Ancient Semitic religion

Ancient Semitic religion spans the polytheistic religions of the Semitic speaking peoples of the Ancient Near East and Northeast Africa. Its origins are intertwined with Mesopotamian mythology. As Semitic itself is a rough, categorical term, the definitive bounds of the term "Ancient Semitic religion" are likewise only approximate.

These traditions, and their pantheons, fall into regional categories: Canaanite religions of the Levant, Assyro-Babylonian religion strongly influenced by Sumerian tradition, and Pre-Islamic Arabian polytheism.

A topic of particular interest is the transition of Semitic polytheism into our contemporary understanding of Abrahamic monotheism by way of the god El, a word for "god" in Hebrew and cognate to Islam's Allah.

Proto-Semitic pantheon

This is a partial list of possible Proto-Semitic deities.

(Ac. Accadian-Babylonian; Ug. Ugaritic; Pp. Phoenician; Ib. Hebrew; Ar. Arabic; OSA Old South Arabian; Et. Ethiopic)

*ʔIlu "god" (Overgod: Ac. Ilu, Ug. il, Pp. ʔl/Ēlos, Ib. Ēl/Elohim, Ar. Allāh, OSA ʔl).

*ʔAṯiratu (Ilu's wife: Ug. aṯrt, Ib. Ašērāh, OSA ʔṯrt). The meaning of the name is unknown. She is also called *ʔIlatu "goddess" (Ac. Ilat, Pp. ʔlt, Ar. Allāt). *ʕAṯtaru (God of Fertility: Ug. ʕṯtr, OSA ʕṯtr, Et. ʕAstar sky god). ʕAṯtartu (Goddess of Fertility: Ac. Ištar, Ug. ʕṯtrt, Pp. ʕštrt / Astarte, Ib. ʕAštoreṯ). The meaning of the name is unknown and not related to ʔAṯiratu. *Haddu/*Hadadu (Storm god: Ac. Adad, Ug. hd, Pp. Adodos). The meaning of the name is probably “thunderer”. This god is also known as *Baʕlu "husband, lord" (Ac. Bel, Ug. bʕl, Pp. bʕl'/Belos, Ib. Baʕal). *Śamšu "sun" (Sun goddess: Ug. špš, OSA: šmš, but Ac. Šamaš is a male god). *Wariḫu "moon" (Moon god: Ug. yrḫ, Ib. Yārēaḥ, OSA wrḫ).

Babylonia and Assyria

Main article: Assyro-Babylonian religion

Further information: Babylonian mythology, Enûma Eliš, Marduk, Gilgamesh epic, and Ashur (god)When the five planets were identified, they were associated with the sun and moon and connected with the chief gods of the Hammurabi pantheon. A bilingual list in the British Museum arranges the sevenfold planetary group in the following order:The moon, Sin. The sun, Shamash. Jupiter, Marduk. Venus, Ishtar. Saturn, Ninurta. Mercury, Nabu. Mars, Nergal.^[1]The pre-Christian religion of the Assyrian Empire (sometimes called Ashurism) centered around the god Assur, patron deity of the city of Assur, besides Ishtar patroness of Niniveh. The Assyrians adopted Christianity in the course of the 1st to 3rd century AD,^[2] the last recorded worship of Ashur dating to AD 256.^[3]^[4] Ashur, the patron deity of the eponymous capital from the Late Bronze Age was in constant rivalry with the patron deity of Babylon, Marduk. In Assyria, Ashur eventually superseded Marduk even in his role as husband of Ishtar.Canaan

