Ancient Near Eastern Religion and the Old Testament (Part 1)

The discovery and publication of ancient Near Eastern literature has shed much light upon the religious beliefs and practices of earliest civilization. It has also generated much discussion about the relationship of Mesopotamian and Egyptian religion to that of the Old Testament. In fact, many scholars view the similarities in cosmogonies, flood accounts, cultic ritual, legal texts, wisdom literature, and belief in the afterlife as proof that the Old Testament writers borrowed from or adapted the literary corpus of Israel’s neighbors. As a result, Old Testament religion is treated as essentially one more primitive religion among many, although slightly more advanced in the evolutionary stage of development.¹ But there are also substantial and significant differences between Israel’s religion and that of her neighbors. Furthermore, the genuine similarities do not require literary dependence or borrowing. This article will summarize the primary features of ancient Near Eastern religion, contrast them with the Old Testament, and offer another explanation for the similarities between the biblical and non-biblical religions.²

Gods, Mankind, and the Cosmos

All ancients believed in a reality that transcended the physical world. But in contrast with Israel’s monotheistic world-view, the Mesopotamians and Egyptians saw a myriad of gods behind the cosmos.³ Of course, some deities were more prominent and popular than others.⁴ Often a city-state or region would have its own patron god.⁵ But no one god was absolutely sovereign over the others.⁶ Each had his or her respective sphere of influence, which usually corresponded to some aspect of nature, such as the sun, the atmosphere, the earth, or the underworld. Although the gods were behind every event, they did not ultimately control the future.⁷ And though they were immanent in the world, they remained somewhat aloof from their human devotees.⁸

The ancient Near Easterner sometimes expressed his polytheistic theology in the form of creation-myth. But unlike the Genesis account, which focuses primarily upon humanity’s origin, these pagan cosmogonies focus primarily upon the origin, relationship, and function of the gods. For example, the Enuma Elish, a Babylonian creation account, begins with two primeval gods, Apsu and Tiamat, who give birth to a host of other gods. Apsu then becomes irritated at the clamor made by his offspring and decides to destroy them in spite of Tiamat’s protests. However, one of the younger gods, Ea, slays Apsu. At this point, the gods divide and champions are chosen to do battle. Tiamat chooses Kingu and a host of demons, monsters, and dragons. Marduk, who happens to be Babylon’s patron god, volunteers to lead the other side. When Tiamat opens her mouth to swallow Marduk, the latter directs the four winds to fill her belly, and he shoots an arrow that pierces her heart. Then, using Tiamat’s carcass, Marduk creates the firmament and the earth. Later he slays Kingu and uses his blood to fashion mankind.⁹ It is worthy to note that in this story of creation, as well as Egyptian cosmogonies,¹⁰ the creation of humans is almost treated as an afterthought.¹¹

In addition to creation accounts, Israel’s neighbors also told their own stories of the worldwide flood. Perhaps the most well-known is contained in the Gilgamesh epic. Enlil, one of the chief deities, becomes irritated with the “noise” of humanity. He holds counsel with his fellow gods, and a decision is made to destroy mankind with a flood. But one of the gods, Ea, warns King Utnapishtim and advises him to build a boat. He and his family survive the flood and are granted immortality.¹²

On a more practical level, the ancient Near Easterner looked to the gods for health and prosperity. Kings invoked their gods of war for victory. Farmers called upon the gods or goddesses of fertility to grant them a good production of crops. The sick and dying cried to the gods of healing that they might expel the demons of sickness and restore soundness to the body. The faithful Israelite also desired these blessings, but only from the hand of Yahweh.

Temple, Priesthood, and the Cult

According to Mesopotamian and Egyptian religion, humans were made to serve the gods. While the kings served the gods by administering the affairs of society, the priests served them by administering the affairs of the temple, which was viewed as the “house” where the particular god in view resided.¹³ In each temple there was an idol, usually made of wood, stone, or metal, and fashioned in the form of a geometric shape, animal, human, or hybrid.¹⁴ Through special rituals, this image became the vehicle by which the divine presence was manifested.¹⁵ Every morning the priest would bathe, clothe, and provide breakfast for the god.¹⁶ Later in the day, the god might, with the aid of the priest, give an oracle, receive visitors, or make a procession to another temple.¹⁷ The irony of gods depending upon mortals for life and well-being did not escape the ridicule of Israel’s prophets.¹⁸

The priests would also serve as mediators between the gods and the people. They sometimes offered animal sacrifices—in extreme cases human sacrifice¹⁹ —in order to appease the gods’ capricious anger and restore their favor. If an individual was sick, the priest might attempt to heal him by transferring his illness to an animal substitute.²⁰ Priestesses were also employed in Mesopotamian religions as temple prostitutes who, as representatives of the fertility goddess, would perform sexual rituals to insure fruitful harvests²¹ or to symbolize the king’s marriage to the patron goddess.²² Needless to say, this immoral practice was without sanction in Israel’s religion and was repeatedly condemned by the Old Testament prophets.²³