Page 12 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Revised

“In a land and at a time when urban life had largely disappeared, the government that really
mattered, as far as Scripture is concerned, was that of the patriarch over his extended family.
Patriarch literally means “rule of the father.” And his rule was absolute; he controlled the
political, economic, military, religious, and social affairs of his clan. He even had the power of life
and death over them, as is clear from Abraham’s sacrifice of his son Isaac (Genesis 22).
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This reality is seen in the story of Jephthah and his daughter. The father bargains with God and sacrifices
his daughter as a result. It is interesting that God did not ask for Jephthah to bargain with Him. It is also
interesting that God clearly said not to sacrifice children to Him. Where did Jephthah get such an idea?
He got it from the religious practices of the Canaanite peoples.
Religious Practices in Ancient Canaan:

“El” was the great deity of ancient Canaan. Asherah was the goddess wife of El. Another deity
was Ba’al. Ba’al is seen in many places in Scripture. He is the God of war and fertility. Ba’al was
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also considered the God of storms and rain. This is significant when one considers Elijah’s
duel with the priests. God had withheld rain for three years from the land. The people and
these priests would have looked to Ba’al to bring it. Elijah prayed for rain to Yahweh in the
sight of the rulers and priests, and it began to rain immediately. This was
understood as a cosmic battle in which the true deity had made himself known.
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The images on each side are of Ba’al.

The Canaanites were also known to sacrifice their children in flames to Ba’al to
entice him to send rain and abundance. John Holmes mentions that this might be
why Jephthah mistakenly thought God would want this sacrifice. Holmes’ supposition seems
logical. The culture Jephthah had grown up in was not Jewish. It was Canaanite. His
understanding of how to gain favor was not consistent with Yahweh; it was consistent with
Canaanite (Ugaritic) deities.

Another deity of the time was Astarte, who you may know from the Old Testament as Asherah. She was
the goddess of fertility. She was also the goddess of love and war.

A final deity they worshipped was Yamm. Yamm was the Canaanite god of chaos and the God of the sea.
Notice that chaos is the state of the earth pictured as covered in water in Genesis when Yahweh creates
order. Accordingly, Yahweh is more powerful than Yamm.

Social life in Ancient Canaan:
Because the ancient Canaanites were in the land where Abraham journeyed, he had to interact with
their customs. He likely lived in goatskin tents. These goat skins were still used as wine pouches in the
time of Jesus. They would cook in firepit stoves as well.

Marriage customs were like some found in Africa today. The father of the groom would arrange the
marriage of his son by choosing a bride. The would-be groom and the bride’s family would agree upon a

17 Voss, Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Manners and Customs, 31.
18 Spar, Ira. “The Gods and Goddesses of Canaan.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cana/hd_cana.html (April
2009)
19 Images of Ba’al are in public domain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal

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