Main article: Canaanite religion

Further information: Torah and Origins of JudaismCanaanite religion was the group of belief systems utilized by the people living in the ancient Levant throughout the Bronze Age and Iron Age. Until the excavation of Ras Shamra in Northern Syria (the site historically known as Ugarit), and the discovery of its Bronze Age archive of clay tablet alphabetic cuneiform texts, little was known of Canaanite religion, as papyrus seems to have been the preferred writing medium, and unlike Egypt, in the humid Mediterranean climate, these have simply decayed. As a result, the highly antagonistic and selective accounts contained within the Bible were almost the only sources of information on ancient Canaanite religion. This was supplemented by a few secondary and tertiary Greek sources (Lucian of Samosata's De Dea Syria (The Syrian Goddess), fragments of the Phoenician History of Philo of Byblos, and the writings of Damascius). More recently detailed study of the Ugaritic material, other inscriptions from the Levant and also of the Ebla archive from Tel Mardikh, excavated in 1960 by a joint Italo-Syrian team, have cast more light on the early Canaanite religion. Canaanite religion was strongly influenced by their more powerful and populous neighbours, and shows clear influence of Mesopotamian and Egyptian religious practices. Like other people of the Ancient Near East Canaanite religious beliefs were polytheistic, with families typically focusing worship on ancestral household gods and goddesses while acknowledging the existence of other deities such as Baal and El. Kings also played an important religious role and in certain ceremonies, such as the sacred marriage of the New Year Festival may have been revered as gods. According to the pantheon, known in Ugarit as 'ilhm (=Elohim) or the children of El (cf. the Biblical "sons of God"), supposedly obtained by Philo of Byblos from Sanchuniathon of Berythus (Beirut) the creator was known as Elion (Biblical El Elyon = God most High), who was the father of the divinities, and in the Greek sources he was married to Beruth (Beirut = the city). This marriage of the divinity with the city would seem to have Biblical parallels too with the stories of the link between Melkart and Tyre; Yahweh and Jerusalem; Tanit and Baal Hammon in Carthage. El Elyon is mentioned as 'God Most High' occurs in Genesis 14.18–19 as the God whose priest was Melchizedek king of Salem. Philo further states that from the union of El Elyon and his consort were born Uranus and Ge, Greek names for the "Heaven" and the "Earth". This closely parallels the opening verse of Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God (Elohim) created the Heavens (Shemayim) and the Earth (Eretz)", and this would appear to be based upon this early Canaanite belief. This also has parallels with the story of the Babylonian Anunaki (i.e. = "Heaven and Earth"; Shamayim and Eretz) too.Origin of the Abrahamic religions

Further information: PanbabylonismMany of the stories of the Tanakh^[5], Bible, and the Qur'an are believed to have descended from the legendary mythological past of the Near East.^{[citation needed]} The Enuma Elish in particular has been compared to the Genesis creation myth.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9] The story of Esther in particular is traced to Babylonian roots.^{[citation needed]} El Elyon also appears in Baalam's story in Numbers and in Moses song in Deuteronomy 32.8. The Masoretic Texts suggestWhen the Most High (`Elyōn) divided to the nations their inheritance, he separated the sons of man (Ādām); he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the sons of IsraelThe Septuagint suggests a different reading of this. Rather than "sons of Israel" it suggests the "angelōn theou" or 'angels of God' and a few versions even have "huiōn theou" 'sons of God'. The Dead Sea Scrolls version of this suggests that there were in fact 70 sons of the Most High God sent to rule over the 70 nations of the Earth. This idea of the 70 nations of Earth, each ruled over by one of the Elohim (sons of God) is also found in Ugaritic texts. The Aslan Tash inscription suggests that each of the 70 sons of El Elyon were bound to their people by a covenant. Thus as Crossan translates it"The Eternal One (`Olam) has made a covenant oath with us, Asherah has made (a pact) with us. And all the sons of El, And the great council of all the Holy Ones (Qedesh). With oaths of Heaven and Ancient Earth."References

^ Mackenzie, p. 301. ^ "Iraqi Assyrians: Barometer of Pluralism". Middle East Quarterly. Retrieved Summer 2003. Modern Assyrians trace their heritage to the ancient Mesopotamians who converted from paganism to Christianity in the three centuries after Christ. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help) ^ "Brief History of Assyrians". AINA Assyrian International News Agency. ^ Parpola, Simo (1999). "Assyrians after Assyria". Assyriologist. Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies, Vol. XIII No. 2,. The gods Ashur, Sherua, Istar, Nanaya, Bel, Nabu and Nergal continued to be worshiped in Assur at least until the early third century AD; the local cultic calendar was that of the imperial period; the temple of Ashur was restored in the second century AD; and the stelae of the local rulers resemble those of Assyrian kings in the imperial period. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) ^ "Assyria". Jewish Encyclopedia. The official and to some extent the popular religion of Judah was greatly affected by Assyrian influence, especially under Ahaz and Manasseh. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) ^ http://www.crystalinks.com/enumaelish.html ^ http://www.crivoice.org/enumaelish.html ^ http://www.stenudd.com/myth/enumaelish/enumaelish-4.htm ^ Sharpes, Donald K. 'Lords of the scrolls: literary traditions in the Bible and Gospels'. Peter Lang, 2005. ISBN 0820478490, 9780820478494Moscatti, Sabatino (1968), "The World of the Phoenicians" (Phoenix Giant) Ribichini, Sergio "Beliefs and Religious Life" in Maoscati Sabatino (1997), "The Phoenicians" (Rissoli) Donald A. Mackenzie, Myths of Babylonia and Assyria (1915).[1] Thophilus G. Pinches, The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, The World Wide School, Seattle (2000)[2] van der Toorn, Karel (1995). Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. New York: E.J. Brill. ISBN 0-80282-491-9.See also

