognised1 he established in ,egypt what was practically a universal god4 ,meanwhile1 amid internal confusion in ,egypt1 ,hittites pressed downwards from ,asia ,minor1 seriously weakening the earlier ,hittite kingdom of ,mitanni 7,north ,syria and ,mesopotamia74 ,the cuneiform tablets discovered in #ahhg #f at ,el-,amarna in ,middle ,egypt contain a portion of the diplomatic correspondence between ,western ,asia 7from ,babylonia to ,cyprus7 and the two ,amenhoteps1 and a few tablets in the same script and of about the same age have since been unearthed at ,lachish and ,taanach4 ,it is at this age that we meet with the restless ,khabiri1 a name which suggests a connection with that of the ',hebrews4' ,the progress of this later ,hittite invasion cannot be clearly traced2 at all events1 ,sety ,i4 7,sethos1 about #acbj ,b4,c47 was obliged to recommence the work of his predecessors1 but recovered little more than ,palestine4 ,ramses ,,ii41 after much fighting1 was able to conclude a treaty with the ,hittites 7about #abij71 the ,egyptian version of which is now being supplemented by the ,hittite records of the proceedings4 ,nevertheless1 his successor1 ,merneptah1 claims conquests extending from ,gezer to the ,hittites1 and among those who 'salaamed' 7lit4 said 'peace'7 he includes the people 7or tribe7 ,israel4 #a ,for approximate dates1 see the ,chronological ,table4 ,the active intercourse with the ,aegean ,isles during this age can be traced from ,asia ,minor to ,egypt 7notably at ,el-,amarna71 and movements in the ,levant had accompanied the pressure southwards from ,asia ,minor in the time of the ,amenhoteps4 ,a similar combination was defeated by #g ,ramses ,,iii4 7about #abjj72 among its constituents the ,philistines may doubtless be recognised4 ,but ,egypt1 now in the ,twentieth ,dynasty1 was fast losing its old strength1 and the internal history of ,palestine is far from clear4 ,apart from the sudden extension of the ,assyrian empire to the ,mediterranean under ,tiglath-pileser ,i4 7about #aajj ,b4,c471 no one great power1 so far as is known1 could claim supremacy over the west2 and our period comes to an end at a time when ,palestine1 according to the ,israelite historians1 was laying the foundation of its independent monarchy4 ,palestine has always been open to the roaming tribes from ,arabia and the ,syrian desert1 tribes characteristically opposed to the inveterate practices of settled agricultural life4 ,arabia1 however1 possessed seats of culture1 though their bearing upon our period cannot yet be safely estimated4 ,but a temple with an old-established and contemporary cult1 half ,egyptian and half ,semitic1 has been recovered by ,professor ,petrie at ,serabit el-,khadem in the ,sinaitic ,peninsula1 and the archological evidence frequently illustrates the results of the excavations in ,palestine4 ,excavations have been undertaken at ,tell el-,hesy 7,lachish71 at various sites in the lowlands of ,judah 7including ,tell es-,sfy1 perhaps ,gath71 at #h ,gezer1 ,taanach1 and ,tell el-,mutesellim 7,megiddo71 and1 within the last few months1 at ,jericho4 ,much of the evidence can be roughly dated1 and fortunately the age already illuminated by the ,amarna tablets can be recognised4 ,its culture associates it with ,north ,syria and ,asia ,minor1 and reveals signs of intercourse with the ,aegean ,isles2 but1 as a whole1 it is the result of a gradual development1 which extends without abrupt gaps to the time of the ,hebrew monarchy and beyond4 ,chronological dividing-lines cannot yet be drawn1 and consequently the archological evidence which illustrates the ',amarna' age is not characteristic of that age alone4 ,the ,land and ,people4--,for practical purposes a distinction between ,palestine and ,syria is unnecessary1 apart from the political results of their contiguity to ,egypt and ,asia ,minor respectively4 ,egypt at the height of its power was a vast empire of unprecedented wealth and splendour1 and the imported works of art or the descriptions of the spoils of war speak eloquently of the stage which material culture had reached throughout ,western ,asia4 ,even the small townships of ,palestine and ,syria--the average city was a small fortified site surrounded by dwellings1 #i sometimes with an outer wall--could furnish rich booty of suits of armour1 elegant furniture1 and articles of gold and silver4 ,the pottery shows some little taste1 music was enjoyed1 and a great tunnel hewn out of the rock at ,gezer is proof of enterprise and skill4 ,the agricultural wealth of the land was famous4 ,thutmose ,,iii4 found grain 'more plentiful than the sand of the shore'2 and an earlier and more peaceful visitor to ,n4 ,syria1 ,sinuhe 7about #bjjj ,b4,c471 speaks of the wine more plentiful than water1 copious honey1 abundance of oil1 all kinds of fruits1 cereals1 and numberless cattle4 ,sinuhe was welcomed by a sheikh who gave him his eldest daughter and allowed him to choose a landed possession4 ,life was simpler and less civilised than in ,egypt1 but not without excitement4 ,he led the tribesmen to war1 raiding pastures and wells1 capturing the cattle1 ravaging the hostile districts4 ,indeed1 'lions and ,asiatics' were the familiar terror of ,egyptian travellers1 and the turbulence of the petty chieftains1 whose intrigues and rivalries swell the ,amarna letters1 made any combined action among themselves exceptional and transitory4 ,we gather from these letters that foreign envoys were provided with passports or credentials addressed to the ',kings of ,canaan1' to ensure their speedy and safe passage #aj as they traversed the areas of the different local authorities4 ,such royal commissioners are already met with in the time of ,sinuhe4 ,egyptian monuments depict the people with a strongly marked ,semitic physiognomy1 and that physical resemblance to the modern native which the discovery of skeletons has since endorsed4 ,we can mark their dark olive complexion2 the men with pointed beards and with thick bushy hair1 which is sometimes anointed1 and the women with tresses waving loosely over their shoulders4 ,the slender maidens were admired and sought after by the ,egyptians1 and later 7in the ,nineteenth ,dynasty7 we find the men in request as gardeners and artisans1 and some even hold high positions in the administration of ,egypt4 ,the script and language of ,babylonia were still in use in the fifteenth century1 although the supremacy of that land belonged to the past2 they were used in correspondence between ,western ,asia and ,egypt1 also among the ,hittites1 and even between the chieftains of ,palestine4 ,apart from the tablets found at ,lachish and ,taanach1 several were unearthed at ,jericho1 uninscribed and ready for use4 ,but the native language in ,palestine and ,syria was one which stands in the closest relation to the classical ,hebrew of the #aa ,old ,testament1 and it differed only dialectically from the ,moabite inscription of ,mesha 7about #hej ,b4,c471 the somewhat later ,hamathite record of ,ben-hadad's defeat1 and the ,phoenician inscriptions4 ,the general stock of ideas1 too1 was wholly in accord with ,semitic1 or rather1 ,oriental thought1 and the people naturally shared the paradoxical characteristics of the old ,oriental world3--a simplicity and narrowness of thought1 intensity1 fanaticism1 and even ferocity4#b ,to these must be added a keen imagination1 necessarily quickened by the wonderful variety of ,palestinian scenery1 which ranges from rugged and forbidding deserts to enchanting valleys and forests4 ,the life of the people depended upon the soil and the agricultural wealth1 and these depended upon a climate of marked contrasts1 which is found in some parts 7e4g4 the lower ,jordan valley7 to be productive of physical and moral enervation4 ,in a word1 the land is one whose religion cannot be understood without an attentive regard to those factors which were unalterable1 and to those specific external influences which were focussed upon it in the entire course of the ,second #ab ,millennium ,b4,c4 ,we touch the land at a particular period in the course of its very lengthy history2 it is not the beginnings of its religion1 but the stage it had reached1 which concerns us4 #b ,see ,th4 ,nldeke1 ,sketches from ,eastern ,history 7,london1 #ahib71 chap4 i41 ',some ,characteristics of the ,semitic ,race4' #ac ,,chapter ,,ii ,,sacred ,,sites ,the ,sanctuary of ,gezer4--,of the excavations in ,palestine none have been so prolific or so fully described as those undertaken by ,mr4 ,macalister on behalf of the ,palestine ,exploration ,fund at ,gezer4 ,this ancient site lies about eighteen miles ,w4,n4,w4 of ,jerusalem1 and1 between its two knolls1 on a commanding position1 one of the most striking which ,palestine can offer1 were found the remains of a sanctuary whose history must have extended over several centuries4 ,gezer itself has thrown the strongest light upon the religion of the land1 and a brief description of its now famous 'high-place' will form a convenient introduction to the cult and ritual of the period4 ,looking eastwards we face eight rough monoliths1 which stretch in a slightly concave line1 about #ge feet in length1 from north to south4 ,they are erected upon a platform of stones about #ad #h feet wide2 they vary from #e- ft4 to #aj ft4 in height1 and have uniformly a fairer surface on the western 7front7 than on the eastern side4 ,number #a1 on the extreme right1 is the largest 7#aj ft4 #b in4 high1 and #d ft4 #g in4 by #b ft4 #f in474 ,next 7,no4 #b71 stands the smallest 7#e ft4 #e in4 high1 #a ft4 #b in4 by #a ft4 #i in471 whose pointed top with polished spots on the surface speaks of the reverent anointing1 stroking and kissing which holy stones still enjoy at the present day4 ,no4 #g1 the last but one on our extreme left1 is of a limestone found around ,jerusalem and in other districts1 but not in the neighbourhood of ,gezer4 ,under what circumstances this stone was brought hither can only be conjectured 7see p4 #hj74 ,the pillar 7#g ft4 #c in4 high1 #b ft4 #aj in4 by #a ft4 #c in47 bears upon its front surface a peculiar curved groove2 ,no4 #a1 too1 has a groove across the top1 and four in all have hollows or cup-marks upon their surfaces4 ,nos4 #d and #h are more carefully shaped than the rest1 and the latter stands in a circular socket1 and is flanked on either side by the stumps of two broken pillars4 ,yet another stone lay fallen to the south of ,no4 #a1 and there is some reason to suppose that this and the unique ,no4 #b belonged to the earliest stage in the history of the sanctuary4 ,in front of ,nos4 #e #ae and #f is a square stone block 7#f ft4 #a in4 by #e ft4 by #b ft4 #f in471 with a cavity 7#b ft4 #aj in4 by #a ft4 #aa in4 by #a ft4 #d in472 a curved groove runs along the front 7the western side7 of the rim4 ,it is disputed whether this stone held some idol1 stele1 or pillar2 or whether it was a trough for ritual ablutions similar to those which ,professor ,petrie recognised at ,serabit el-,khadem1 or whether1 again1 it was a sacrificial block upon which the victim was slain4 ,in the area behind 7east of7 these monoliths are entrances leading to two large underground caverns which appear to have been used originally for habitation2 their maximum diameters are about #dj ft4 and #bh ft41 and they extend nearly the whole length of the alignment4 ,the caverns were connected by a passage1 so short that any sound in one could be distinctly heard in the other1 so small and crooked1 that it is easy to imagine to what use these mysterious chambers could be put4 ,in the larger cave a jar containing the skeleton of an infant rested upon a stone1 and close by were the remains of an adult4 ,further behind the pillars was found a bell-shaped pit containing numerous animal and human bones4 ,in a circular structure in front of pillars ,nos4 #g and #h1 the bronze model of a cobra lay amid #af potsherds and other debris4 ,a little distance to the south in a bank of earth were embedded several broken human skulls1 cow-teeth1 etc42 the heads had evidently been severed before burial1 and there was no trace of the bodies4 ,below the whole area1 before and more particularly behind the pillars1 several infants were found buried head-downwards in large jars2 they were mostly new-born1 and two1 as also two older children1 bore marks of fire4 ,finally1 throughout the debris that had accumulated upon the floor of the sanctuary were innumerable objects typical of nature-worship1 representations in low relief of the nude mother-goddess of ,western ,asia1 and male emblems roughly made of limestone1 pottery1 bone1 and other material4 ,other ,sacred ,places4--,scarcely fifty yards to the south of these pillars was a rock-surface about ninety feet by eighty1 covered with over eighty of the singular cup-marks or hollows which we have already observed4 ,one little group surrounded by small standing-stones was connected by a drain which led to a subterranean cave4 ,here1 too1 was another almost concealed chamber1 and the discovery of a number of bones of the swine 7an animal seldom found elsewhere in ,gezer7 gave #ag weight to the suggestion that mysterious rites were practised4 ,although the monoliths of ,gezer do not appear to have lost their sacred character until perhaps the sixth century ,b4,c41 they were not the only place of cult in the city4 ,above1 on the eastern hill1 were the remains of an elaborate building measuring about #ajj ft4 by #hj ft44 ,its purpose was shown by the numerous religious emblems found within its precincts4 ,in two circular structures were the broken fragments of the bones of sheep and goats--devoid of any signs of cooking or burning4 ,jars containing infants had been placed at the corners of some of the chambers2 and below an angle of a courtyard close by1 a pit underneath the corner-stone disclosed bones and potsherds1 the latter bearing upon them the skull of a young girl4 ,at the north-east edge of the plateau of ,tell es-,sfy the excavations brought to light a building with monoliths2 in the debris at their feet were the bones of camels1 sheep and cows4 ,at the east end of the hill of ,megiddo1 ,dr4 ,schumacher found pillars with cup-marks enclosed in a small building about #cj ft4 by #ae ft42 a block of stone apparently served as the sacrificial altar4 ,besides several amulets and small idols1 at one of the #ah corners were jars containing the skeletons of new-born infants4 ,the structure belonged to a great series of buildings about #bcj ft4 long and #adg ft4 broad4 ,at the same site also was discovered a bare rock with hollows2 it was approached by a step1 and an entrance led to a subterranean abode containing human and other bones4 ,at ,taanach1 ,dr4 ,sellin found a similar place of sacrifice with cavities and channel2 the rock-altar had a step on the eastern side1 and close by were a number of flint-knives1 jars with infants 7ranging up to two years of age71 and the remains of an adult4 ,continued excavation will no doubt throw fuller light upon the old sacred places1 their varying types1 and their development2 even the recent discovery of a small pottery model of the faade of a shrine is suggestive4 ,it represents an open fore-court and a door-way on either side of which is a figure seated with its hands upon its knees4 ,the figure wears what seems to be a high-peaked cap2 it is presumably human1 but the nose is curiously rounded1 and one recalls the quaint guardians of the temple-front found in other parts of ,western ,asia4 ,their ,persistence4--,whether the choice of a #ai sacred place was influenced by chance1 by some peculiar natural characteristic1 or by the impressiveness of the locality1 nothing is more striking than its persistence4 ,religious practice is always conservative1 and once a place has acquired a reputation for sanctity1 it will retain its fame throughout political and even religious vicissitudes4 ,the history of ,gezer1 for example1 goes back to the neolithic age1 but the religious development1 to judge from the archological evidence1 is unbroken1 and although there came a time when the city passed out of history1 ,palestine still has its sacred stones and rock-altars1 buildings and tombs1 caves and grottoes1 whose religious history must extend over untold ages4 ,at both ,gezer and ,tell es-,sfy a sacred tomb actually stands upon the surface of the ground quite close to the site of the old holy places4 ,at ,serabit the caves with their porticoes had evolved by the addition of chambers1 etc41 into a complicated series sacred to the representative goddess of the district and to the god of the ,egyptian miners4 ,it is estimated that the cult continued for at least a thousand years4 ,in the neighbourhood of ,petra several apparent 'high-places' have been found4 ,they are perched conspicuously to catch the rays of the morning #bj sun or in view of a holy shrine2 and the finest of them is approached by two great pillars1 #ba to #bb feet high4 ,although as a whole they may be ascribed to #cjj ,b4,c4-#ajj ,a4,d41 their altars1 basins1 courts1 etc41 probably permit us to understand the more imperfect remains of sanctuaries elsewhere4#a ,but independently of these1 from ,sinai to ,north ,syria an imposing amount of evidence survives in varying forms for the history of the sacred sites of antiquity4 ,in the rock-altars of the modern land with cup-marks and occasionally with steps1 with the shrine of some holy saint and an equally holy tree1 sometimes also with a mysterious cave1 we may see living examples of the more undeveloped sanctuaries4 ,for a result of continued evolution1 on the other hand1 perhaps nothing could be more impressive than the ,sakhra of the ,holy ,temple at ,jerusalem1 where1 amid the associations of three thousand years of history1 the bare rock1 with hollows1 cavities1 channels1 and subterranean cave1 preserves the primitive features without any essential change4#b #a ,g4 ,dalman1 ,petra und seine ,felsheiligtmer 7,leipzig1 #aijh74 #b ,r4 ,kittel1 ,studien zur ,hebrischen ,archologie und ,religionsgeschichte 7,leipzig1 #aijh71 chap4 i4 ,chap4 ii4 illustrates primitive rock-altars of ,palestine and their development4 ,the ,modern ,places of ,cult4--,notwithstanding #ba the religious and political vicissitudes of ,palestine1 the old centres of cult have never lost the veneration of the people1 and their position in modern popular belief and ritual affords many a suggestive hint for their history in the past4 ,although ,mohammedanism allows few sacred localities1 the actual current practice1 in ,palestine as in ,asia ,minor1 attaches conceptions of great sanctity to a vast number of places4 ,the shrines and sacred buildings dotted here and there upon elevated sites form a characteristic feature of the modern land1 