Religious Conditions in Israel
The foregoing are the facts that may in general be gathered in regard to the political conditions and events relating to the Israelitic tribes during the so-called "time of the Judges." It now remains to glance at the religious and cultural conditions during the same period. The sources, and in particular the stories of the Book of Judges in its present shape, recount the repeated apostasy of Israel and its worship of the Canaanite gods: but as the accounts cite only a few specific instances, one has evidently to deal with a survey of the religious conditions of the time from the standpoint of later conditions and conceptions; and these accounts, with their interchange of apostasy and oppression, of repentance and salvation, were in fact added to the book at a later time. At the time of the Judges Yhwh was actually the god of Israel, that is, of its leaders and of the people generally, as appears especially from the Song of Deborah; and in addition Baal, the chief god of the Canaanites, was also prominent in names—for example, "Jerubbaal" = "Gideon"—and therefore probably also in the cult of Israel. Later historians regarded this as a formal apostasy from Yhwh, although it was not so in fact, because no pure cult of Yhwh existed at the time of the Judges. Yet the prophets Hosea and Jeremiah correctly judged the conditions when they complained that the apostasy from Yhwh began with the immigration into Canaan (Hosea ix. 10, x. 1, xi. 1 et seq., xiii. 5 et seq.; Jer. ii. 1-8). A relation arises between Yhwh and Baal which actually leads Israel to the verge of natural religion. The name "Jobaal" is typical of this relation; for it implies the equality of the Canaanite Baal with the Israelitic Yhwh, an implication that could not remain without consequences.
As Israel, after taking possession of the country, soon made its Yhwh analogous to Baal, who had until now been lord of the land, so it also took possession of the hill sanctuaries of the latter (the "bamot"), which were held sacred as being nearer to the godhead. The Israelites soothed their religious conscience by connecting the legends of the Patriarchs with these old Canaanite sanctuaries. Connected therewith were frequently the so-called "maẓẓebot." These were originally large exposed blocks which were "set up" ( from ), i.e., set up-right, on their broad side, and which, as seats of the godhead, received votive offerings of oil and sacrificial blood. Later they probably gave place to artistically hewn pillars which stood near the altar. The cult of Yhwh was also connected with sacred trees standing near the eminence or in the open field; but the Israelites did not accept the "asherim," which probably were originally simple trunks of trees or poles planted beside the altar as symbols of Astarte, the goddess of fruitfulness (see Asherah). As thebamot and their maẓẓebot were originally dedicated to Yhwh (comp. Ex. xxiv. 5 [A. V. 4]), the asherim, which may even have been connected with the phallic cult, had no place beside these altars; and they are in fact not mentioned in early times.
Baal and YHWH
Whatever facts can be gathered from the original accounts of that time in regard to this Yhwh cult at the old Canaanite sanctuaries, which was perhaps also influenced by the ritual of the Canaanites themselves, are confirmed by the accounts referring to several of these places of worship. Thus there was at Shechem a Baal-berith ( = "covenant Baal"), who was evidently intended as the guardian and protector of the covenant made between the Israelites and the Canaanites in regard to their dwelling together in peace (Judges ix.). As it is not explained whether he was intended to represent Yhwh or Baal, the Canaanite part of the inhabitants of Shechem probably took him to be Baal, while the Israelites recognized him, in spite of his name "Baal," as Yhwh. And Jerubbaal (Gideon), who, as stated above, went to battle in behalf of Yhwh, and erected a sanctuary to Yhwh in his native city of Ophrah, set up in the sanctuary an ephod, that is, an idol, which, in accordance with Canaanite custom and skill, was finely wrought and covered with precious metals. The later reviser of Gideon's story not unjustly regarded this as a grievous apostasy on the part of Gideon and his contemporaries (ib. viii., especially verses 27 et seq.). The Danites, on their expedition to Laish, found a similar idol on Mount Ephraim, together with teraphim, images probably representing progenitors of the tribe or race. While the narrator of the story is sure that both emblems refer to the cult of Yhwh, and are not images of Baal and Ashtaroth, the reviser thinks it necessary always to add the words to in order to indicate that they were carved and cast images (and hence did not belong to the Yhwh cult, which permitted no such images). When the Danites seized the images together with the attendant priest, and carried them to Dan, a sanctuary arose there that subsequently became famous, and whose Levitic priests traced their descent back to Moses (ib. xvii-xviii., especially xviii. 30).
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