Mythology portalTemplate:Fix bunching Template:Fix bunching Template:Fix bunchingReligions of the Ancient Near East Mesopotamian mythology Abrahamic religions Arabian mythology Ancient Egyptian religion Panbabylonism History of Judaism Names of God in Judaism Proto-Indo-European religion Prehistoric religionv t e Paganism (and modern paganism) Animism Panentheism Pantheism Polytheism Historical ethnic religions (existing and extinct) Asian Ainu Altaic Manchu Mongolian Tengrism Turkic Austroasiatic Sarnaism Vietnamese Indonesia Parmalim Kaharingan Momolianism Kejawèn Malay Philippine Tagalog Marapu Sunda Wiwitan Chinese Hinduism Hindu mythology Dravidian Tamil Kalash Punjabi Vedic Shinto Ryukyuan Korean Miao Tai Ahom Mo Satsana Phi Tibeto-Burmese Bathouism Benzhuism Bimoism Bon Bongthingism Burmese Donyi-Polo Heraka Kiratism Qiang Sanamahism European Albanian Anatolian Hittite Lydian Phrygian Armenian Baltic Old Prussian Latvian Lithuanian Basque Caucasian Circassian Georgian Ossetian Vainakh Celtic Irish Etruscan Germanic Anglo-Saxon Frankish Gothic Norse Greek Hellenistic religion Hero cult Sacred mysteries Eleusinian Orphic Samothracian Iberian Cantabrian Castro Gallaecian Lusitanian Italic Camunnian Ligurian Umbrian Minoan Nuragic Paleo-Balkan Dacian Illyrian Thracian Roman Cybele Gallo-Roman Imperial cult Mithraism Mysteries of Isis Scythian Slavic Uralic Baltic Finnic Hungarian Mari Sami Middle-Eastern and North African Ancient Near Eastern Hurrian Egyptian Nubian Mesopotamian Babylonian Sumerian Semitic Arabian Canaanite Iranian Persian Berber Punic Oceanian and Pacific Islander Australian Melanesian Micronesian Nauruan Papuan Polynesian Cook Islander Hawaiian Māori Rapa Nui Tahitian Tongan Sub-Saharan African Akan Bantu Bushongo Kongo Lozi Zulu Dahomean Dinka Efik Hausa Lugbara Maasai Malagasy Mbuti Odinani San Serer Somali Modern pagan movements Ethnic African Ausar Auset Godianism American Mexicayotl Native American Church Armenian Baltic Dievturība Romuva Caucasian Abkhaz Adyghe Habze Uatsdin Celtic Canarian Heathenry Hellenism Hindu Italo-Roman Kemetism Zalmoxianism Romani Semitic Slavic Turko-Mongolic Burkhanism Vattisen Yaly Uralic Estonian Finnish Hungarian Mordvin Udmurt Vos Other Neopagan witchcraft Cochrane's Craft Feri Tradition Stregheria Wicca Druidry European Congress of Ethnic Religions Goddess movement Neoshamanism Polytheistic reconstructionism Secular paganism Myth and ritual Veneration of the dead Bear worship Blót Tumulus Dying and rising deity Ethos Folklore Idolatry Magic and religion Megalith Dolmen Menhir Stone row Myth Myth and ritual Mythology Orthopraxy Reincarnation Religion and mythology Ritual Sacred grove Holy well Sacrifice animal human Supernatural magic Trees in mythology Tree of life World tree Totem Virtue Witchcraft Animal worship Christianization Christianity and paganism Christianization of saints and feasts Constantinian shift Neoplatonism Religio licita Virtuous pagan

[1] Mackenzie, p. 301.

[2] "Iraqi Assyrians: Barometer of Pluralism". Middle East Quarterly. Retrieved Summer 2003. Modern Assyrians trace their heritage to the ancient Mesopotamians who converted from paganism to Christianity in the three centuries after Christ. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

[3] "Brief History of Assyrians". AINA Assyrian International News Agency.

[4] Parpola, Simo (1999). "Assyrians after Assyria". Assyriologist. Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies, Vol. XIII No. 2,. The gods Ashur, Sherua, Istar, Nanaya, Bel, Nabu and Nergal continued to be worshiped in Assur at least until the early third century AD; the local cultic calendar was that of the imperial period; the temple of Ashur was restored in the second century AD; and the stelae of the local rulers resemble those of Assyrian kings in the imperial period. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)

[5] "Assyria". Jewish Encyclopedia. The official and to some extent the popular religion of Judah was greatly affected by Assyrian influence, especially under Ahaz and Manasseh. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[6] ttp://www.crystalinks.com/enumaelish.html

[7] ttp://www.crivoice.org/enumaelish.html

[8] ttp://www.stenudd.com/myth/enumaelish/enumaelish-4.htm

[9] Sharpes, Donald K. 'Lords of the scrolls: literary traditions in the Bible and Gospels'. Peter Lang, 2005. ISBN 0820478490, 9780820478494

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]