and there is abundant testimony that they are the recipients of respect and awe far more real than that enjoyed by the more official or orthodox religion4 ,although they are often placed under the protection of ,islam by being known as the tombs of saints1 prophets1 and holy sheikhs1 this is merely a disguise2 and although it is insisted that the holy occupants are only mediators1 they are the centre of antique rites and ideas which orthodox ,mohammedanism rejects4 ,their power is often rated above that of ,allah himself4 ,oaths by ,allah are freely taken and as freely broken1 those at the local shrines rarely 7if ever7 fail2 the coarse and painful freedom of language1 even in connection with ,allah1 becomes restrained when the natives visit their holy place4 #bb ,the religious life of the peasants is bound up with the shrines and saints4 ,there they appeal for offspring1 healing1 and good harvests2 there they dedicate the first-fruits1 firstlings1 and their children1 and in their neighbourhood they prefer to be buried4 ,no stranger may intrude heedlessly within the sacred precincts1 and one may see the worshipper enter barefooted praying for permission as he carefully steps over the threshold4 ,the saint by supernatural means is able to protect everything deposited in the vicinity of the tomb1 which can thus serve as a store or treasure-house4 ,he is supreme over a local area2 he is ready even to fight for his followers against the foe2 for all practical purposes he is virtually the god of the district4 ,some of the shrines are sacred to a woman who passes for the sister or the daughter of a saint at the same or a neighbouring locality4 ,even the dog has been known to have a shrine in his honour1 and the animal enters into ,palestinian folk-lore in a manner which this unclean beast of ,mohammedanism hardly seems to deserve4 ,as a rule the people will avoid calling the occupant of the shrine by name1 and some circumlocutionary epithet is preferred3 the famous sheikh1 father of the lion1 rain-giver1 dwarf1 full-moon1 or 7in case of #bc females7 the lady of child-birth1 the fortunate1 and the like4 ,the shrines are the centres of story and legend which relate their origin1 legitimise their persistence1 or illustrate their power4 ,in the course of ages the name of the saint who once chose to reveal himself there has varied1 and the legends of earlier figures have been transferred and adjusted to names more acceptable to orthodoxy4 ,some of the figures have grown in importance and have thus extended their sphere of influence1 and as difference of sect is found to be no hindrance to a common recognition of the power of the saint1 the more famous shrines have been accepted by worshippers outside the original circle4 ,in course of time1 too1 isolated figures have gained supremacy1 and have superseded earlier distinct authorities1 with the result that the same name will be found under a number of locally diverging types4 ,most conspicuous of all are ,st4 ,george and the ever-youthful prophet ,elijah1 who have inherited numerous sacred places and their cults1 in the same manner as ,st4 ,george has become the successor of ,apollo in the ,greek isles4 ,similarly the ,virgin ,mary1 in her turn1 has frequently taken the place formerly held by the female deities of antiquity4 #bd ,,chapter ,,iii ,,sacred ,,objects ,the modern holy places1 under the care of some minister1 dervish1 or priestly family1 are the scenes of periodic visits1 liturgical unctions1 processions1 the festal display of lights1 etc41 and although in the course of their lengthy history there have been certain modifications1 it is to them that one must look for the persisting religion which underlay the older official cults4 ,the rocks with cup-marks and channels1 the gloomy caves and grottoes1 the mountain summits1 the springs or fountains which still receive the offerings of worshippers1 the holy trees1 the sacred sacrificial stones--these form the fundamental substructure of the land's religion1 and whatever be the true origin of their sanctity1 they continue to be visited when superhuman aid is required4 ,trees4--,it is not the shrines alone which are sacred on the ground that some saint had once #be revealed his presence there2 there are trees 7the terebinth1 and more especially the oak7 which are inviolable because spirits have made them their abode1 or which owe their supernatural qualities to some holy being who is currently supposed to have reclined beneath them4 ,such trees are virtually centres of worship4 ,incense is burned to them1 and they receive sacrifices and offerings2 they are loaded with food1 gifts1 and 7on special occasions7 with lamps4 ,they give oracles1 and the sick sleep beneath their shade1 confident that a supernatural messenger will prescribe for their ailments4 ,they are decked with rags1 which thus acquire wonderful properties2 and the worshipper who leaves a shred as a pledge of attachment or1 it may be1 to transfer a malady1 will take away a rag which may serve as a charm4 ,sacred trees were well known to early writers1 and according to the ,talmud there were some beneath which priests sat but did not eat of their fruit1 remains of heathen sacrifice might be found there1 and the ,jew who sat or passed in its shade became ceremonially impure4 ,it is unnecessary1 however1 to multiply examples of a feature to which the ,old ,testament also attests2 popular belief has universally associated religious and superstitious ideas with those beneficent objects which appear #bf to be as much imbued with motion1 animation1 and feeling as man himself4 ,the sacred tree tends to become conventionalised and is replaced by the trunk or post4 ,as the home of a powerful influence there is an inclination to symbolise it1 and to identify it with the supernatural being1 with the deity itself4 ,the development of the image 7not necessarily female7 from an aniconic wooden post can be illustrated by the pillars representative of ,osiris1 by the head of ,hathor of ,byblos 7p4 #ge sq47 upon a pillar in ,egypt 7,nineteenth ,dynasty71 and by the votive tablets at ,serabit bearing the head of ,hathor mounted upon a pole1 which stands upon a base1 or is flanked by a tree on either side4 ,some tree-like post is evidently intended by the ashrah of the ,old ,testament1 a common object at the 'high-places' during the monarchy4 ,in this case1 the relation between the tree and deity is absolute1 and we shall meet with a goddess of this name 7see below1 p4 #hg74 ,stones4--,the inanimate stone is partly commemorative1 partly representative4 ,in ,palestine we see it marked with the curious hollows which1 when found upon the bare rock1 served1 amid a variety of purposes1 for libations and for the blood #bg of the sacrifices4 ,the erect pillar appears to be secondary1 but dates1 at least in ,serabit1 from before our period4 ,the hollows upon such stones are equally adapted for offerings1 although1 when they are lateral1 it is probable that they were smeared or anointed like the door-posts of a modern shrine4 ,these holes are also transferred to slabs or are replaced by vessels1 while the stone itself is not merely 'the place of sacrificial slaughter' 7the literal meaning of 'altar' in the ,old ,testament71 but embodies the power whose influence is invoked4 ,it is practically a fetish1 the tangible abode of the recipient of veneration4 ,at ,serabit ,professor ,petrie discovered before a stele a flat altar-stone which bore cavities 7,twelfth ,dynasty71 and even in ,abyssinia at ,aksum have been observed great monoliths1 at whose base stood stone blocks with vessels and channels4 ,similar combinations have been found at ,carthage4 ,throughout1 neither the stone nor the significance attached to it remains the same4 ,the sacred stone may lose its value and be superseded1 and it by no means follows that the number of pillars implies an equal number of in-dwelling beings4 ,while the stone develops along one line as an object of cult and becomes an altar1 it takes other forms when1 by an easy confusion of sentiment1 #bh it comes to represent a deity 7of either sex74 ,it is then shaped or ornamented to depict the conceptions attached to the holy occupant1 and when this deity is anthropomorphic1 the pillar becomes a rude image1 and finally the god in human form4 ,it is now clothed and decked with ornaments4 ,thus1 one finds the groove along the top or the bifurcation suggestive of early steps towards the representation of the horns of an animal2 or1 as among the pillars at ,gezer1 one perceives two 7,nos4 #d and #h7 which assume some resemblance to a simulacrum ,priapi4 ,the growing wealth of cult1 the influence of novel ideas1 and the transformation of the attributes of a deity make the history of the evolution of the objects of cult extremely intricate4 ,at the same place and time they may be found in varying stages of development1 and if the interpretation of the several features as they appealed to worshippers is often obscure to us1 the speculations of the contemporary writers cannot always be accepted without careful inquiry4 ,images and ,symbols4--,thutmose ,,iii4 relates that he carried off from ,megiddo and the ,lebanon a silver statue in beaten work2 also some object words are lost with a head of gold1 #bi the staff having human faces1 and a royal image of ebony wrought with gold1 the head of which was adorned with lapis lazuli4 ,although no sacred statues of ,ancient ,palestine have as yet come to light--if they escaped the zeal of later iconoclasts--it would seem that they were of no mean workmanship1 and it may be inferred that they did not differ radically from the gods and goddesses whose outward appearance can be observed on the monuments of ,western ,asia4 ,this inference is supported by the repeated discovery1 in course of excavation1 of representations of a goddess who was evidently the embodiment of life and fertility4 ,a few figurines and numerous small ',astarte-plaques1' with moulds for their manufacture1 prove the prevalence of a mother-goddess and patroness of nature1 essentially identical with that familiar in the old ,oriental religions4 ,the plaques1 which are about #f to #g inches in length1 offer a large variety of types from the coarsest exaggeration of sexuality to highly conventionalised forms4 ,the goddess is generally nude1 but a bronze figurine from ,taanach gives her a conical head-dress and a thin robe reaching down to her ankles4 ,the characteristic type at this city1 however1 depicts a striated crown1 rings on neck and feet1 and is #cj generally suggestive of ,babylonian influence4 ,otherwise1 when depicted with bracelets1 necklace and lotus-flowers1 she resembles the ,egyptian ,hathor2 indeed she is often marked with the ,egyptian uraeus4 ,a specimen from ,tell es-,sfy curiously combines an ,egyptianised form of the goddess with typical ,babylonian five- and six-rayed stars4 ,yet a fourth variety with huge and disfiguring earrings finds its parallels in ,north ,syria and ,cyprus4 ,the occurrence and combination of elements of different origin are instructive for the culture and religion of ,palestine4 ,this fourth type has sometimes a bird-like head1 which recalls a curious example from ,lachish with large ears and hooked nose or beak4 ,a small bronze image of the goddess1 which was found at ,gezer1 among broken lamps and pottery within the area of the pillars1 gives her horns which coil downwards like those of a ram4 ,it is through such development and modification that the horns of the great goddess could come to be regarded as the representation of a crescent moon when philosophical speculation busied itself with the heavenly bodies4 ,the traces of animal attributes take another form in various rude and almost shapeless objects of bronze which have been interpreted1 thanks to a more realistic #ca specimen from the ,judan ,tell ,zakariya1 as models of an amphibious creature with human head and the tail of a fish4 ,here it is natural to see the famous ,derceto or ,atargatis1 well known later as a deity of the ,astarte type1 and1 as an illustration of the evolution of symbols1 it may be added that a splendid ,carthaginian sarcophagus of a priestess represents a woman of strange beauty with the lower part of the body so draped as to give it a close resemblance to a fish's tail4#a #a ,mabel ,moore1 ,carthage of the ,phoenicians in the ,light of ,modern ,excavation 7,london1 #aije71 p4 #adf sq4 and frontispiece4 ,the manifold representations of the ,palestinian 'good goddess' extend over a lengthy period1 and vary in taste and nuance from the crudest of specimens to veritable artistic products of the ,seleucid age4 ,they indicate that the fundamental religious conceptions agreed with those of ,western ,asia as a whole1 and it may be assumed that the conclusions which can be drawn from the figurines and plaques of this deity would apply1 mutatis mutandis1 to others4 ,among other objects which hardly belong to public cult1 but were probably for household or private use1 may be noticed the small idols2 e4g4 one from ,megiddo in the clumsy 'snow-man' #cb technique1 another from ,jericho with the head of a bull4 ,numerous small phalli have also been unearthed4 ,some are roughly carved in human shape1 others approximate the form of a fish4 ,they do not necessarily belong to the cult of any male deity1 but the true significance of these and other small emblems is often uncertain4 ,as with the many small models of the heads of bull1 cow1 or serpent1 or the two small conical stones from the temple at ,serabit1 each with a groove along the base1 it is often difficult to distinguish the fetishes and symbols1 which involve ideas of some relationship with a supernatural being1 from the charms1 amulets1 and talismans1 wherein other religious ideas are involved4 ,the possibility that some of the objects are really toys cannot be excluded4 #cc ,,chapter ,,iv ,,sacred ,,rites ,,and ,,practices ,general ,inferences4--,that the old places of cult had their duly ordained officials may be taken for granted2 even the smallest of them1 like those of to-day1 must have had appointed attendants4 ,the ,amarna letters mention the wealthy temple of ,byblos with the handmaidens of the goddess of the city1 and in ,merneptah's reign we hear of a man of ,gaza who is described as a servant of ,baal4 ,we may be sure1 also1 that the rites and festivals were similar to those usually prevalent among agricultural peoples4 ,the nature-worship of the age can be realised from a survey of the old cults of ,western ,asia1 and from the denunciations of the ,old ,testament1 which prove the persistence of older licentious rites4 ,popular religion often continues to tolerate practices which social life condemns1 and the fertility of crops1 cattle1 and of man himself1 was co-ordinated #cd by an uncontrollable use of analogy in which the example was set by the 'sacred' men and women of the sanctuaries 7kdesh2 ,deut4 xxiii4 #ag1 ,r4,v4 marg474 ,sympathetic magic--the imitation of the cause to produce a desired effect--underlay a variety of rites among a people whose life depended upon the gifts of the soil1 whose religion was a way of life4 ,here1 however1 we are restricted chiefly to some miscellaneous evidence which the excavations suggest4 ,the ,disposal of the ,dead4--,incineration or cremation had been originally practised by a people physically distinct from that among whom inhumation prevailed4 ,the latter innovation has been ascribed to the invading ,semites4 ,subsequently1 in ,carthage1 cremation is found to re-enter1 presumably through foreign influence2 but the two practices co-exist1 even in the same family1 and it is probable that there1 at all events1 cremation was only followed in special circumstances4 ,a large burial-cave at ,gezer with a thick layer of burnt ash proves the lengthy duration of the earlier custom4 ,the same cave was afterwards utilised by those who inhumed their dead1 and thenceforth there is little evolution in the history of early ,palestinian burial4 ,no particular #ce orientation predominates2 the dead are placed upon a layer of stones1 or within cists1 or in pits in the floor of the caverns4 ,both the contracted or squatting and the outstretched attitude occur4 ,from the story of ,sinuhe 7p4 #i71 it would seem that burial in a sheep-skin was also customary4 ,the needs of the dead are supplied by vessels of food1 which occasionally show traces of burning2 drink was more important1 and the large jars sometimes contain small cups for the convenience of the thirsty soul4 ,in the case of a jug with two mammillary projections one is reminded of a type usually associated at ,carthage with the burial of infants4 ,a variety of miscellaneous objects provided for other needs3 weapons1 jewels1 ostrich eggs1 seals1 scarabs1 amulets1 small figures in human or animal form1 etc4 ,especially characteristic of the later tombs are the abundant deposits of lamps4 ,the abode of the dead being one of the centres of the religion of the living1 the tomb always possesses sanctity4 ,the internal arrangements1 with platforms or hewn benches1 will often suggest some burial-ritual4 ,the cup-marks1 which frequently appear near or even in the tomb itself1 like those still to be seen upon ,palestinian dolmens1 could serve for sacrifices or libations1 #cf or to collect the refreshing rain for the soul of the deceased4 ,or1 again1 later usage will suggest that they were planted with flowers which1 like the ',gardens of ,adonis1' symbolised the mysteries of death and revival4 ,often1 the dead are buried beneath the streets 7if the narrow windings deserve that name71 or within the houses1 under circumstances which preclude the foundation-sacrifices to be noticed presently4 ,this feature is scarcely accidental2 it is well known elsewhere1 and was probably intended to keep the spirit of the dead near its former abode1 over which it could continue to exercise a benevolent influence4 ,jar ,burial4--,it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between an ordinary burial and some sacrificial ceremony4 ,the burial of new-born or very young infants in jars1 in or near some sacred locality 7p4 #af sq471 points very strongly to the sacrifice of the first-born to which the ,old ,testament bears witness 7,micah vi4 #g74 ,but where the circumstances make this view less probable1 the special treatment of those who died in early infancy needs consideration4 ,in inhumation and the return of the dead to the ground we are in the midst of ideas associated #cg with 'mother-earth1' the begetter of all things4 ,the burial in a contracted or squatting position might naturally represent the usual crouched posture of the individual as he sat in life-time among his fellows2 it might also