Page 63 - Biblical Backgrounds

war because pictures of her display her carrying weapons of war, and she
was eventually celebrated as Artemis. She is associated with Venus, the
morning and evening star.

Offerings to Astarte typically included libations of food and drink. As with
many deities, offerings are an important component of honoring Astarte
in ritual and prayer. Many gods and goddesses of the Mediterranean and
Middle East appreciate gifts of honey and wine, incense, bread, and fresh
meat.

The Bible condemns the worship of Astarte repeatedly (Judges 2:13, I
Samuel 7:3). Solomon introduced this goddess to Israel in Jerusalem and
made an altar to worship her outside Jerusalem.

The occupants of the city worshipped false gods and lived totally immoral
and debauched lives. Their lifestyle was considered as evil as the cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah. As a result, they were considered detestable
people to the Hebrews.
Social and Commercial Factors in their Society

The Assyrians built their houses from mudbricks and covered them with
plaster, similar to what is found in many African homes. They covered their floors with lime mixed with
mud, which hardened and could be cleaned. Some of their houses had a second story, and perhaps they
slept on their roofs during hot weather. Normally, they designed their houses with an outer courtyard.
They had bedrooms, reception areas, kitchens, and even bathrooms with drainage pipes to the outside.
If you visited one of their homes today, you would probably not notice much difference from a typical
African home, maybe a bit nicer.
They cooked in their kitchen using a conical bread oven. They enjoyed eating barley, wheat, vegetables
like onions, cucumbers, garlic, lettuce, radishes, turnips, and several others, just as we do today. (Howard
Frederic Vos, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Manners & Customs: How the People of the Bible Really Lived (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson Publishers,
1999), 259.)
The family life of the Assyrians differed little from that of many countries today. It was a male-
dominated society, and they practiced monogamy. Marriage was not necessarily a commitment
between a man and a woman, rather is was a contract which both parties agreed upon. It was
considered a shame for a woman not to be able to bear children. For any reason, a man could divorce
his wife by cutting off the hem of her dress before city officials. He was then free to remarry.

The economy of Assyria was based on a barter system. They did not have coinage, so items of value
were exchanged or traded, including gold or silver, copper, and bronze. Animals and grain were
exchanged for purchases. Most Assyrians were either farmers or in the military. Often, they would trade
with other countries, as desired, the furniture and carved ivory of the Phoenicians.
The Assyrians and Israel

The Assyrians were a thorn in the side of Israel. Beginning in 733 BC under King Tilgath-pileser, Assyria
took the Northern Kingdom’s land and carried the inhabitants into exile (2 Kings 15:29). Later, beginning
in 721 BC, the Assyrian king Shalmaneser besieged Israel’s capital, Samaria, and it fell three years later (2
Kings 18:9-12). This event fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy that God would use Assyria as the “rod of His anger”
(Isaiah 10:5-19); that is, the Assyrian Empire was implementing God’s judgment against the idolatrous
Israelites. The sovereign God takes full credit as the source of Assyria’s authority (compare Isaiah
7:18; 8:7; 9:11; and Daniel 4:17). Secular history records that in 703 BC, Assyria under King

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