point to a belief in the re-birth of the soul of the dead4 ,the jar-burials1 where the infant is inserted head downwards1 are more suggestive of the latter1 and evidence from ,africa and ,asia shows that provision is sometimes made for the re-birth of still-born or very young babes on the conviction that at some future occasion they will enter again into a mother's womb4 ,the numerous emblems of nature-worship and the mother-goddess1 especially at ,gezer1 raise the presumption that the deities of the place were powers of fertility and generation2 and1 just as the shrines of saints to-day are visited by would-be mothers who hope for offspring1 it is not improbable that in olden times those who had been prematurely cut off from the living were interred in sacred sites venerated by the women4 ,this view1 which has been proposed by ,dr4 ,j4 ,g4 ,frazer1 will not apply of course to those jar-burials where human-sacrifice is clearly recognisable4#a #a ,adonis1 ,attis1 ,osiris1 pp4 #gg sq41 #hb sq44 #ch ,human ,sacrifice4--,a gruesome discovery was made in a cistern at ,gezer where1 together with a number of adult skeletons1 lay the upper half of a young girl about sixteen years of age4 ,near the mouth were the decapitated heads of two girls4 ,in another case at ,gezer 7described as a 'foundation deposit'7 the upper half of the skeleton of a youth had been placed with two adults4 ,perhaps we should here include the cases where only a few bones of the deceased were preserved1 e4g4 in one tomb the skull and certain other bones were missing4 ,vessels1 also1 were found containing only one or two human bones3 the patella of an adult1 the calvaria of a skull2 but in the majority of instances they belonged to infants4 ,partial burial of this character has been explained on the theory of cannibalism2 this practice1 often based on the idea of absorbing the attributes of the deceased1 has left scattered traces among the ,semites4 ,but the dismemberment of the dead 7known at ,susa1 ,egypt1 and common to many savage races7 admits of other explanations1 whether1 for example1 we observe the use of bones as amulets 7p4 #ea sq471 or recall the story of the severed ,osiris4 ,in the latter1 however1 it may be suspected that a sacrifice for magical purposes underlies an aetiological #ci legend4#b ,the bank of skulls south of the monoliths of ,gezer 7p4 #af7 may perhaps recall the mound 7or pillar87 of heads which certain ,assyrian kings erected in front of the cities they conquered 7e4g4 ,ashur-nasir-pal ,i474 ,such a deed1 like their holocaust of children after a victory1 was no unmeaning ferocity2 religion entered profoundly into ancient life1 and every war was a 'holy war4' ,the horrid rites in honour of the gods who fought for their followers are to be traced in ,egypt1 ,assyria1 and the ,old ,testament1 and even as late as #cjg ,b4,c4 the ,carthaginians after their defeat of ,agathocles slew the choicest prisoners 'before the altar in front of the holy tent4' #b ,j4 ,g4 ,frazer1 ,adonis1 etc41 pp4 #bgc sq41 #cba1 and especially #cca sqq4 ,here one may perhaps refer to the tradition that the prophet ,isaiah was sawn in half1 hidden as he was in a tree 7comp4 also ,ep4 ,hebrews1 xi4 #cg74 ,the widespread custom of ,foundation ,sacrifice survives in ,palestine when popular opinion requires that blood shall be shed at the inauguration of every important building1 at the breaking-up of unoccupied land1 or at the opening of a new well4 ,thus1 a sheep was sacrificed at the building of a jetty for the landing of the ,german ,emperor at ,haifa in #ahih4 ,the rite is a propitiation to the numen of the place4 #dj ,mohammed in his day tried to prohibit such sacrifices to the jinn1 but the inveterate sentiment is summed up in the words of a modern native3 'every house must have its death1 either man1 woman1 child1 or animal4' ,the animal-victim is recognised as a substitute1 and vulgar superstition still associates with the foundation of buildings some vague danger to human life--if not its loss4 ,traditions of human sacrifice are recorded by medival and older writers1 and excavation has disclosed authentic examples4 ,at ,gezer the skeleton of an adult female had been placed under the corner of a house1 and the bones of infants were often found in or under the walls of houses down to the later ,israelite period4 ,at ,megiddo1 a young girl of about fifteen was laid across a foundation-stone1 and a victim at the foot of a tower in ,taanach was a child scarcely in its teens4 ,a jar with the remains of a new-born infant rested upon a platform in the ,gezer crematorium1 and the evidence allowed the inference that it was a dedicatory sacrifice when the cave was taken over and used for inhumation4 ,infants buried in jars were found1 together with bowls and lamps1 under the foundations in ,gezer as late as the latter part of the ,israelite monarchy1 although a modification had already been #da introduced in the simple deposits of lamps and bowls1 usually at the corners of houses or chambers or under the jambs of doors4 ,if the bowls represent the sacrificial offerings1 the significance of the lamps is uncertain4 ,the victim in the rite had not been burned1 but probably buried alive1 and it may be conjectured that the identification of life and light 7familiar from the ,old ,testament7 underlies the symbolical lamp4 ,the modern ,palestinian custom of hanging lights in shrines1 etc41 in cases of sickness possibly involves the same association of ideas4 ,on the other hand1 the lamps found in tombs naturally recall the widespread custom of lighting the soul on its dark journey1 or of kindling a lamp in the home to enable it to retrace its steps on the anniversary4 ,these purely burial lamps are very well known 7e4g4 in ,carthage71 and they survive in ,palestine to the ,christian age1 when they are inscribed with such distinctive mottoes as ',christ is my light1' or 'the light of ,christ shines for all4' ,the ,importance of ,sacrifice makes itself felt at every sacred site from the enormous quantities of burnt ash before the caves of ,serabit to the similar accumulations upon the summit of ,mount ,hermon4 ,the worshipper believes that the rite #db brings him into contact with the powers who are to be nourished1 invoked1 or recompensed4 ,its prevalence vividly indicates man's dependence upon them throughout the seasons of the year and on the great occasions of life3 birth1 circumcision 7already practised in our period71 marriage and death4 ,underlying the sacrifice is the profound significance of blood4 ,it is the seat of existence2 it has potent virtues whether for protection1 expiation1 or purification2 and the utmost care is taken to dispose of it according to established usage4 ,the fat1 too1 has no less its living qualities1 and since the oldest unguents were animal fats--modern usage is often content with butter--it is probable that anointing originally had a deeper meaning than would at first appear4 ,wanton bloodshed called for vengeance1 and when a ,babylonian king demanded that ,ikhnaton should slay the ,canaanites who had killed his merchants1 and thus 'bring back their blood' and prevent retaliation1 the inveterate blood-revenge of primitive social life finds an early illustration4 ,but as a sacrifice1 the slaughter of human victims1 though perhaps not regular1 was at least not exceptional1 and the frightful bloodshed which the ,old ,testament attests emphasises the difficulties which confronted those teachers #dc of ,israel who would disassociate their national ,god from an inveterate practice 7,ezek4 xvi4 #bj sq41 xx4 #ca74 ,for a striking illustration of the diffusion and persistence of human sacrifice we may refer to ,carthage where the distress caused by ,agathocles in #caj ,b4,c4 was attributed to the wrath of the god to whom the rich had been offering purchased children instead of their own4 ,but there is a general tendency in religion to soften crude rites1 save when a particularly efficacious offering is felt necessary in the midst of some grave crisis1 and of the changes in that background of cult which has survived throughout the history of ,palestine1 the substitution of the animal for the human victim is the most significant4 ,yet1 as we have seen1 the idea of human sacrifice has not entirely disappeared 7p4 #dj74 ,the animal is still recognised as a 'ransom1' and in the present rite of that name loss of human life is averted by the sacrifice of some animal1 and it is explained that the sacrifice will combat and overcome the cause of the impending danger4 ,it would be only logical1 therefore1 to proceed on the assumption that the greater the danger the more powerful and efficacious must be the sacrifice4 ,current beliefs thus #dd afford suggestive hints for earlier usage1 and when we learn that to-day a natural death finds consolation in the thought that it may have been the ransom for another1 we meet with an idea that could be put into practice3 it is no great step to the ceremonies 7observed in ,africa7 which give effect to the conviction that a man's life may be prolonged or his old age recuperated by the actual sacrifice of another human being4 ,it is essentially the same idea when ,egyptian kings1 like ,amenhotep ,,ii4 and ,ramses ,,ii4 slew the prisoners of war that they themselves or their name 'might live for ever4' 7,on the name1 see below1 p4 #fj47 ,sacrificial rites were never irrational1 however difficult it may be to perceive their object1 and from a survey of comparative custom one can sometimes picture the scenes by which they were accompanied4 ,it is only by such means that one can conjecturally explain the discovery near the temple-area at ,gezer of animal bones1 sliced1 hacked1 and broken into fragments1 with no signs of having been cooked4 ,one is tempted to refer to a rite practised by the ,arabs of the ,sinaitic desert towards the close of the fourth century ,a4,d4 ,the old ascete1 ,nilus1 describes a solemn procession of chanting worshippers #de who move around an altar of rude stones upon which is bound a camel4 ,the beast is stabbed1 and the leader drinks of the gushing blood4 ,at once the assembly hack the victim to pieces1 devouring it raw until the whole is consumed--the entire ceremony begins with the rise of the morning star 7in whose honour it was performed7 and ends with the rising sun4 ,was some rite of this kind practised in ,palestine8 ,it must be a matter for conjecture2 the least that can be said is that the scene is not too barbaric for our land and period4 ,broken ,offerings1 e4g4 figurines1 models1 and other articles1 when found deposited in tombs1 have been explained in the light of comparative custom as destroyed or 'killed' to the end that their 'soul' may accompany that of the deceased4 ,but other ideas are evidently involved when the area of the sanctuary at ,serabit proved to be covered with a mass of pottery1 plaques1 bracelets1 wands1 sistra1 etc41 so fragmentary that no single specimen could be pieced together4 ,at ,gezer1 also1 although the plaques of the goddess were fairly tough1 all had been broken1 and apparently with intention4 ,we may compare the modern custom of breaking pottery in fulfilment of a #df vow1 an interesting illustration of which was furnished by the late ,professor ,curtiss from ,bludan on the road from ,zebedany to ,damascus4 ,at a spot1 familiarly known as the 'mother of pieces1' is a rock-platform with cave1 shrine1 sacred grove and hereditary ministers4 ,hither come the women to break a jar when they have gained their one wish1 and it is singular to observe that the traditions which are attached to the custom include the belief that a girl1 the patroness of the shrine1 lies buried there4 ,the likeness to the suggested rites at ,gezer will be noticed 7p4 #cg74 ,but the stories do not elucidate the peculiar treatment of the offerings1 and the usage finds its most probable explanation in the persuasion that things once dedicated or put to a sacred use are 'holy1' and cannot be used for ordinary purposes4 ,we touch upon a fundamental institution embodying a series of apparently paradoxical ideas--the universal 'tabu4' ',holy' and ',unclean4'--,the terms ,holy or ,sacred 7comp4 the ,latin sacer7 are not to be understood in the ethical or moral sense4 ,a holy thing is one which has been set aside1 dedicated1 or restricted2 it is charged with supernatural influence which is contagious2 everything #dg that comes in contact with it also becomes holy4 ,in some cases it is provided that this inconvenient sanctity may be purged2 in others1 the thing has to be destroyed4 ,when the ,talmud says that a ,canonical ,book of the ,old ,testament 'defiles' the hand1 it means that the very sanctity of the book demands that the hand should be ceremonially purified or cleansed before touching anything else4 ',holy and unclean things1' to quote ,robertson ,smith1 'have this in common1 that in both cases certain restrictions lie on men's use of and contact with them1 and that the breach of these restrictions involves supernatural dangers4 ,the difference between the two appears1 not in their relation to man's ordinary life1 but in their relation to the gods4 ,holy things are not free to man1 because they pertain to the gods2 uncleanness is shunned1 according to the view taken in the higher ,semitic religions1 because it is hateful to the god1 and therefore not to be tolerated4' ,sacred ,animals1 in the light of the above1 are those associated with cults which might be regarded as illegitimate4 ,an example is afforded by the pig which enters into the rites and myths of ,adonis1 ,attis1 ,ninib1 and ,osiris4 ,in a cavern south of the monoliths of ,gezer a number of #dh pig-bones lay underneath a shaft which led to the cup-marked surface above 7p4 #af72 the circumstances recall the ,thesmophoria1 the caves and vaults in the ,greek area connected with ,demeter and ,proserpine1 and the use of the pig in mystic rites of chthonic and agricultural deities4 ,in ,palestine and ,syria the animal was used in certain exceptional sacrifices which were recognised as idolatrous 7,isaiah lxv4 #d2 lxvi4 #ag71 and it was an open question whether it was really polluted or holy4 ,if1 as the excavations suggest1 the sacrifice of the swine dates from the earliest inhabitants of ,gezer1 with whom it was also a domestic animal1 it is interesting to observe the persistence of its character as a proper sacrificial animal from pre-,semitic times by the side of the apparently contradictory belief that it was also unclean4 ,the camel bones at ,tell es-,sfy1 also1 are of interest since ,robertson ,smith has shown that the animal 7which became 'unclean' to the ,israelites71 though used by the ,arabs for food and sacrifice1 was associated with ideas of sanctity1 and its flesh was forbidden to converts to ,christianity4 ,the model of a bronze cobra found in a temple-enclosure 7p4 #ae7 might be conjecturally explained1 but it will suffice to remember that #di serpents were and still are connected with spirits both benevolent and malevolent4 ,the recurrence of models of the animal-world1 the numerous representations upon seals of deer1 gazelles1 etc4 7animals connected with ,astarte71 or the predilection for the lion upon objects discovered at ,megiddo need not have any specific meaning for the religious ideas4 ,on the other hand1 the animal-like attributes which appear upon some plaques of the mother-goddess are scarcely meaningless4 ,there is no ground for the assumption that ,palestine was without the animal-deities and the deities with special sacred animals1 which have left their traces in the surrounding lands1 and it would be misleading to suppose that the myths and legends which have grown up around these features account for their origin4 ,the conviction that man was made in the likeness of the gods 7who are therefore anthropomorphic7 implies certain conceptions of their nature1 the development of which belongs to the history of religion1 and in turning next to the spirit-world of ,ancient ,palestine it is necessary that we should be prepared to appreciate a mental outlook profoundly different from our own4 #ej ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,world ,,of ,,spirits ,awe4--,a fundamental sense of awe was felt in the presence of anything unusual or contrary to experience1 and man's instinctive philosophy shaped his ideas from the suggestions of daily life1 accounting for all cases of causation by assimilating them to the intentional acts of voluntary agents like himself4 ,there was no doubt of the existence and influence of surrounding unseen powers2 they must be cajoled1 appeased1 bribed and rewarded4 ,some were inevitably malevolent2 with others man could enter into relations which were mutually beneficial4 ,even at the present day there is no clear distinction between what we should call the natural and the supernatural2 a demon or a saint can appear in human or animal form2 and the marvel or miracle is that which happens to lie outside the intellectual horizon of the individual4 ,the modern phenomena can be traced back through #ea early sources and appear now in grosser and now in more elevated forms2 even the presence of any advanced material culture1 or of more spiritual conceptions of the ,godhead does not annihilate that lower supernaturalism which flourishes uncontrolled among more rudimentary races4 ,it would be unreasonable to suppose that the religion of our period was more free from imprecision than that of more progressive peoples3 the whole routine of life brought the individual into constant contact with unseen agencies1 and the world of spirits involved a medley of beliefs1 more embarrassing to the modern inquirer who seeks to systematise them1 than to the ,oriental mind which has always been able and willing to accept the incredible and the contradictory4 ,man's relations with the spirits whom he shuns or seeks are illustrated in magical practices2 e4g4 incantation1 symbolic magic 7p4 #cd74 ,charms1 on the other hand1 possess a magical virtue which is effective without interference on the part of the possessor4 ,many little objects of this character have been unearthed3 pendants of red coral 7still a prophylactic against the evil eye71 beads 7still supposed to possess curative properties71 small articles cut out of bone #eb 7especially the heads of human femora1 sawn off and perforated74 ,here may be included the occasional jewels 7e4g4 a silver pendant crescent7--amulets and ornaments were closely associated1 and the latter continue to convey ideas which could be regarded as idolatrous 7compare ,gen4 xxxv4 #d74 ,the representations of ,egyptian gods and the ',horus-eyes' should also be mentioned here4 ',eyes' are still on sale in the ,east1 they are expected to be on the watch for evil influences4 ,but the anxiety to avert evil and to procure favour need not involve an intelligent interest in the means employed1 and some of the objects 7when not originally possessed by ,egyptian settlers7 may have as much bearing upon the question of ,egyptian influence upon the religion of ,palestine as the use of foreign 7,phoenician87 formul in ,egyptian magical texts4 ,oracles are obtained at those places where supernatural beings have manifested themselves1 or from their symbols or their human representatives4 ,in the stone enclosures at ,serabit ,professor ,petrie would recognise the sacred places visited by those who worked the mines and hoped for useful dreams4 ,the value attached to visions of the night needs no telling1 and when the #ec ,egyptian king ,merneptah saw in his sleep the god ,ptah offering him the sword of victory1 or when the god ,ashur directed the ,lydian ,gyges to 'lay hold of the feet' of ,ashurbanipal 7i4e4 place himself under his protection71 we perceive among relatively advanced societies important factors in the growth of all religions4 ,divine advice and help could be granted by the statues of the gods3 a cuneiform tablet from ,taanach refers to an omen given by the finger of the goddess ,ashirat1 and the writer asks for the sign and its interpretation4 ,as in the 'nodding' of the gods in ,egyptian records the modus operandi must not be too closely examined4 ,some of the old caverns of ,palestine were certainly used for magical or religious purposes1 and when we find them connected by small and curved passages1 it is not improbable that they were the scenes of oracles1 theophanies1 and the like 7p4 #ae sq474 ,as ,mr4 ,macalister has observed1 apropos of such caverns in the lowlands of ,judah and at ,gezer1 mysterious responses and wonders could be easily contrived1 and would be as convincing to the ignorant as the ,miracle of the ,holy ,fire is to the modern ,russian pilgrim in the ,church of the ,holy ,sepulchre at ,jerusalem4 ,the association of caves and other hidden resorts with the #ed worship of deities and oracles is well-known in other fields 7e4g4 ,greece74 ,susa also had a god of oracles who dwelt in secret retreats1 and other deities whose remote haunts were burned by ,ashurbanipal when he carried them off4 ,the representatives of the supernatural powers include prophets1 priests1 and even kings2 they are also the possessors of supernatural qualities1 the one involved the other4 ,between the modern ,palestinian majnn 7'possessed by the jinn'7 and fakir1 and the prophet of old--contemptuously called 'madman'--the difference is one of degree4 ,the frenzied utterer is capable of incalculable good or harm1 and often enjoys a respect out of all keeping with his merits4 ,his very sanctity places him in a class by himself1 and he is allowed a licence which would not be tolerated in others4 ,an early example of inspiration appears in the story of ,wenamon of ,egypt who visited ,zakarbaal of ,byblos1 probably in the reign of ,ramses ,,xii4 7about #aajj ,b4,c474 ,although the envoy had with him the statue of the great ,egyptian god ,amon1 for nineteen days he received scant courtesy and was unable to obtain the desired interview4 ,at length1 as the king was sacrificing to his gods1 one of his noble youths #ee was seized with ecstasy which lasted the whole night1 and in this state he demanded that 'the messenger of ,amon' be summoned 7for the sequel see below1 p4 #gd sq474 ,prophecy1 as ,dr4 ,frazer has shown1 by means of numerous examples1 is 'a phenomenon of almost world-wide occurrence1' and it is important to remember that the relations between man and the spirit-world are not to be estimated in the light of modern preconceptions4 ,there were orthodox and unorthodox relations1 legitimate and illegitimate communion1 true and false representatives of the supernatural powers2 distinctions were maintained although the evidence is often insufficient for us to appreciate older standpoints4 ,broadly speaking1 it may be affirmed that the test lay in the communal aspect of religion 7whether of clan1 tribe1 or people7 which was opposed to practices which were private or independent of the official cult4 ,the dead1 in their turn1 depart into the mysterious unseen which looms so largely in the thoughts of the living1 and burial and mourning rites are shaped by many different principles depending upon theories of the nature of spirits1 affection for the dead1 the safety of his soul1 fear of malignant influences1 etc4 ,but the #ef interpretation of the religious rites which attended every crisis in life becomes unusually difficult when the community suffer a loss1 and perhaps no other study stands so much in need of careful 'comparative' treatment4 ,unfortunately ,palestine has furnished no funerary texts1 and little direct evidence2 the dead 'go to their fate1' the king of ,mitanni fasts on the day he hears of the death of ,amenhotep ,,iii41 and ,zakarbaal of ,byblos offers to show ,wenamon the tomb where the members of a former embassy sleep 7lit4 lie1 or pass the night74 ,a people accustomed to the annual death and revival of nature might easily formulate theories of the survival of the dead1 and care is accordingly taken to provide for the needs of the deceased 7p4 #ce74 ,but the same thoughts are not necessarily symbolised by the same rites4 ,thus1 cremation1 the earlier custom1 may have been intended to sever the soul from the body1 to destroy the haunting spirit1 or to prevent contamination and contagion4 ,however1 the subsequent use of the ,gezer crematorium by those who practised inhumation involved a continuity of thought1 albeit with some adaptation and adjustment1 since identical conceptions of death and the dead scarcely encircled the two distinct customs4 ,this is instructive for the growth of #eg complex ideas1 and the subsequent prohibition in ,palestine of certain mourning rites may find a probable explanation in their association with cults which were regarded as illegitimate4 ,the attitude of the living towards the dead raises the problem of ancestor-worship and the relation between deified ancestors and gods4 ,in the absence of contemporary evidence from ,ancient ,palestine1 we may notice the inscription of ,king ,panammu of ,north ,syria 7eighth century71 where he acknowledges his indebtedness to his gods1 especially ,hadad1 to whose honour he erects a colossal statue of the deity4 ,the text invokes the god's blessing upon the successor to the throne1 provided that the latter when he sacrifices makes mention of ,panammu's soul with ,hadad or prays that ,panammu's soul may eat and drink with the god4 ,should these duties be neglected1 ,hadad is besought not to accept the sacrifices1 to refuse his requests2 and sleeplessness and other troubles are called down upon the unfilial descendant4 ,it appears from this1 therefore1 that while the dead relies upon the attentions of the living1 and it was necessary that his name should be kept fresh2 the dead could only exert an indirect influence1 and the soul or vital principle1 apart from the body1 could be #eh regarded as potent only through its companionship with the deity4 ,this may be supplemented from ,egypt in the account of the relations between ,ramses ,,ii4 and his dead father1 ,sety ,i4 ,the latter is reminded of the benefits which his son had conferred upon him1 his statue1 and his ka or vital force4 ,these he may still continue to enjoy1 and1 since he now has the companionship of the gods1 ,ramses beseeches him to influence them to grant him a long reign4 ,the deceased king acknowledges the bread and water which had been regularly offered to him2 and relates that he has become a god more beautiful than before2 he now mingles with the great gods1 and he declares that he has successfully interceded on his son's behalf4 ,the dead relied upon his descendants and upon the benevolence of future generations1 and ,egyptian kings 7at least7 hoped to partake of the food offered to the recognised deities4 ,religious and other works were undertaken that the 'name' might 'live4' ,promises and threats were freely made to ensure due attention1 and were usually respected by the living2 but the frequent acts of desecration would indicate that fear of the dead was not necessarily a predominating or lasting feeling1 at all events outside a man's #ei own family4 ,the above-mentioned ,panammu and ,ramses are somewhat exceptional cases since individuals1 distinguished by rank1 sanctity1 or even more ordinary qualifications1 readily acquire distinguished positions in after-life4 ,moreover1 ,ramses1 at all events1 was already a god1 in his life-time1 in accordance with ,egyptian belief1 and all those who had had the advantage of being representatives of the supernatural powers scarcely lost this relative superiority4 ,the protection afforded by famous tombs and the virtues of the dust taken from such sacred spots are recognised to the present day4 ,the venerated shrines regularly found their justification in the traditions which encircled the illustrious occupant3 to violate them was not merely an insult1 it struck a blow at one of the centres of cult and prosperity4 ,unfortunately for the problem1 by the side of the tendency to elevate an illustrious ancestor must be placed the very human and inveterate weakness of tracing for oneself a noble ancestry4 ,like the claim of the modern ,palestinian peasant to be descended from the alleged occupant of the local shrine which he venerates1 every apparent case of ancestor-worship stands in need of a critical examination4 ,as in most problems of religion1 ambiguity of terminology 7viz4 'worship'7 #fj is responsible for much confusion4 ,it must be admitted that there would be a natural inclination for every individual to regard his dead ancestor in the spirit-world as more powerful and influential than himself4 ,if this were so even when there were recognised gods1 it is obvious that allowance must be made for the crucial stages1 before the deities gained that recognition1 and after they had lost it4 ,space prevents any adequate reference to the part which animism has held in the history of ,palestinian religion2 without a recognition of this fundamental factor in all religions much of our evidence would be unintelligible4#a ,when we take the ideas which are associated with the name1 we find that it has magical powers1 its use enlists or confers protection or possession2 it is the nature or essence of the thing which bears it--indeed1 almost identical with it 7comp4 ,is4 xxx4 #bg74 ,hence the meaning of names is always instructive4 ,the supposition that the child who bears an animal-name will acquire something of the quality of the animal in question 7whatever be the original #fa motive7 preserves more than metaphor1 and indicates a stage when man saw little difference between animals and himself4 ,even at the present day it is still believed that the soul of an ancestor can reappear in an animal 7comp4 p4 #ej74 ,in like manner1 the personal names of our period which denote kinship with a deity point to a belief in a physical relationship as natural as the conviction of the modern native when he refers to ,allah in terms which imply that man is in every detail the literal image of the ,almighty4 ,a difference between human and superhuman is scarcely recognised at the present day4 ,the women of the land continue to visit the holy sites to obtain offspring1 and it is freely acknowledged that welis and spirits of the dead can be physical fathers4 ,this absence of any clear dividing-line between natural and supernatural is inveterate4 ,the ,egyptian ,pharaoh of old was both a god and the son of a god1 and a record is preserved of the visit of the god ,amon to queen ,ahmose in the form of her husband4 ,the halo of divinity was perhaps not so distinct as in earlier times1 but in their king the people still saw the earthly likeness of the deity4 #a ,it must suffice to refer to works dealing with primitive religion1 see ,e4 ,clodd1 ,animism1 the ,seed of ,religion 7,london1 #aije71 ,a4 ,c4 ,haddon1 ,magic and ,fetishism 7#aijf71 in this series4 ,the ,divinity of kings was a fundamental belief #fb which reveals itself in a variety of forms through ,western ,asia and ,egypt4 ,the inscriptions of ,gudea1 the code of ,khammurabi1 the ,assyrian records and the praises of the ,pharaohs reflect conceptions which are materialised now in the insignia of the kings1 and now in their costume and toilet4 ,in a ,babylonian myth the royal ornaments lay before the supreme god awaiting the monarch2 in ,egypt the king is the god's ka1 his first-born2 chosen1 created and crowned by the divine father4 ,the kings stood in the closest relationship to the gods2 they were not only the heads of the state1 they were also 7in early ,assyria7 priest-kings1 and in ,egypt theoretically all offerings for the living and the dead were made by the ,pharaoh4 ,all this was neither mere empty formality nor an isolated eccentricity4 ,it is quite in accordance with the powers commonly ascribed to divine representatives1 that the control of the rain and storm is held to depend upon the influence of ,ramses ,,ii4 with the weather-god4 ,it is equally intelligible 7from anthropological evidence7 when the same king caused the gods to take up their abode in the images which had been prepared for them6 ,khammurabi could declare that he carried in his bosom the people of ,sumer and ,akkad1 and #fc the ,pharaoh could call himself the husband of ,egypt1 while ,egypt was 'the only daughter of ,re 7the sun-god7 whose son sits upon the throne4' ,not only was he the incarnation and the son of the deity 7or of all the recognised deities71 but he was the cause of the land's fruitfulness1 prosperity1 and protection4 ,the ,pharaoh1 'the god of all people' 7as he is once called71 received the adoration of his subjects1 and one could sometimes believe that he was more essentially a deity than the gods themselves1 were it not that the subordinate gods always maintained their hold upon the people locally4 ,with all allowance for the difference between conventional and practical religion1 the fundamental relations between land1 people1 ruler and the deity persisted in many related though varying forms1 which are extremely interesting in any consideration of the social changes at the rise of a monarchy and after its downfall4 ,this digression is necessary1 because1 although the practical working of such beliefs as these may perplex us1 the fact remains that they were shared in ,palestine4 ,the petty rulers in the ,amarna letters thoroughly recognise the divine nature of the king who was a god and had the god for his father 7see p4 #gh sq474 ,later1 when ,palestine had its #fd own king1 the ',lord's anointed' was almost as the deity himself 7,ex4 xxii4 #bh1 cp4 #b ,sam4 xiv4 #ag72 king and cult were one 7,hos4 iii4 #d71 and the king's death could be regarded as the extinction of the nation's lamp 7#b ,sam4 xxi4 #ag74 ,not to mention other details1 the ,messianic ideals of the divinely-begotten son and of the ruler whose origin was of aforetime preserve the inveterate belief in the divine ancestry of rulers1 an honour which in other lands continued to be conferred upon rather than claimed by them4 ,recognised gods4--,it is very important to find that the representatives or possessors of divine powers are the worshippers of their deity in life and his inferiors in death4 ,the recognised gods have their definite circles of clients1 and if their human representatives are subsequently worshipped or even deified1 this is a not unnatural development1 especially as the official deities are apt to be at the mercy of political and religious changes4 ,the older gods can be degraded and sink to the rank of demons 7from newer stand-points71 but the petty deities and the lower supernatural beings are as little influenced by external vicissitudes as the lower ranks of humanity with whom they always stand in closer relationship4 #fe ,their persistence in popular belief is as typical as the descent of the more august beings1 although even the latter are understood to retain an influence which those of more recent introduction have not yet acquired or are unable to exert4 ,while the general fundamental conceptions remain virtually unchanged1 they are shaped by the social and political institutions1 for religious and political life formed part of the same social organism4 #ff ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,gods ,their vicissitudes4--,the deities were not originally personifications of any one power of nature2 like the secular heads of small local groups they were the supreme patrons of their little circle4 ,they were usually nameless1 but were known by an epithet1 or were styled 'god' 7el7 or 'lord1 owner' 7baal71 with the corresponding feminine form4 ,each might be distinguished by the name of its locality4 ,the 'god' of ,sidon was otherwise the ',baal' of ,sidon1 the 'goddess' of ,byblos was known as the ',baalath' of the city2 the ,baal of ,tyre was called ,melkart1 i4e4 simply 'king of the city'2 the proper-name of the ,baal of ,harran was ,sin 7the moon-god72 the ,baal of ,heaven1 according to ,philo of ,byblos1 was the ,sun4 ,when ,baal and ,el were used as generic terms1 their application was perfectly intelligible locally2 and when they occur in forty or more place-names1 and numerous old personal names #fg in ,palestine1 it is unnecessary to suppose that they represent two distinct and definite deities4 ,from the old ,palestinian names we learn that the deity is high1 great and good2 he opens1 builds1 heals1 sows1 gathers2 he remembers1 hastens1 helps1 protects1 blesses1 etc4#a ,such conceptions would be generally true of all2 the power of each was not unlimited1 but it extended to all that man usually desired4 #a ,apart from names whose meaning is uncertain 7e4g4 ,jacob-el1 ,god supplants871 the list could be easily enlarged2 a number of names of western 7as opposed to the usual ,babylonian7 type can be gleaned from the records of the ,first ,babylonian ,dynasty4 ,from the general resemblance subsisting between the distinct local gods it was possible to regard them as so many forms of a single god2 and when groups combined and individual gods were fused1 multiplicity of types ensued4 ,the status of a local tutelary was affected when commercial intercourse widened the horizon of both the traveller and the native2 and in the growth of political power and the rise of a kingship the conceptions entertained of the deity's attributes and powers were elevated4 ,through the extension of authority the way lay open to groups of gods who could not be fused1 and equally to the superiority of one national patron deity over the rest4 #fh ,political or other changes led to the promotion of this or the other god1 and prominent or specialised deities in superseding others acquired fresh attributes1 though local divergencies were again necessarily retained4 ,this does not complete the vicissitudes of the gods or the intricacies caused by assimilation or identification4 ,a popular epithet or appellative could appear by the side of the proper deity as a new creation1 or the deity was sub-divided on cosmical and astral theories4 ,the female deity 7whose name may be without the usual distinguishing mark of gender7 could even change her sex2 the specific name could also become employed as a common term for any deity1 and the plural 'gods' could be applied to a single being as a collective representation of the characteristics it embodied4 ,amid the intricate careers of the great names1 the local deities obstinately survived in popular religious life4 ,they have found their parallel in the welis or patrons1 saints and holy sheikhs of the modern shrines 7see pp4 #ba sqq474 ,the modern analogy is instructive in many points of detail1 particularly when we observe the vicissitudes which the occupants of the shrines have experienced4 ,it is natural to ask for the ancient counterparts of the ,allah1 the supreme god in the #fi official religion1 who1 as we have said1 is vague and remote in the practical religious life of the peasant of to-day4 ,a series of well-defined historical events made him pre-eminent over all other gods and goddesses and established ,mohammedanism2 internal and external causes shaped the varying conceptions of his nature1 and gave birth to numerous sects4 ,all the ,oriental religions have this twofold aspect3 the historical circumstances which affected the vicissitudes of the deities1 and the more subtle factors which have influenced forms of belief4 ,but we have no direct information upon the rise of the general conditions in ,palestine during our period1 and such problems as the origin of the term ,el ',god' 7common to all the ,semitic peoples7 belong to the pre-historic ages4 ,their representative character4--,when the gods reign like feudal princes over their principalities their sphere is limited and other districts or kingdoms belong to other gods4 ,residence in an alien land brought one under the influence of alien gods1 whose reality was not denied1 though their power could be variously estimated4 ,at ,serabit1 for example1 the ,egyptians had combined the worship of their god ,sopdu with that of the #gj local 'lady of turquoise1' whom they identified with their ,hathor1 and the caves and temples of both stood side by side4 ,the ,egyptian inscriptions there refer to 'the gods and goddesses of this land1' and an officer1 probably of the ,twelfth ,dynasty1 encourages a cult which was largely utilitarian3 ',offer ye to the mistress of heaven1 appease ye ,hathor2 if ye do it1 it will be profitable to you2 if ye increase to her1 it shall be well among you4' ,some centuries later1 we read that ,ramses ,,iii41 desirous of the precious treasures1 sent clothes and rich presents to his 'mother' ,hathor1 'lady of the turquoise4' ,the relationship between countries and their respective national gods 7cp4 ,judges xi4 #bd7 is frequently illustrated4 ,when ,tushratta1 king of ,mitanni1 writes to ,amenhotep ,,iii41 he ascribes a victory to the weather-god ,teshub 7if that was the native name71 and trusts that his lord ,teshub will never permit him to be angry with his 'brother' the king of ,egypt4 ,similarly1 he prays that the sun-god 7,shamash7 and the goddess ,ishtar may go before his daughter and make her in accord with the king's heart4#b ,on #ga the other hand1 it is 'the gods1' or ,teshub and ,amon 7of ,egypt71#c who will make the present alliance a lasting one1 and his gods and those of his 'brother1' or ,ishtar1 'lady of ladies1' and ,amon who will guard the damsel on the journey and give her favour with the king4 #b ,in the names in chapters vi4 and vii41 the more familiar ,astarte is employed for ,ashtart 7,old ,testament1 ,ashtoreth74 ,where cuneiform evidence is used the ,babylonian form 7e4g4 ,shamash1 ,ishtar7 is usually retained4 #c ,amon1 the predominant god of ,egypt1 owed his rise from an obscure local deity of ,thebes to the political growth of the city4 ,he was then assimilated to ,re 7the solar-orb7 of ,heliopolis4 ,towards the close of the reign of ,amenhotep ,,iii4 ,tushratta despatched to ,egypt1 ,ishtar of ,nineveh 'lady of lands1 lady of heaven1' in pursuance to her oracle 'to the land that ,i love ,i will go4' ,she was doubtless sent to exercise her powers in ,egypt1 and ,tushratta expresses the hope that the king may revere her tenfold more than on the occasion of a previous visit4 ,he also invokes a hundred thousand years and great joy for his 'brother' and himself4 ,there is a parallel to this in the late popular story where ,ramses ,,ii4 sent one of the images of ,khonsu 7moon-god and god of healing7 to cure a ,hittite princess1 the sister of his queen1 of an evil spirit4 ,the god accompanied by a priest was received with all reverence1 the demon was expelled and allowed to depart in peace to the place he desired1 and a great feast was celebrated4 ,indeed1 the #gb ,hittite chief kept the useful god with him for nearly four years1 when1 frightened by a vision of the god flying upwards towards ,egypt1 he restored it to its rightful soil4 ,the very human limitations of the deities render it necessary that some representation or emblem should be employed when their help is required4 ,in political ,treaties and ,covenants the representative gods of the respective countries are invoked as witnesses1 and their curses are expected to fall upon the defaulter4 ,it was generally felt that curses as well as blessings had a very real potency1 and the thrilling denunciations at the end of ,khammurabi's ,code of ,laws and contemporary examples from ,egypt threaten desolation1 hunger1 thirst1 flaming fire1 and the avenging pursuit of the gods4 ,political treaties are instructive for the light they throw upon the ruling powers4 ,in ,esarhaddon's treaty with ,baal1 king of ,tyre 7#fgg-f ,b4,c471 the gods of the latter are ,baal-shamen 7,baal of heaven71 two other specified ,baals1 ,melkart of ,tyre1 ,eshmun and the goddess ,astarte4 ,later1 in ,hannibal's covenant with ,philip of ,macedon1 the ,carthaginian gods are enumerated in two triads1 then follow the gods who took part in war1 and finally1 sun1 moon1 earth1 #gc rivers1 harbours 787 and streams4 ,but the most illuminating example is the ,egyptian version of the treaty 7about #abij71 between ,ramses ,,ii4 and the ,kheta 7,hittites71 the two great rival influences over the intervening lands4 ,here the representative heads of ,egypt and the ,kheta are respectively the sun-god ,re and ,sutekh 7i4e4 ,set1 the ,egyptian equivalent of a weather- or storm-god whose native name can only be conjectured74 ,formerly1 we learn1 'the god prevented hostilities' between the two lands by treaty1 and this new pact is made for 're-establishing the relations which ,re made and ,sutekh made for the land of ,egypt with the land of ,kheta' to prevent future warfare4 ,the thousand gods male and female both of the ,kheta and of ,egypt are called to witness4 ,those of the former are particularly interesting1 they comprise the sun-god lord of heaven1 the sun-god of the city of ,ernen 7also called 'lord of every land'71 ,sutekh lord of heaven1 ,sutekh of ,kheta1 ,sutekh of the city of ,ernen1 and the ,sutekh of various specified cities1 ,antheret 7probably ,astarte7 of the land of ,kheta1 nine gods and goddesses of certain named cities4 ,next come 'the queen of heaven2 gods1 lords of swearing2 the mistress of the soil1 the mistress of swearing1 ,teshker1 the mistress of the #gd mountains1 and the rivers of the land of ,kheta1' and1 finally1 the gods of a ,north ,syrian ally of ,kheta4 ,on the ,egyptian side are ,amon1 the sun-god1 ,sutekh 7here an ,egyptian deity1 see p4 #hc71 the male and female gods of the mountains and the rivers of ,egypt1 of the heavens1 the soil1 the great sea1 the wind and the storms4 ,the treaty also bore a representation of the king of the ,kheta and his queen embraced respectively by ,sutekh the ruler of the heavens1 and a goddess whose name is lost4 ,to the gods of ,palestine there is no reference2 ,palestine did not enjoy political independence4 ,the ,influence of ,egypt4--,our latest source is the ,egyptian account of the visit of ,wenamon to ,byblos to procure cedar-wood from ,lebanon for the sacred-barge of ,amon-,re1 ,king of ,gods 7about #aajj74 ,the human messenger took with him the divine messenger in the shape of a statue of ',amon-of-the-,way1' reputed to confer life and health2 a sacred image upon which no common eye might gaze4 ,when at length ,zakarbaal granted an interview 7see p4 #ed71 he was inclined to ignore the political supremacy of ,egypt1 although he appears to allow that ,amon had civilised ,egypt and thence all lands1 and that #ge artisanship and teaching had come from ,egypt to his place of abode4 ,wenamon1 for his part1 showed that former kings not only sold cedars to ,egypt1 but spent their lives sacrificing to ,amon4 ,even the evidence of 'the journal of his fathers' did not remove the king's reluctance4 ,but the envoy urged the claim of ,amon to be lord and possessor of the sea and of ,lebanon1 and solemnly warned ,zakarbaal3 'wish not for thyself a thing belonging to ,amon-,re1 yea the lion loves his own4' ,ultimately the king sent the wood1 and he commemorated his obedience to ,amon-,re by an inscription which was likely to be profoundly beneficial4 ,for1 as the envoy observed1 should ,byblos be visited by ,egyptians who were able to read the stele with his name 7the all-essential adjunct71 he would 'receive water in the ,west 7the world of the dead where the sun-god descended nightly7 like the gods who are here' 7presumably at ,byblos74 ,although the narrative is written from an ,egyptian standpoint1 the conviction which is ascribed to ,zakarbaal finds a parallel in the familiar story of the journey of ,osiris1 the founder of ,egyptian civilisation1 from the ,delta to ,byblos4 ,even before the ,hyksos period ,egyptian women named themselves after the ,baalath of ,byblos #gf whom they identified with ,hathor and evidently regarded as an appropriate patroness4#d ,the connection between ,egypt and the port of ,lebanon may have been exceptionally close1 but there were ,egyptian settlements at ,gezer1 ,megiddo1 and the north at an equally early age4 ,under the conquerors of the ,eighteenth ,dynasty1 the daughters of the small tributaries were taken into the royal harem1 and the sons were removed as hostages and safely guarded in ,egypt4 ,some of the latter settled down1 others were appointed in due course to the thrones of their fathers1 after having received the necessary anointing-oil from the great king4 ,one of the latter recalls in the ,amarna letters how he had served the king in ,egypt and had stood at the royal gate1 and from the grave-stone of a ,palestinian soldier at ,el-,amarna we may see how settlement upon ,egyptian soil had led to the acceptance of ,egyptian ideas of the other world4 #d ,a4 ,erman1 ,zeitschrift fur ,aegyptische ,sprache1 xlii4 p4 #aji4 ,meanwhile ,palestine and ,syria were under the direction of ,egyptian authorities1 to whose presence the ,amarna letters frequently allude1 and one of the writers quaintly likens the solicitude of a certain official on his behalf to that of a #gg mother or a father4 ,where there were ,egyptians or where princes had been in ,egypt1 some trace of the national religion may be expected1 and it is probable that every military garrison possessed some kind of sanctuary4 ,moreover1 ,thutmose ,,iii4 had dedicated three cities in the ,lebanon district to ,amon2 later1 ,egyptian gods 'dwelt' in the north at ,tunip4 ,a stele1 a few miles south of ,tell ',ashtarah 7cp4 the name ,ishtar7 in ,bashan represents ,sety ,i4 offering a libation to ,amon1 and the pure ,egyptian workmanship points to a strong foreign influence in the locality4 ,ramses ,,ii4 set up a statue of his majesty in ,tunip1 and a city in ,south ,lebanon was called after his name4 ,still descending1 we read that cities were set apart for ,amon-,re in the reign of ,ramses ,,iii41 and this king built in ,canaan 'a mysterious house like the horizon of heavens which is in the sky' 7i4e4 the abode of the sun-god71 with a great statue of ',amon-of-,ramses-ruler-of-,heliopolis1' to which the natives brought tribute1 'for it was divine4' ,elsewhere1 ,ramses ,,iii4 asserts that he built strongholds in ,asia in honour of ,amon1 taxing them year by year to bring their offerings to the ka of the 'lord of gods4' ,accordingly1 down to the first half of the twelfth century the cult of ,amon followed the extension of ,egyptian #gh supremacy1 and although the subsequent political history is obscure1 the story of ,wenamon would indicate that some sixty or seventy years later the prestige of the god's name was not entirely lost4 ,wenamon's claim corresponds to the explicit recognition 7in the ,amarna letters7 that the land belonged to ,egypt's gods2 it was the natural corollary of political extension4 ,like ,zakarbaal and his ancestors1 all the tributary princes were expected to acknowledge the suzerainty of ,egypt's king and his deity4 ,to refrain from sacrificing to the conqueror's gods was one of the signs of open revolt1 as we know from ,assyria and ,babylonia4 ,the king identified himself with the sun1 like the contemporary ,hittite king ,subbiluliuina and other monarchs1 from ,khammurabi 'the ,sun of ,babylonia' who 'caused light to go forth over the lands of ,sumer and ,akkad' to the ,assyrian ,shalmaneser ,,ii4 ,although the result is confusing1 the subordinate chiefs of ,palestine and ,syria were accustomed to the thought4 ,they address the king as their gods1 their ,sun1 the son of the ,sun whom the ,sun loves1 the ,sun in heaven1 the ,sun of the lands1 or the everlasting ,sun4 ,this deified ,sun or ,shamash 7to retain the ,babylonian form7 answers to the ,egyptian ,re or ,amon4 ,so ,abimilki 7,abimelech7 of ,tyre writes1 #gi ',my lord is the ,sun which goes up over the lands daily according to the decision of the ,sun 7,shamash7 his gracious father4' ,and again1 ',i have said to the ,sun1 the father of the king1 my lord1 when shall ,i see the face of the king1 my lord8' ,another writer ascribes his victory to the king's gods and ,sun which went before his face4 ,the chief of ,megiddo1 in a letter interesting for its glosses in the native language1 announces his intentions should the king's gods assist him1 and other writers invoke the god or gods of the king and acknowledge the might of ,shamash4 ,nevertheless1 the identification of the ,egyptian and the ,asiatic sun-god would not1 and probably did not1 prevent them from being regarded as two deities1 and a private tablet at ,taanach not only recognises the god ,amon and the weather-god ,addu1 but even appears to add ,shamash4 ,it is natural to suppose from the identification of the king1 the sun1 and the national sun-god ,amon 7or ,shamash7 that many apparently ordinary rites had a deeper significance1 whether it was the anointing of a vassal or the fasting for a dead monarch 7p4 #ef74 ,the custom of offering sacrifices on behalf of kings is well attested1 and it is possible that the position of divine kings throws light upon the fact that #hj the king of ,cyprus has to explain his failure to send a representative to ,egypt when ,amenhotep was celebrating a sacrificial feast4 ,the ,treatment of ,alien ,gods depends largely upon political relations 7cp4 pp4 #fi sqq474 ,new settlers might add the established deities of the soil to their own4 ,a conqueror might recognise the deities of the district to which he laid claim4 ,the gods of a defeated land were not invariably deposed1 although the ,assyrian kings would sometimes destroy them or present them to their own deities4 ,mesha king of ,moab 7about #hej ,b4,c47 records that he brought before his god certain captured objects of cult1 and it is possible that the pillar at ,gezer which is not of local origin had a history of this kind 7p4 #ad74 ,the ,philistines were dismayed at the 'mighty gods' which the ,hebrews1 in accordance with a familiar custom1 took with them into battle1 and1 on another occasion1 their own gods1 left behind in their flight1 were carried away by ,david 7#a ,sam4 iv4 #h1 #b ,sam4 v4 #ba74 ,the mere capture of the gods was sometimes enough to lead to overtures for peace4 ,but an ,assyrian king would even repair the dilapidated captive deities1 and having inscribed upon them the 'might' of his god and #ha the 'writing of his name' would restore them to a trusted vassal4 ,in ,palestine the petty rulers enjoyed considerable freedom provided they paid their tribute1 and supported their suzerain4 ,we do not learn that ,egypt sought to amalgamate subdued peoples and make of them 'one folk' 7lit4 mouth71 as was claimed by ,tiglath-,pileser ,i4 and other ,assyrian kings4 ,nor do we find that the ,egyptian king sent skilled emissaries to teach 7as ,sargon ,,ii4 says7 'the fear of ,god and the king1' although1 if the reference be merely to the promulgation of the official cult1 this was probably the chief results also of ,egypt's supremacy4 ,on the other hand1 a ,syrian prince who had recaptured his ,sun-god from the ,hittites besought ,amenhotep ,,iii4 7whom he addresses as ',son of ,shamash'7 to put his name upon it as his fathers had done in the past4 ,the text is somewhat obscure1 but the recognition of the ,asiatic ,shamash is clear1 and intelligible on the identification of ,shamash and ,amon-,re4 ,so1 also1 when the king of ,byblos asserts that 'the gods1 ,shamash1 and the ,baalath' of the city had brought about the king's accession1 we have to remember that the goddess had long before been identified with the ,egyptian ,hathor4 ,at a later date1 a stele found north of ,tell ',ashtarah depicts ,ramses ,,ii4 #hb paying homage to a deity whose crown1 horn1 and ,semitic title prove him 7or her7 to be a native deity whom the king evidently respected4#e ,respect for alien gods ceases when they are found to be powerless2 but ,egypt was constantly troubled by her warlike ,asiatics1 and so far from their gods being ignored or rejected1 they entered ,egypt and found an extremely hospitable reception 7see ,chapter vii74 ,asiatic conquerors in ,egypt appear to have been less tolerant4 ,the ,hyksos ruled 'in ignorance of ,re1' and their god 7,sutekh7 was planted in the land2 and1 later1 during the brief period of anarchy when a ,palestinian or ,syrian chief held ,egypt until his overthrow by ,setnakht1 the upstarts 'made the gods like men and no offerings were presented in the temples4' ,we may assume then that the religion of our land remained practically unchanged during ,egyptian supremacy except in so far as this involved the official recognition of the ,egyptian national god and his representative upon the throne4 #e ,zeitschrift des ,deutschen ,palstina-,vereins1 xiv4 p4 #adb1 xv4 p4 #bje4 ,the stele1 known as the 'stone of ,job1' has entered into the worship of a ,moslem place of prayer1 and is appropriately connected with a story of the patriarch1 many traditions of whom are current in this part of ,hauran4 #hc ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,pantheon ,until the necessary evidence comes to light it is scarcely possible to do more than collect a few notes upon some of the gods and goddesses of our period4 ,the most important sources are from ,babylonia1 ,assyria1 and ,egypt2 but some additional information can be gleaned from ,palestinian names1 allowance being made for the fact that a personal name compounded with that of a deity is not enough to prove that the bearer was its worshipper4 ,asiatic ,deities in ,egypt date from before the age of the ,hyksos invasion1 as can be gathered from the history of the mixed cult at ,serabit and from the introduction of ,baalath of ,byblos 7p4 #ge74 ,apophis1 a ,hyksos king1 has left an altar dedicated to his 'father ,sutekh1' who had set all lands under his feet1 and after the expulsion of the ,hyksos1 this foreign deity1 #hd ,egyptianised as ,set 7or ,sutekh71 became firmly established4 ,both ,,sutekh and ,,baal were regarded as essentially gods of battle1 and the latter often occurs in descriptions of the prowess of the ,pharaohs of the ,nineteenth and ,twentieth ,dynasties4 ,thus1 the king is like ,baal in the lands1 mighty in strength1 far-reaching in courage1 strong-horned2 he is like ,sutekh great in might4 ,he is the equal of ,baal1 'his real son for ever1' and he is as ,baal in his hour 7i4e4 of manifestation74 ,when he appears upon the battlefield like ,baal1 his flame consumes the foe1 and ,amon-,re announces to ,ramses ,,iii41 ',i overthrow for thee every land1 when they see thy majesty in strength1 like my son1 ,baal in his wrath4' ,baal is in his limbs2 his roaring is like ,baal in heaven1 and his enemies fall down in fear of him like ,baal4 ,baal was virtually identical with ,sutekh who is represented as a foreign god and is sometimes horned 7e4g4 at ,serabit74 ,a curious scarab shows a winged ,sutekh with horned cap and long streamer standing upon a lion4 ,another foreigner is ,,resheph1 lord of heaven1 lord of eternity1 or governor of the gods2 he is the warrior1 the god of fire and lightning 7subsequently identified with ,apollo74 ,valiant ,egyptian officers are likened to him4 ,he appears on #he the ,egyptian monuments with ,semitic profile1 and conical hat 7or otherwise a fillet7 from which projects the head of a gazelle2 he holds a lance and shield in the left hand1 and in his right a club4 ,according to a magical text his consort was '-t-m1 a deity who seems to be combined with ,shamash in an old ,north ,palestinian place-name1 and may recur in the familiar ,obed 7servant of7 -,edom4 ,in ,egypt ,resheph also formed a triad with ,min 7the old harvest-deity and god of reproduction7 and the goddess ,,kadesh 7'holy'74 ,the last1 whose name suggests the sacred licentious rites of ,asiatic cults 7p4 #cc sq471 is called lady of heaven1 mistress of the gods1 the eye of ,re1 etc4 ,she was assimilated to ,hathor1 and stands nude upon a lion with lotus flowers in her right hand and a serpent in her left2 her head framed with heavy tresses of hair is sometimes surmounted by the sun-disk between two horns4 ,among foreign war-goddesses ,egypt had ,,anath1 well known from ,palestinian place-names4 ,her priesthood at ,thebes is mentioned under ,thutmose ,,iii41 and the favourite daughter of ,ramses ,,ii4 was named 'daughter of ,anath4' ,the deity is represented sitting clothed upon a throne with lance and shield in the right hand and battle-axe in the left2 or holding instead the papyrus sceptre and #hf the emblem of life she stands erect clad in a panther-skin2 her feathered crown sometimes has a pair of horns at the base4 ,she is called lady of heaven1 or of the world1 daughter of the sun1 mother1 etc41 and is often paired with ,astarte4 ,,astarte found a place in several ,egyptian temples4 ,we also hear of her prophets1 and a fragmentary myth apparently describes how1 as daughter of ,ptah1 she entered the pantheon of ,memphis4 ,here1 as we learn from another text1 ,egyptian and foreign deities met together1 and among the latter is a ,baalath ,saphun 7,b4 of the ,north871 whose male counterpart appears in ,baal-,zephon near the ,red ,sea 7,ex4 xiv4 #b7 and the equivalent ,baal-,sapun1 one of the gods of king ,baal 7see p4 #gb74 ,the ,egyptians depict ,astarte with the head of a lioness1 driving her quadriga over the foe2 and as goddess of war she is 'mistress of horses and lady of chariots4' ,but that both ,anath and ,astarte were also dissolute goddesses is recognised in a text which ascribes their creation to ,set4 ,the prevalence of the cult of the goddess of love and war in ,palestine is well known from the references in the ,old ,testament to ,ashtoreth 7an intentional perversion to suggest bsheth 'shame'71 from the place-names1 and from the plaques which #hg indicate numerous minor local types 7p4 #bi74 ,in the ,amarna tablets ,astarte 7or rather the ,babylonian ,ishtar7 coalesces with ,,ashirta who is sometimes written in the plural 7,ashrati74 ,like the place-names ,anathoth 7the ,anaths7 and ,ashtaroth 7the ,astartes71 the different conceptions of the goddess in all her local forms seem to be combined in one term4 ,ashirta appears to have been essentially the goddess of the west4 ,in a text of the ,first ,babylonian ,dynasty she is paired with ,ramman as 'bride of the king of heaven1 lady of exuberance 7or vigour7 and splendour'2 later1 she is called the consort of the 'lord of the mountain1' an appellative corresponding to the ,baal of ,lebanon4 ,in old ,arabia she was the wife of the moon-god1 and the masculine form ,ashir1 on cuneiform ,cappadocian tablets of our period1 seems to be no other than the great god ,ashur himself4 ,her name cannot be severed from the ,ashrah1 but it is not clear whether it was transferred to or derived from the object of cult 7see p4 #bf74 ,the intricacy of the history of the divine-names will be understood when the ,assyrian equivalent of ,beth 7house of7 -,el becomes the name of a deity1 or when the plural of ,ishtar is used of goddesses in general1 or when ,resheph 7above7 in ,hebrew denotes a spark1 #hh flame1 or fire-bolt4 ,but the career of the goddess of love and war is even more complicated4 ,the phonetic equivalent of ,ishtar in old ,arabia was a god 7so perhaps also in ,moab1 ninth century71 and ,ishtar herself appears in ,assyria with a beard and is likened to the god ,ashur1 thus finding a later parallel in the bearded ,aphrodite 7,astarte1 ,venus7 of ,cyprus4 ,the sex of the sun-deity ,,shamash is equally confusing1 for1 although he was lord of heaven 7p4 #gc71 and kings of ,egypt and the ,hittites identified themselves with him1 the deity was female in old ,arabia1 among earlier ,hittite groups1 and probably once1 also1 in ,palestine and ,syria4#a ,place-names compounded with ,shemesh attest the prevalence of the deity1 and around the district of ,gezer lie ,beth-,shemesh and the stories of ,samson 7sun7 wherein solar elements have been recognised4 ,among pastoral and agricultural peoples1 however1 the moon is more important4 ,to the prominence of new-moon festivals and the probable connection between the lunar body and the name ,jericho we must add the moon-god ,,sin1 in ,sinai and the desert of ,sin #hi in the south of ,palestine1 and in the north at ,harran1 where his worship survived to the ,christian era4 ,at ,hamath1 in ,n4 ,syria1 about #hjj ,b4,c41 ,shamash and the moon-god find a place by the side of the supreme ',baal of heaven4' ,later1 at ,nerab near ,aleppo the moon-god is associated with his wife ,n-k-l 7,nin-gal 'the great lady'71 ,shamash1 and ,nusku 7fire-god1 messenger of ,bel74 ,specific ,assyrian influence might be expected at this date1 but the consort's name appears in an ,egyptian magical text1 not later than the ,twentieth ,dynasty1 as the wife of 'the high god' 7here1 the ,sun874#b #a ,h4 ,winckler1 ,mitteilungen der ,deutschen ,orient-,gesellschaft 7,berlin1 #aijg71 ,no4 #ce1 p4 #ec2 id41 ,amarna ,tablets1 ,no4 #bjh1 #a4 #bb 7,knudtzon1 ,no4 #cbc74 #b ,a4 ,h4 ,gardiner1 ,zeit4 f4 ,aeg4 ,spr41 xliii4 p4 #ig4 ,quite as prominent as the sun was the weather-god1 god of storm1 lightning and thunder4 ,known as ,teshub 7p4 #gj71 ,hadad1 ,ramman 7comp4 the ,biblical ,rimmon71 ,adad1 ,dad1 ,bir1 etc41 the form ,,addu1 which was recognised as the god's ',amorite' designation1 is adopted here in preference to the more familiar ,araman ,,hadad4 ,this is supported by the spelling of the name of ,rib-,addi1 king of ,byblos4 ,the interchange of ,baal and ,addu in certain names in the ,amarna letters shows that ,addu could naturally be called ,baal1 and to the ,egyptians he was apparently the ,baal4 ,the importance of #ij the weather-god in the religion of agricultural and pastoral peoples may be illustrated from one of ,khammurabi's curses3 ',may ,adad1 lord of abundance1 regent of heaven and earth1 my helper1 deprive him 7i4e4 the disobedient7 of the rain from heaven and the water-floods from the springs2 may he bring his land to destruction through want and hunger2 may he break loose furiously over his city and turn his land into the heap left by a storm4' ,the gifts of ,addu preserved men from dearth and starvation2 a too plenteous supply brought flood and ruin4 ,thus the god had a twofold aspect1 and his thunder in the heavens1 his fiery darts1 in fact the destructive side of his character made him an appropriate war-god4 ,this aspect of the nature-deity was especially cultivated by warlike peoples4 ,babylonian and ,hittite sculptures depict the god brandishing a hammer with his right hand1 while the left holds up a triad of lightning-flashes or thunder-bolts4 ,on an inscription from ,north ,syria 7eighth century7 ,hadad has horns1 and with this agrees the association of the bull with the god4 ,like all predominant gods he includes a variety of attributes1 and we may conjecture that the small heads of bulls unearthed by the excavations are connected with his worship 7p4 #cb74 #ia ,the inscription in question 7see also p4 #eg7 places ,hadad at the head of a small pantheon with ,el1 ,resheph1 ,r-k-b--el 7steed1 chariot1 or charioteer of ,el7 and ,shamash4 ,in the ,amarna letters one writer calls the king of ,egypt his ,addu1 and ,abimelech of ,tyre1 who likens him to both ,shamash and ,addu1 addresses him as 'he who gives his thunder in the heavens like ,addu4' ,together with this combination it is to be noticed that while ,khammurabi 'the ,sun of ,babylonia' calls himself the mighty bull who gores the enemy1 old ,egyptian scenes actually represent 'the strong bull' breaking down fortresses with its horns or expelling the inhabitants4 ,the ,pharaoh was symbolised by the bull1 and even the ,egyptian sun-god is styled 'the bull of the gods4' ,the animal is doubtless typical of generative force and of strength1 while the union of the attributes of ,shamash and ,addu are intelligible since to the sun and weather man owed the necessaries of life4 ,it is noteworthy that the two deities are prominent in the ,hittite treaty1 where each is called 'lord of heaven' 7p4 #gc71 and1 as early as the nineteenth century1 the ,assyrian compound-name ,shamshi-,adad indicates that they could be easily combined4 ,the name is borne by two kings2 one a 'priest-king' #ib of the god ,ashur1 the other a son of ,ishme-,dagan 7',d4 hears'74 ,dagan 7,,dagon7 has left his traces in place-names and in the ruler1 ',dagan is strong' 7,amarna letters74 ,the deity seems to have been of ,assyrian or ,mesopotamian rather than of ,babylonian origin4 ,it is possible that he was a corn-god4 ,the ,babylonian ,,nebo1 the 'teacher1' can only be recovered from place-names in ,judah and ,moab4 ,,ninib 7native form is uncertain71 both sun- and war-god1 appears in the ,amarna letters in two place-names 7one in the vicinity of ,jerusalem71 and in the personal-name ',servant of ,ninib4' ,the swine was sacred to ,ninib1 as also to ,tammuz and the ,phoenician ,adonis2 but neither of the latter can be traced in our period4 ,,shalem1 in ,jeru-salem 7,uru-salim in the ,amarna letters71 has been identified 7on the analogy of ,jeru-el7 with a god who is known later in ,phoenicia1 ,assyria1 and ,north ,arabia1 and who is perhaps combined with ,resheph on an ,egyptian stele of our period4 ,he was perhaps identified with ,ninib4 ,the antiquity of ,,gad1 the deity of fortune1 can be assumed from place-names4 ,in a disguised form the goddess1 ',fortune' was the guardian-deity of the cities in the ,greek age1 and allusion is made in the ,talmud to the couch #ic reserved for the 'luck of the house4' ,a deified ',righteousness' 7sedek7 has been inferred from a name in the ,amarna age2 it would find a parallel in ',right' and ',integrity' the sons of the ,assyrian god ,sham ash1 and both ',integrity' and ',righteousness' find a place in the ,phoenician cosmogony which1 in spite of its late dress1 preserves many old features which recur in ,hebrew myths4 ,the ,babylonian ,,nergal1 god of war1 burning heat and pestilence1 and ruler of ,hades1 the deity with whom was identified ,saturn 7and also ,mars71 should find a place in the pantheon4 ,a seal from ,taanach describes its owner as 'servant of ,nergal' 7p4 #aaj71 and the king of ,cyprus reports to ,egypt the desolation caused by the god's hand4 ,even as late as the third century ,b4,c4 we hear of a ,phoenician who was his high-priest4 ,as a solar fire-god he had in the west the name ,sharrab or ,sharraph with which the familiar ,seraph may be identified4 ,the god ,el of later ,phoenician myth 7the ,greek ,kronos2 ,saturn7 was depicted with six-wings like the ,seraphim4 ,he was the god to whom children were sacrificed1 whence the story that he had set the example by killing his own4 ,if infants had been slain to ,sharrab in ,palestine1 this would be in harmony with ,nergal's character1 and it may #id be noticed that ,nusku1 who is sometimes associated with ,nergal1 was symbolised by a lamp 7cp4 above1 p4 #da74 ,in the ,old ,testament the grim rites belong to ,molech 7properly ,melek71 but there are independent reasons for the view that the latter was the proper-name of the ,phoenician ,el4#c ,however this may be1 the name ,,melek1 although really an appellative 7'king'71 passes over into a true proper-name2 but it is not clear whether this is the case in our period where we meet with the personal names 'servant of ,melek' 7or1 the king71 ',el is ,melek1' etc4 #c ,m4-,j4 ,lagrange1 tudes sur les ,rel4 ,smitiques1 p4 #ajg sq4 ,it is uncertain whether there is external evidence for the name ,,yahweh 7,jehovah71 the national ,god of the ,israelites4 ,unambiguous examples outside ,palestine appear in ,north ,syria in the eighth century in the form ,yau 7,yahu71 which in one name interchanges with ,el4 ,cuneiform evidence for the name in the ,first ,babylonian ,dynasty has been adduced1 and in the abbreviated ,ya it possibly occurs in 'house of ,ya1' a ,palestinian town taken by ,thutmose ,,iii4 ,further1 in ,akhi-yami 7or1 yawi71 the author of a cuneiform tablet from ,taanach1 an identification with ,akhiyah 7the ,biblical ,ahijah7 is not improbable1 although other explanations are possible4 ,while #ie other writers salute ,ishtar 7or ,astarte7-,washur1 the governor of ,taanach1 with3 ,may ,addu1 or may the gods preserve thy life1 ,ahijah 787 invokes 'the lord of the gods4' ,in the course of his letter he asks whether there is still lamentation for the lost cities or have they been recovered1 and continues3 'there is over my head some one 7who is7 over the cities2 see1 now1 whether he will do good with thee2 further1 if he shows anger1 they will be confounded1 and the victory will be mighty4' ,it is not clear whether these words refer to the divine ,pharaoh or to a deity1 the supreme god whom he invokes4 ,if the latter view be correct1 it is difficult to decide whether the reference be to the ,sun-god1 patronised by the ruling powers 7whether ,egyptian or ,hittite71 or the great ,addu who would be quite in keeping with the allusions to war and victory4 ,some1 however1 would recognise a ,providence1 or1 from their interpretation of the writer's name1 ,yahweh himself4 ,but a single tablet has little evidential value and we can merely mention the possibilities4 ,the preceding paragraphs touch only the fringe of an important subject--the ,palestinian pantheon in and after the ,amarna age4 ,egyptian supremacy involved the recognition of ,amon-,re1 but it is difficult to determine to what extent this deity #if differed from the ,palestinian ,shamash4 ,excavations illustrate the result of intercourse1 especially in the southern part of the land1 but the numerous characteristic scarabs1 and the representations of ,osiris1 ,isis1 ,ptah1 ,sebek1 ,anubis1 and the ever-popular ,bes 7with moulds71 need have no significance for the gods of ,palestine4 ,they may not always be specifically ,egyptian2 ,bes1 for example1 appears to be of non-,egyptian ancestry4 ,further1 a number of the names in the ,amarna letters are neither ,egyptian nor ,semitic1 but of northern origin1 and the name of the king of ,jerusalem1 'servant of ,khiba1' introduces a goddess of the earlier ',hittite' peoples whose influence upon ,palestine is to be inferred upon other grounds4#d #d ,h4 ,winckler 7,mittheil41 ,no4 #ce71 p4 #dh4 ,in ,egypt1 ,babylonia and ,assyria numerous deities of varying rank were venerated by the people4 ,bes1 himself1 in spite of his subordinate position in the pantheon was a favourite among all ,egyptians outside the more elevated classes4 ,the popular beings1 like the popular religious ideas1 are not to be found in royal inscriptions or temple-hymns4 ,the state and the priesthood often refused to recognise them1 but they are to be found not rarely among the #ig personal names of ordinary individuals4 ,this probably holds true also of ,palestine1 and consequently we must not suppose that the influence of foreigners upon the popular cults of the land is to be ignored or that the more honourable names which we have been noticing were the sole claimants to the worship of the peasantry4#e #e ,comp4 ,m4 ,jastrow1 ,religion ,babyloniens und ,assyriens1 i4 p4 #afd sq42 ,h4 ,p4 ,smith1 ',theophorous ,proper ,names in the ,old ,testament1' in ,o4 ,t4 and ,semitic ,studies in memory of ,william ,rainey ,harper1 i4 pp4 #ce-fd 7,chicago1 #aijh74 #ih ,,chapter ,,viii ,,contemporary ,,thought--,,conclusion ,miscellaneous ,ideas4--,although the native literature of our period consists almost entirely of the begging-letters and reports in the ,amarna ,tablets1 yet even from the language addressed to the human representative of the ,sun-,god1 we may gain some idea of the intellectual environment1 some hints1 it may be1 suggestive of the religious thought of the age4#a ,the ,egyptian monarch is addressed not only as king of lands1 king of battle but as a god 7pp4 #fc1 #gh74 ,his commands are as powerful as the ,sun 7,shamash7 in ,heaven2 he is like the ,sun which rises over the lands every day1 and1 as for the rising of the ,sun in ,heaven1 so the writers await the words which come from his mouth4 ,they keep the king's command day and night and acknowledge that the king will curse #ii the man who does not serve him4 ,he who hearkens not to the word of the king1 his lord1 his city and house go to ruin1 and his name will not be in the land for ever2 but 7says the writer1 the king of ,tyre7 the servant who hearkens to his lord1 his city and house flourish1 and his name is unto eternity1 'for thou art the ,sun which rises over me and the wall of bronze which is lifted up for me4' #a ,it need hardly be remarked that the paragraphs classifying the more interesting ideas in the letters from ,palestine and ,syria have been made as literal as possible4 ,the vassals do obeisance seven and seven times2 they prostrate themselves upon breast and back4 7,both attitudes are illustrated in the rather later tomb of ,harmheb47 ,they call themselves the throne on which the king sits1 his footstool1 the dust of his feet and of the soles of his sandals4 ,they are the ground upon which he treads1 the dirt over which he walks2 his yoke is upon their neck and they bear it4 ',whether we mount up to heaven or descend to earth1 our head is still in your hand1' writes one1 and he makes the following striking acknowledgement3 ',i look here and ,i look there and there is no light1 but ,i look to my lord the king and there is light2 and though a brick move away from under its coping1 ,i will not move away from under the feet of my lord4' ,these phrases1 which were evidently popular1 are used by two #ajj other writers4 ,a vassal thus declares his fidelity3 ',i have not sinned in aught against the king my lord1 ,i have not sinned2 may the lord my king know his evil-doers4' ,another seeks the way to his lord1 and from his lord deserts not4 ,a confident vassal prays the king not to take anything to heart2 let not thy heart be pained1 he writes4 ,one writer asks if he is a dog that he should not obey the royal commands1 and a second emphasises his remarks by a repetition of the oath 'as the king1 my lord1 liveth4' ,the king of ,byblos1 who calls his city the king's faithful handmaid1 complains of a deed against his city which had not been done since eternity2 the dogs 7i4e4 his adversaries7 act after their hearts and cause the king's cities to go up in smoke4 ,the fields are like a wife without a husband through lack of sustenance4 ,he himself is caught like a bird in a cage4 ,again1 he is old and stricken with disease2 the gods of ,byblos are enraged1 and the illness is very severe1 but1 he continues1 ',i have opened 7confessed7 my sins to the gods4' ,he declares that since the day he received favour from the king his heart had not changed1 his face is 7fixed7 to serve him2 if the king's heart is for his city 7or1 elsewhere1 if it is on his heart7 let him send help4 #aja ,the vassals write that they stretch out their hand to the king's feet1 or pray that the king may extend his hand unto them4 ,the citizens of ,tunip assert3 'thy city weeps and its tears flow2 there is no seizing of the hand 7help7 for us4' ,the ruler of ,beirut trusts that the royal troops may shatter the heads of the king's enemies1 while his servant's eyes gaze 7i4e4 with pleasure7 upon the king's life4 ,the elders of a city entreat3 ',may the king our lord hearken to the words of his true servants1 and give a present to his servants1 while our enemies look on and eat the dust2 let not the king's breath depart from us4' ,the king is the breath of his vassals' lives2 they rejoice when it reaches them1 for without it they cannot live4 ,the thought was a common one1 and in an ,egyptian text the defeated ,hittites are represented as saying to ,ramses ,,ii4 'in praising the ,good ,god 7i4e4 the king7 ,give to us the breath that thou givest1 lo1 we are under thy sandals4' ,equally interesting are the words of the prince of ,sidon on the receipt of tidings from the king1 'my heart rejoiced1 my head was uplifted and my eyes shone4' ,finally1 the king of ,jerusalem in his letters to his god1 his ,sun1 protests that one has slandered him 7lit4 eaten the pieces74 ,while other writers #ajb disclaim guilt or sin 7khitu71 i4e4 rebellion1 he asserts that he has been loyal 7saduk7 in his dealings4 ,he acknowledges that neither his father nor his mother appointed him in his place1 the king's strong arm has set him up in his father's house1 he has 'put his name upon ,jerusalem for ever1' therefore he cannot abandon its territory4 ,indeed1 his recognition of ,pharaoh's supremacy is unique1 and in one of his communications to the king his ,sun1 after the usual obeisance 7'at the feet of my lord1 seven times and seven times ,i fall'71 he declares that his lord 'has put his name upon the ,east and upon the ,west4' ,the ,underlying ,identity of ,thought throughout the old ,oriental world shows itself alike in ,egyptian texts and in ,hittite tablets from ,boghaz-keui4 ,the literature of ,babylonia1 ,assyria1 and often1 too1 of ,egypt so frequently has analogies and parallels in the ,old ,testament1 that we may assume that similar points of contact would be found1 had we some of the religious writings of the ,palestine of our period4 ,though we do not know how the ,palestinian addressed his gods1 the evidence whether direct or indirect partially enables us to fill the gap4 ,even the simplicity and poverty of ,oriental pastoral life have never #ajc been accompanied by a corresponding inferiority of expression or dearth of religious reflection4 ,an unbiased examination of the external religious literature shows the position which the deities held in the thoughts of their groups of worshippers4 ,religion was quite part of life1 and the same fundamental conceptions underlay the manifold social-religious systems whether tribal or monarchical4 ,to their head each group looked for all the gifts of nature and also for protection and succour2 him they were loyally prepared to sustain1 and they expected a corresponding loyalty on his part4 ,a topical example of the identity of thought is furnished by a hymn of the monotheist ,ikhnaton in honour of ,aton4 ,the deities are largely what circumstances make them2 the extension of ,egypt's empire extended the supremacy of the national-god1 the situation encouraged the conception of a world-god4 ,now1 this domesticated and somewhat weak monarch1 holding himself aloof from politics1 endeavoured to found a cult of the sun-disc which was characteristically devoid of the usual association of the sun with the destructive aspect of the storm- or weather-god4 ,like other individual faiths1 it was stamped with a profound spirit of humanity4 ,ikhnaton's deity #ajd was the sole god1 beside whom there was no other2 the beginning of life1 the creator of 'the countries of ,syria1 ,nubia1 the land of ,egypt'2 the maker of all mankind diverse in speech1 and of all that is upon the earth and on high4 ,it was a despotic and ill-timed monotheism4 ,it introduced a cult which was too far from ordinary worship1 one which threatened to overthrow the old-established deities4 ,what was probably more important was the fact that the deity had not the forceful and dominating attributes of the old sun-god4 ,he was not a god of war1 and1 from the current standpoint1 would be of no avail in the political storms which were beating upon the ,egyptian empire in ,asia4 ,but this remarkable attempt at a reform claims attention especially because the cult was as little upon traditional and specifically ,egyptian lines as was the idea of the beneficent life-giving sun whose rays were not confined to ,egypt alone4 ,as ,professor ,breasted has observed1 the hymn is especially interesting for its similarity in thought and sequence with the late ,psalm civ4 ,there is no evidence1 however1 that any effort was made to spread ,ikhnaton's cult over the ,egyptian dominions in ,western ,asia1 and the possibility of ,asiatic influence upon the shaping of the cult cannot be altogether excluded4 ,we quote a #aje few lines from ,professor ,breasted's translation to illustrate ,ikhnaton's conceptions of the sun-god1 whose worship was one of the most popular in ,babylonia and ,assyria1 who1 indeed1 was regarded there not merely as an illuminator but as a supreme and righteous judge1 the god of truth and justice4 ',when thou risest in the eastern horizon of heaven1 ,thou fillest every land with thy beauty4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when thou settest in the western horizon of heaven1 ,the world is in darkness like the dead4 99 99 99 99 99 ,bright is the earth when thou risest in the horizon1 ,when thou shinest as ,aton by day4 ,the darkness is banished1 when thou sendest forth thy rays4 99 99 99 99 99 ,how manifold are all thy works1 ,they are hidden from before us1 ,o thou sole god1 whose powers no other possesseth1 ,thou didst create the earth according to thy desire1 ,while thou wast alone4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the world is in thy hand1 ,even as thou hast made them4 ,when thou hast risen1 they live4 ,when thou settest1 they die4 ,for thou art duration1 beyond thy mere limbs1 ,by thee man liveth1 ,and their eyes look upon thy beauty1 ,until thou settest4'#b #b ,see further the appreciative account of the reform by ,j4 ,h4 ,breasted1 ,history of ,egypt1 pp4 #cee-cgh4 #ajf ,the ,influence of ,babylonia4--,the fact that ,palestine used the script and language of ,babylonia suggests that it shared other features of its culture4 ,among the ,amarna ,tablets were ,babylonian mythological texts which had been carefully studied or used for reading-exercises in ,egypt4 ,one1 the myth of ,eresh-ki-gal and ,nergal1 narrating the descent of the latter into ,hades1 recalls the story of ,persephone4 ,another1 the myth of ,adapa1 tells how the hero who refused the food and water of life in heaven was denied the gift of immortality4 ,it is inconceivable that ,palestinian speculation did not turn to the mysteries of life and death1 or that a people should acknowledge ,nergal--or any other deity--without some formal beliefs4 ,may we assume1 therefore1 that ,palestinian thought was pre-eminently ,babylonian8 ,the question is as important for our period as for the ,old ,testament1 and1 in the absence of texts wherewith to institute a comparison1 we conclude with a brief account of the bearing of the available evidence upon the problem4 ,the formulated beliefs1 the theology1 and the mythology which all races possess to some degree or other have grown up from that primitive philosophy of man which seeks to explain all that he saw about him4 ,the old question3 #ajg ',what mean ye by this service8' 7,exod4 xii4 #bf7 is typical of the inquiry which ritual 7and indeed all other7 acts invariably demand2 the danger lies in our assuming that the proffered explanations necessarily describe their origin1 and in confusing the essential elements with those which are accidental and secondary4 ,the excavations at ,gezer suggest an illustration4 ,what rites were practised in its caves or in the great tunnel which leads to the subterranean spring cannot be asserted1 but there is a living tradition that the waters of the flood burst forth in the neighbourhood4 ,similar flood-stories can be localised elsewhere4 ,in ,hierapolis water was poured into a chasm below the sanctuary twice a year1 and according to the ,pseudo-,lucian it was here that the waters of ,deucalion's flood were absorbed--hence the rite6 ,but ,melito reports that water was emptied into a well in the city in order to subdue a subterranean demon--evidently some earlier chthonic deity4 ,similar water-rites were known in ,palestine and ,syria as a 'descent' or ,yerd1 and it may be presumed that an echo of the term survives in ',ain ,yerdeh at the foot of ,gezer4 ,we do not reach the root of the matter1 but we can notice the diverse explanations of the same rite 7which probably originated in a charm #ajh to procure rain71 the ubiquity of certain traditions1 their persistence1 and the ease with which they adjust themselves4 ,further1 it is instructive to observe how the rite has been shaped in the ,jewish ,feast of ,tabernacles and has been dressed in accordance with specific religious beliefs 7cp4 ,zech4 xiv4 #af sq474 ,some archological details may next be summarised4 ,an altar at ,taanach1 with protuberances suggestive of horns1 bore in bold relief winged animals with human faces1 lions1 a tree with a goat on either side1 and a small human figure clutching a serpent4 ,though it may belong to the eighth or seventh century1 similar scenes recur upon seals and other objects of all dates4 ,animals 7especially of the deer or gazelle kind7 are common1 either alone or in conjunction with trees or men4 ,man-headed bulls with wings1 sphinxes1 and scenes of combat also appear4 ,the ubiquitous myth of the dragon-slayer finds a parallel in the ,egyptian scene of a foreign god 7,sutekh7 piercing the serpent with his spear1 or in the later grandiose representations of the sturdy boy at ,petra who grips the dragon4#c ,one #aji seal shows a seven-branched tree grasped by two men with the sun and moon on one side and two stags on the other4 ,in a second1 a human figure stands before a kind of pillar which is surmounted by an eight-rayed star4 ,a third had been impressed upon a tablet from ,gezer which bore nineteen distinct objects1 including sun1 moon1 star1 serpent1 fish1 crab1 animals1 etc4 ,some of the signs were at once recognised as zodiacal1 and less elaborate specimens from ,gezer and ,megiddo furnish parallels4 ,but inscribed ,babylonian boundary-stones of our period bear analogous symbols2 they are the emblems of the deities whose powers are thus invoked by the inscription should the land-mark be damaged or removed4 ,the more gods1 the more powerful the charm4 #c ,the former is given by ,f4 ,l4 ,griffith1 ,proceedings of the ,society of ,biblical ,archology1 xvi4 p4 #hg1 the latter by ,a4 ,jeremias1 ,alte ,test41 etc41 p4 #def sqq41 fig4 #aea4 ,such objects with all their ,babylonian associations may in certain cases have been imported or copied from foreign originals2 the scenes could have been absolutely meaningless or even subject to a new interpretation4 ,but it is as difficult to treat every apparently foreign object as contrary to ,palestinian ideas1 as it is to determine how sacrificial and other scenes would otherwise have been depicted4 ,religion found its expression in art2 art was the ally of idolatry1 and the later uncompromising attitude of ,judaism towards #aaj display of artistic meaning implies that the current symbolism1 etc41 reflected intelligible religious conceptions4 ,but it does not follow that these conceptions were everywhere identical4 ,again1 when a scimitar from a tomb at ,gezer resembles that which a priest holds in a sacrificial scene upon a ,gezer seal1 we may suppose that the seal represents a familiar ,palestinian ceremony4 ,but the same type of weapon is found in ,assyria and ,egypt in the age of the ,nineteenth ,dynasty1 and it is therefore impossible to treat it or the scene as distinctively ,palestinian4 ,the ubiquity of the dragon-conflict1 too1 warns us that the same underlying motive will present itself in a great variety of external shapes1 and it is interesting to find that the idea of the slayer as a child actually points away from ,babylonia4 ,features which find their only parallel in the accumulation of ,babylonian evidence are not inevitably of ,babylonian origin4 ,our land was exposed to diverse influences1 an illustration of which is afforded by certain seals with cuneiform characters4 ,the owner of one is styled a servant of ,nergal 7see p4 #ic72 it bears ,egyptian symbols 7those of life and beauty71 and a scene of adoration1 partly ,egyptian and partly ,babylonian in treatment4 ,it has been ascribed to the ,first ,dynasty of ,babylon4 ,later #aaa come the seals of the ,sidonian ,addumu 'beloved of the gods 787' and his son2 on one is an ,egyptianised representation of ,set1 ,horus1 and ,resheph4 ,yet another combines two conventional scenes1 the priest leading a worshipper before a deity 7,babylonian71 a king slaying a kneeling enemy 7,egyptian74#d ,in the presence of such fusion the problem becomes more complex4 ,if1 in the ,greek age1 it is found that ,adonis and ,osiris or ,astarte of ,byblos and ,isis resembled each other so closely that it was sometimes difficult to determine which deity was being celebrated1 the relation between the ,baalath of ,byblos and ,hathor1 or between ,shamash and ,amon-,re could have been equally embarrassing in our period4 ,in fact1 as ,palestine continues to be brought into line with other lands the task of determining specific external influences becomes more intricate4 #d ,see 7a71 ,sellin1 ,tell ,ta'annek1 fig4 #bb1 pp4 #bg sq41 #aje 7,vincent1 ,canaan1 fig4 #aag1 p4 #agj sq472 7b7 ,winckler1 ,altorient4 ,forschungen1 iii4 p4 #agg sq42 and 7c7 ,e4 ,j4 ,pilcher1 ,proc4 ,soc4 ,bibl4 ,arch41 xxiii4 p4 #cfb4 ,finally1 whatever was the true effect of the early ,babylonian supremacy1 both ,palestine and ,syria1 when not controlled by ,egypt1 were influenced by the northern power of ,mitanni and by the ,hittites who preserve distinctive features #aab of their own4 ,according to ,professor ,sayce most of the seals we have been noticing are ,syrian modifications of the ,babylonian type1 and 'the more strictly archological evidence of ,babylonian influence upon ,canaan is extraordinarily scanty4'#e ,it is obvious that one must allow for the direct influence exerted upon the religious conditions from a quarter of which very little is known as yet4 ,the fact that ,babylonian was used in ,palestine and among the ,hittite peoples clearly does not allow sweeping inferences4 ,indeed1 so far from the script or language having been imposed from without1 the people of ,mitanni apparently borrowed the cuneiform script and adapted it to their own language2 while1 in the ,amarna ,tablets1 the native tongue of ,palestine and ,syria has left a distinct impress upon the ,babylonian4#f ,this individuality repeats itself in ,palestinian pottery1 which has neither originality of concept nor fertility of resource4 ,but it has vigour and vitality1 and has not developed into the superior art with which it came into contact4 ,in general the archological evidence shows very #aac clearly that ,palestine was not absorbed by ,babylonian culture1 still less by that of ,egypt4#g #e ,a4 ,h4 ,sayce1 ,archology of the ,cuneiform ,inscriptions 7,london1 #aijg71 pp4 #aea sq4 #f ,for ,mitanni1 see ,sayce1 op4 cit41 p4 #afg2 and for the dialect of the ,amarna letters1 ,zimmern1 ,keilinschr4 u4 d4 ,alte ,test41 p4 #fea4 #g ,cp4 ,vincent1 op4 cit41 p4 #cda 7also p4 #dci and note #a74 ,conclusion4--,recent research gives us a glimpse of the ,religion of ,ancient ,palestine which becomes more distinct as it is found to be in general harmony with ,oriental religions4 ,the picture1 as we see it1 is neither ,egyptian nor ,babylonian1 and if the latter colours it1 this was inevitable1 partly through the still obscure relations under the ,first ,babylonian ,dynasty1 partly 7though indirectly7 through the influence of the northern peoples1 and again partly because both 7as opposed to ,egypt7 are ,semitic4 ,the picture1 nevertheless1 has distinctive traits of its own4 ,by the side of sacred places of cult and rites often cruel and gross appear those indications of loftier elements which prove that we have no mere inchoate nature-worship4 ,this co-existence need cause no surprise4 ,the institutions which combine to make civilisation do not necessarily move at the same rate or in parallel lines1 either with each other or with the progress of religious thought4 ,a variety of stages of development--such as can be observed in a single province of modern ,india--could have been easily found amid #aad conflicting political groups1 or in the presence of foreign mercenaries or settlers4 ,one may also assume that then1 as now1 there were the usual contrasts between the exposed sea-ports and the small inland townships1 between the aristocracy and the peasantry1 between the settled agriculturists and the roaming sons of the desert4 ,the fundamental religious conceptions have from time to time been elevated and ennobled by enlightened minds2 but what ,european culture was unable to change in the age of ,greek and ,roman supremacy1 influences of ,oriental origin could not expel4 ,official cults1 iconoclastic reforms1 new positive religions have left the background substantially unaltered1 and the old canvas still shows through the coatings it has received4 ,our evidence has taken us down through the age of ,egyptian supremacy1 which can be traced to the time of ,ramses ,,iii41 if not to the days of ,wenamon and ,zakarbaal 7#aajj ,b4,c474 ,with the decay of ,egypt we reach the close of a period which corresponds broadly to that wherein ,israelite history has placed the ,patriarchs1 ,moses1 ,joshua1 and the ,judges4 ,the picture which the external sources furnish was not effaced at a stroke4 ,but the transformation from ,egypt's suzerainty to an independent ,israelite monarchy1 #aae from the polytheism of the ,amarna age to the recognition of a single ,god does not belong to these pages4 ,the rise of ,yahweh as the national ,god1 and the development of conceptions regarding his nature must be sought in the native ,israelite records themselves1 and in such external evidence as the future may produce4 ,our task is finished when we point out that the external 7archological7 evidence does not reveal that hiatus which would have ensued had there been a dislocation of earlier conditions by invading ,israelite tribes2 earlier forms are simply developed1 the evolution is a progressive one4#h #h ,cp4 ,r4 ,a4 ,s4 ,macalister1 ',excavation of ,gezer1' ,quarterly ,statements1 #aijd1 p4 #abc2 #aijg1 p4 #bjc2 ,sellin1 op4 cit41 p4 #ajb2 id41 ,der ,ertrag der ,ausgrabungen in ,orient fr die ,erkenntnis der ,entwicklung der ,religion ,israels 7,leipzig1 #aije71 pp4 #cc1 #cf sq41 #ci sq41 see1 in general1 ,vincent1 op4 cit41 pp4 #ai sq41 #adg sqq41 #aii-bjd1 #bbe1 #cde1 #ceb sq41 #dfc sq41 and ,s4 ,a4 ,cook1 ,english ,historical ,review1 #aijh1 pp4 #cbe sq4 #aaf ,,principal ,,sources ,,and ,,works ,,of ,,reference ,for the ,excavations3 ,r4 ,a4 ,s4 ,macalister1 ',reports on the ,excavation of ,gezer1' in the ,quarterly ,statements of the ,palestine ,exploration ,fund 7,october #aijb-,october #aije2 ,july #aijg-;,july #aijh72 id41 ,bible ,side-lights from the ,mound of ,gezer 7,london1 #aijf1 numerous illustrations72 ,ernst ,sellin1 ',tell ,ta'annek1' in the ,denkschriften of the ,vienna ,academy 7#aijd-e72 ,w4 ,m4 ,flinders ,petrie1 ,researches in ,sinai 7,london1 #aijf72 ,hugues ,vincent1 ,canaan d'aprs l',exploration ,recente 7,paris1 #aijg2 a valuable account1 from the archological standpoint1 of the results of excavation contained in the above works and elsewhere72 ,g4 ,schumacher1 ,tell el-,mutesellim 7,leipzig1 #aijh71 vol4 i41 text and plates4 ,evidence from ,babylonian or ,assyrian ,texts3 ,h4 ,winckler1 ,the ,tell-el-,amarna ,tablets 7,london1 #ahif72 new edition by ,j4 ,a4 ,knudtzon1 ,die ,el-,amarna-,tafeln 7,leipzig1 #aijg-h2 ,parts i4-x472 ,h4 ,zimmern1 ,die ,keilinschriften und das ,alte ,testament 7,berlin1 #aijc2 pp4 #cde-fdc72 ,a4 ,jeremias1 ,das ,alte ,testament im ,lichte des ,alten ,orients 7,leipzig1 #aijf72 ,m4 ,jastrow1 ,die ,religion ,babyloniens und ,assyriens 7,giessen1 #aije--74 ,egyptian ,sources3 ,w4 ,m4 ,mller1 ,asien und ,europa nach ,alt-gyptischen ,denkmlern 7,leipzig1 #ahic72 #aag ,j4 ,h4 ,breasted1 ,history of ,egypt 7,london1 #aijf72 id41 ,ancient ,records of ,egypt3 ,historical ,documents 7#aijf-g72 ,zeitschrift fur ,aegyptische ,sprache1 etc4 etc4 ,of general works1 ,w4 ,r4 ,smith1 ,lectures on the ,religion of the ,semites3 the ,fundamental ,institutions 7,london1 #ahid71 is naturally indispensable4 ,important1 also1 are ,g4 ,a4 ,barton1 ,a ,sketch of ,semitic ,origins1 ,social and ,religious 7,new ,york1 #aijb72 ,marie-,joseph ,lagrange1 tudes sur les ,religions ,smitiques 7,paris1 #aije72 ,j4 ,g4 ,frazer1 ,adonis1 ,attis1 and ,osiris3 ,studies in the ,history of ,oriental ,religion 7,london1 #aijg74 ,for ,modern ,semitic ,religion there is a large mass of scattered evidence2 the most illuminating works are those of ,c4 ,m4 ,doughty1 ,arabia ,deserta 7,cambridge1 #ahhh72 ,s4 ,i4 ,curtiss1 ,primitive ,semitic ,religion ,to-day 7,london1 #aijb72 ,a4 ,jaussen1 ,coutumes des ,arabes au ,pays de ,moab 7,paris1 #aijh74 ,for the history of the period may be consulted the works of ,g4 ,maspero 7,histoire ,ancienne2 ,paris1 #aijd1 etc471 or the popular account1 with typical illustrations1 by ,g4 ,cormack1 ,history of ,palestine in ,early ,times 7forthcoming74 ,for those unacquainted with modern comparative study in the field of religion1 one of the most serviceable introductory books is ,j4 ,a4 ,macculloch's ,comparative ,theology 7,churchman's ,library1 ,london1 #aijb74 #aah ,,chronological ,,table ,the following dates are based upon the latest researches1 but are to be regarded as provisional4 ,some ,biblical dates are added for comparison1 those marked with an asterisk follow the margin of the ,authorised ,version4 ,,first ,,babylonian ,,dynasty 7the ',khammurabi age'7 between 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #bjfj-ahjj ,b4,c4 ,,twelfth ,,egyptian ,,dynasty1 began about 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #bjjj4 ,abram enters ,canaan 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #aiba994 ,descent of ,jacob into ,egypt 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #agjf994 ,hyksos invasion of ,egypt1 about 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #afhj4 ,,eighteenth ,,egyptian ,,dynasty 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #aehj-acej4 ,thutmose ,,iii4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #aejj4 ,exodus of ,israel 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #adia994 ,invasion of ,palestine 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #adea994 ,amenhotep ,,iii4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #adaa4 ,amenhotep ,,iv4 7,ikhnaton7 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #acge4 ,,nineteenth ,,egyptian ,,dynasty 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #acej-abjj4 ,sety ,i4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #acbj4 ,ramses ,,ii4 78 ,pharaoh of the oppression1 ,exod4 i4 #aa7 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #acaj4 ,merneptah 78 ,pharaoh of the ,exodus2 defeats ,israel in ,palestine7 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #abdd4 ,,twentieth ,,egyptian ,,dynasty 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #abjj-ajij4 ,ramses ,,iii4 7first mention of ,philistines7 4 4 4 4 4 #abjj-aafi4 ,ramses ,,xii4 78 age of ,eli7 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #aaah4 ,tiglath-pileser ,i41 about 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #aajj4 ,saul1 ,king of ,israel 78 #ajbe7 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #ajie994 ,david1 ,king of ,judah 78 #ajaj7 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #ajef994 ,solomon1 about 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #igj4 #aai ,,index ,,addu1 weather-god1 #gi1 #hi sq41 #ie4 ,adonis1 #cf1 #dg1 #ib1 #aaa4 ,aegean isles1 #f1 #h4 ,agriculture1 #g1 #i sq41 #aa1 #cc sq41 #hh1 #ij4 ,allah1 #ba1 #fa1 #fh4 ,altar1 #ah sqq41 #bg1 #ci1 #ajh4 ,amarna tablets1 #f #h1 #aj1 #cc1 #fc1 #gf1 #gh1 #ib1 #if1 #ih sqq41 #ajf1 #aab1 etc4 ,amenhotep ,,ii41 #dd4 ,amenhotep ,,iii41 #e sq41 #ef1 #gj sq41 #ha1 #aah4 ,amenhotep ,,iv4 ,see ,ikhnaton4 ,amon1 the god1 #ed sq41 #fa1 #ga1 #gd sqq41 #gg sq41 #ha1 #ie1 #aaa4 ,see ,re4 ,amulets1 #ag1 #cb1 #ce1 #ch1 #ea sq4 ,anath1 goddess1 #he4 ,ancestor-worship1 #eg sqq4 ,animals1 #bb1 #cj sq41 #cisq41 #dc sqq41 #dg sqq41 #ej1 #fa1 #he1 #ajh sq4 ,animism1 #fj4 ,anointing1 #ad1 #bg1 #db1 #fd1 #gf1 #gi4 ,anubis1 #if4 ,anthropomorphism1 #bh1 #di4 ,apollo1 #bc1 #hd4 ,arabia1 #g1 #hg sq41 #ib4 ,archology1 #b1 #g sq41 etc4 ,arts1 #h sq41 #aab sq4 ,ashrah1 #bf1 #hg4 ,ashirat1 ,ashirta1 goddess1 #ec1 #hg4 ,tell ',ashtarah1 #gg1 #ha4 ,ashur1 the god1 #ec1 #hg sq41 #ib4 ,assyria1 #e1 #g1 #ci1 #fb1 #gh1 #hg sqq41 #ib1 #ajb4 ,astarte1 #bi sq41 #de1 #di1 #gj1 #gc1 #hf sq4 ,atargatis1 #ca4 ,aton1 #ajc sqq4 ,,baal 7title 'lord'71 #ff sq4 ,see ,heaven4 ,baal 7proper name71 #cc1 #hd1 #hi4 ,baalath 7title 'lady'71 #ff1 #hf4 ,see ,byblos4 ,baal-,zephon1 #hf4 ,babylonia1 #d sq41 #aj1 #cj1 #fb1 #gj1 #hg1 #ij sqq41 #id1 #ajb1 #ajf sqq41 #aaj sqq41 #aah4 ,bes1 #if4 ,blood-revenge1 #db4 ,bludan 7near ,damascus71 #df4 ,broken offerings1 #de sq4 ,bull1 #cb1 #ij sq4 ,burial1 #ae1 #ag sq41 #cf sq41 #dj4 ,see ,dead4 ,byblos1 #ff1 #gd sq41 #hc1 #ajj4 ,see ,zakarbaal4 ,,camel1 #ag1 #de1 #dh4 ,cannibalism1 #ch4 ,carthage1 #c1 #bg1 #ca1 #cd sq41 #ci1 #da1 #dc1 #gb4 ,caves1 #ae sq41 #ai sq41 #bd1 #cd1 #ch1 #da1 #df1 #ec1 #ajg4 ,charms1 #cb1 #ch1 #ea sq41 #ajg1 #aji4 ,cobra1 model of1 #ae1 #dh4 ,cremation1 #cd1 #dj1 #ef4 ,cup-marks1 #ad1 #af1 #bj1 #bf1 #ce sq4 ,curse1 #gb1 #ij1 #ih4 ,,dagon1 #ib4 ,dead1 disposal of1 #bb1 #cd sqq42 in religion1 #ee sqq41 #eh sqq41 #ge4 ,demons1 #ej sq41 #fd1 #ga4 ,derceto1 #ca4 ,dog1 #bb1 #ajj4 ,dreams1 #be1 #eb sq4 ,,egypt1 historical sketch1 #d sqq42 influence of national cult1 #gd sqq41 #ie sqq42 received ,asiatic gods1 #hc sqq41 etc4 ,el 7title 'god'71 #ff sq41 #fi4 ,el 7proper name71 #ia1 #ic sq4 ,emblems1 #cb1 #gb1 #aji4 ,,fetish1 #bg1 #cb4 ,fish1 #ca sq41 #aji4 ,foundation sacrifice1 #ci sq41 #dc4 ,,gad 7the god71 #ib4 ,gaza1 #cc4 ,gezer1 #f1 #h sq41 #ac sqq41 #ag1 #ai1 #bh1 #cj1 #cd1 #cg sqq41 #dd sqq41 #gf1 #hj1 #hh1 #ajg1 #aji sq4 ,gods4 ,see chaps4 vi4 and vii42 gods and animals1 #dg sqq42 demons and spirits1 #ej1 #fd2 kinship with men1 #fa sqq42 their human representatives1 #ed sq41 #eg1 #ei1 #fb sqq42 their vicissitudes1 #ff sqq42 subordinate gods1 #fh1 #fi sq41 #if sq42 national gods1 #fd sq41 #fg sqq42 lord or king of gods1 #gd1 #gg1 #hd1 #ie4 ,see ,saints4 ,gudea1 #fb4 ,,hadad1 #eg1 #hi sq4 ,see ,addu4 ,hathor1 #bf1 #cj1 #gj1 #gf1 #ha1 #he1 #aaa4 ,heaven1 king or lord of 7title71 #ff1 #gb sqq41 #hd1 #hg sqq41 #ia2 lady or mistress of1 #gj sq41 #gc1 #he sq4 ,hittites1 #e sq41 #ga1 #gc sq41 #gh1 #ha1 #hh1 #ij sq41 #if1 #aja sq41 #aaa sq4 ,holy1 sacred1 #cd1 #df sqq41 #he4 ,horus1 #aaa4 ,horus-eyes1 #eb4 ,human sacrifices1 #ch sqq41 #db sq4 ,hyksos invasion1 #d sq41 #hb sq41 #aah4 ,,idols1 #ag1 #bf1 #bh sq41 #ca sq41 #di1 #ec sq41 #ga sq41 #gg4 ,ikhhaton1 #e1 #db1 #ajc sqq41 #aah4 ,infant burial or sacrifice1 #ae sqq41 #cf sqq41 #ic sq4 ,ishtar1 #gj sq41 #hg sq41 #ie4 ,isis1 #if1 #aaa4 ,israel1 ,israelite religion1 #a sqq41 #f1 #h1 #aj sq41 #ag1 #cc sq41 #cf1 #ci sqq41 #db sq41 #dg sq41 #fd1 #hj1 #hf1 #hh1 #id1 #ajb1 #ajd1 #ajf1 #ajh sq41 #aad sq4 ,,jehovah4 ,see ,yahweh4 ,jericho1 #h1 #aj1 #cb1 #hh4 ,jerusalem1 #e1 #ad1 #bj1 #ec1 #ib1 #if1 #aja sq4 ,jinn 7demon1 q4v471 #dj1 #ed4 ,kdsh 7'holy'71 #cd1 #he4 ,khammurabi1 #fb1 #gb1 #gh1 #ij sq41 #aah4 ,khiba1 #if4 ,khonsu1 #ga4 ,kings1 divinity of1 #ei1 #fa sqq41 #gh sq41 #ih2 their breath or spirit1 #aja4 ,kinship with supernatural beings1 #fj sq41 #fb sq41 #hc sq4 ,,lachish1 #g1 #cj4 ,lamps1 #be1 #ce1 #dj sq41 #id4 ,lebanon1 #bh1 #gg1 #hg4 ,legends1 #bc1 #di4 ,see ,myths4 ,lion1 #di1 #hd4 ,loyalty 7s-d-k71 #ajb sq4 ,,magic1 #cd1 #ch1 #ea1 #ec1 #ee4 ,megiddo1 #h1 #ag1 #bh1 #ca1 #dj1 #di1 #gf1 #gi1 #aji4 ,melek 7king71 #id4 ,merneptah1 #f1 #cc1 #ec1 #aah4 ,mesha1 king of ,moab1 #aa1 #hj4 ,messianic ideals1 #fd4 ,mitanni1 #e1 #gj1 #aaa sq4 ,mohammedanism1 #ba sq41 #dj1 #fh sq4 ,see ,palestine4 ,molech1 #id4 ,monotheistic tendencies1 #e1 #bc1 #fg sqq41 #gb sq41 #ha1 #ie sq41 #ajc sq4 ,moon god1 #hh sq4 ,murder1 #db4 ,myths1 #di1 #fb1 #hf1 #ajf sqq41 #aaj sq4 ,,name1 #dd1 #eg sq41 #fj1 #ha1 #ii1 #ajb4 ,nebo1 #ib4 ,nergal1 #ic1 #ajf1 #aaj4 ,nin-gal1 #hi4 ,ninib1 #dg1 #ib4 ,nusku1 #hi1 #id4 ,,oath1 #ba1 #ajj4 ,oracles1 #be1 #eb sq4 ,oriental thought1 #aa1 #ajb1 #aac4 ,ornaments1 #eb4 ,osiris1 #bf1 #ch1 #dg1 #ge1 #if4 ,,palestine1 history1 #d sqq42 land and people1 #h sqq42 modern religion1 #ba sqq41 #be1 #cg1 #ci sqq41 #dc sq41 #df1 #ej1 #ec1 #ei1 #fh sq42 its gods1 chaps4 vi4 sq42 thought1 #ih sqq42 chronology1 #aah4 ,petra1 #ai sq42 #ajh4 ,philistines1 #g1 #hj4 ,see ,dagon4 ,phoenician gods1 #gb1 #ib sq4 ,pillars1 #ac sqq41 #bf sq41 #aji4 ,politics and religion1 #fd sq41 #fg sq41 #gb1 #gh1 #hj4 ,prophets1 #ed sq41 #hf4 ,ptah1 #ec1 #if4 ,,ram1 #cj4 ,ramman1 #hg1 #hi4 ,ramses ,,ii41 #f1 #dd1 #eh1 #fb1 #ga1 #gc1 #gg1 #ha1 #he1 #aja1 #aah4 ,ramses ,,iii41 #g1 #gj1 #gg1 #aad1 #aah4 ',ransom1' the1 #dc sq4 ,re1 #fc1 #ga1 #gc4 ,see ,amon4 ,resheph1 #hd sq41 #hg1 #ib1 #aaa4 ,,sacrifice1 #ae sqq41 #bb1 #be1 #bg1 #cf1 #ch sqq41 #da sqq41 #gi4 es-,sfy1 #g1 #ag1 #ai1 #cj4 ,saints 7welis1 etc41 in modern ,palestine72 virtually local gods1 #ba sqq41 #bd sq42 their vicissitudes1 #bc2 resemble those of the gods1 #fg sq42 appear in animal form1 #bb1 #ej2 physical fathers1 #ei1 #fa4 ,see ,gods1 ,tombs4 ,samson1 #hh4 ,sanctuaries1 #ac sqq41 #gg2 their persistence1 #ai sqq42 in modern religion1 #ba sqq41 #bd1 #cg4 ,seals1 #ic1 #ajh sqq4 ,sebek1 #if4 ,serabit el-khadem 7,sinaitic peninsula71 #g1 #ae1 #ai1 #bf sq41 #cb1 #da1 #de1 #eb1 #fi1 #hd4 ,seraph1 #ic4 ,serpents1 #ae1 #cb1 #dh1 #ajh4 ,set4 ,see ,sutekh4 ,sety ,i41 #f1 #eh1 #gg1 #aah4 ,shalem1 #ib4 ,shamash1 sun 7-deity71 #gj sq41 #gh sqq41 #hh sqq41 #ic1 #ie sq41 #ih1 #aaa4 ,see ,sun4 ,shamshi-,adad1 #ia4 ,sin1 #ee1 #ajj1 #ajb4 ,sin 7the god71 #ff1 #hh sq4 ,sinuhe1 #i1 #ce4 ,soul1 the1 #cg1 #da1 #de1 #eg4 ,spirits1 #ej sqq4 ,stones1 #ac sqq41 #bf sq41 #cb4 ,sun-god4 ,see ,amon1 ,king1 ,re1 ,shamash4 ,susa 7in ,elam71 #ch1 #ed4 ,sutekh 7,set71 title and proper-name 7cp4 ,baal1 ,el71 #gc sq41 #hb1 #hd1 #ajh1 #aaa4 ,swine1 #af1 #dh1 #ib4 ,symbols4 ,see ,emblems4 ,,taanach1 #h1 #ah1 #bi1 #dj1 #ec1 #ic sq41 #ajh4 ,teshub1 #gj sq41 #hi4 ,thought1 ,oriental1 #aa1 #ajb sqq4 ,thutmose ,,iii41 #e1 #i1 #bh1 #gg1 #he1 #id1 #aah4 ,tiglath-pileser ,i41 #g1 #ha1 #aah4 ,tombs1 #ai1 #ba sqq41 #ce sqq41 #df1 #ei4 ,trees1 #be sq4 ,tushratta 7,king of ,mitanni71 #ef1 #gj sq4 ,,unclean1 #dg sq4 ,,vows1 #df4 ,,war1 #bb1 #ci1 #gb1 #hj1 #hb1 #hd sqq41 #ij1 #ic1 #ie1 #ajd4 ,water-rites1 #ajg sq4 ,weli 7patron74 ,see ,saint4 ,wenamon4 ,see ,zakarbaal4 ,,yahweh1 #id sq4 ,see ,israel4 ,,zakarbaal1 #ed1 #ef1 #gd sq41 #gh1 #aad4 ,tell ,zakariya1 #ca4 ,printed by ,t4 and ,a4 ,,constable1 ,printers to ,his ,majesty at the ,edinburgh ,university ,press ,,religions3 ,,ancient ,,and ,,modern4 ,,animism4 ,by ,,edward ,,clodd1 ,author of ,the ,story of ,creation4 ,,pantheism4 ,by ,,james ,,allanson ,,picton1 ,author of ,the ,religion of the ,universe4 ,,the ,,religions ,,of ,,ancient ,,china4 ,by ,professor ,,giles1 ,,ll4,d41 ,professor of ,chinese in the ,university of ,cambridge4 ,,the ,,religion ,,of ,,ancient ,,greece4 ,by ,,jane ,,harrison1 ,lecturer at ,newnham ,college1 ,cambridge1 ,author of ,prolegomena to ,study of ,greek ,religion4 ,,islam4 ,by ,,syed ,,ameer ,,ali1 ,m4,a41 ,c4,i4,e41 late of ,h4,m4's ,high ,court of ,judicature in ,bengal1 ,author of ,the ,spirit of ,islam and ,the ,ethics of ,islam4 ,,magic ,,and ,,fetishism4 ,by ,dr4 ,a4 ,c4 ,,haddon1 ,f4,r4,s41 ,lecturer on ,ethnology at ,cambridge ,university4 ,,the ,,religion ,,of ,,ancient ,,egypt4 ,by ,professor ,w4 ,m4 ,,flinders ,,petrie1 ,f4,r4,s4 ,,the ,,religion ,,of ,,babylonia ,,and ,,assyria4 ,by ,,theophilus ,g4 ,,pinches1 late of the ,british ,museum4 ,,buddhism4 #b vols4 ,by ,professor ,,rhys ,,davids1 ,,ll4,d41 late ,secretary of ,the ,royal ,asiatic ,society4 ,,hinduism4 ,by ,dr4 ,l4 ,d4 ,,barnett1 of the ,department of ,oriental ,printed ,books and ,,mss41 ,british ,museum4 ,,scandinavian ,,religion4 ,by ,,william ,a4 ,,craigie1 ,joint ,editor of the ,oxford ,english ,dictionary4 ,,celtic ,,religion4 ,by ,professor ,,anwyl1 ,professor of ,welsh at ,university ,college1 ,aberystwyth4 ,,the ,,mythology ,,of ,,ancient ,,britain ,,and ,,ireland4 ,by ,,charles ,,squire1 ,author of ,the ,mythology of the ,british ,islands4 ,,judaism4 ,by ,,israel ,,abrahams1 ,lecturer in ,talmudic ,literature in ,cambridge ,university1 ,author of ,jewish ,life in the ,middle ,ages4 ,,shinto4 ,by ,w4 ,g4 ,,aston1 ,c4,m4,g4 ,,the ,,religion ,,of ,,ancient ,,mexico ,,and ,,peru4 ,by ,,lewis ,,spence1 ,m4,a4 ,,the ,,religion ,,of ,,the ,,hebrews4 ,by ,professor ,,jastrow4 ,transcriber's notes3 ,plus signs 77 denote bolded characters4 ,underscores 77 denote italics4 ,page numbers are shown in curly braces1 e4g4 #d4 ,footnote numbers are shown in square brackets1 e4g4 #d4