In Canaan Israelite worship incorporated elements from pagan worship, especially that of Ba‘al, and Israel went through periods of apostasy and reform.
Syncretism, the mixture of foreign elements with the Yahwism of Israelite worship, increasingly became a problem as the people of God moved from the wilderness to the Promised Land of Canaan. The religious procession to the land can also be seen as a military movement that collided with the cultures already existing in the area. Among other peoples, the Israelites encountered and settled near a Semitic people called the Canaanites. The Canaanite culture is thought to have existed in this area from perhaps as early as 3000 b.c. The Canaanite gods quickly became competitors for the loyalty and worship of the Israelites. The desert incident of the golden calf foreshadowed the problem of idolatry that would intensify during this period of settlement.
For the Old Testament writers the word idolatry meant veneration of an object other than the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Since Scripture records Canaanite cultic centers at all the major cities and towns, including Dan, Gilgal, Shechem, Bethel, Shiloh, and Jerusalem, the temptation of idolatry for the Israelites was great. The difficulty for God’s people was identifying what idolatry was. Syncretistic practices crept into the worship of the Israelites almost without their awareness. Scripture records examples of this pervasive and subtle cultural lure (Hos. 2:1–23).
One of the Canaanite deities was a god designated as Ba‘al (see 1 Kings 18:21). The Hebrew word ba‘al can mean “owner,” “master,” “lord,” or “husband.” Ba‘al’s power was over a particular locality. Thus Ba‘al was the deity of a settled people. As the Israelites moved into a more settled life-style, they confronted the beliefs of Ba‘al worship. The local ba’als were connected with the fertility cycles of human beings, animals, and agriculture. Ba‘al power was closely linked with nature, particularly the bringing of rain to Palestine’s parched landscape. The influence of the Ba‘al cult led to extreme forms of worship such as child sacrifice (Jer. 19:5) and ritual prostitution (Judg. 2:17; Jer. 7:9; Amos 2:7).
The origins of Ba‘al worship are uncertain, but evidence indicates that the Amorites brought their gods with them on their migration into Canaan in the second millennium b.c. Another Canaanite god, ’El, is mentioned as the original head of the Canaanite gods in the Ras Shamrah texts. ’El, however, was the distant source, the “father of years” in the pantheon description. Ba‘al symbolized the vigor and power behind the natural cycles of life-giving powers. Asherah became the feminine counterpart to Ba‘al by the time of the judges (Judg. 3:7).
Ba‘al was often depicted with some characteristics of a bull, which was the ancient symbol of strength and fertility. Ba‘al statues exhibit helmets with horns of a bull or picture the god as riding a bull. The statues show Ba‘al with a club in one hand, most likely representing thunder, and a spear with leaves in the other, depicting lightning and fertility.
Israelite worship was constantly threatened by the foreign aspects of Ba‘al worship that conflicted with Yahweh’s prescribed law. Syncretism was a serious issue for two major reasons. First, the Israelites settled in the land with the Canaanites and often intermarried with the Ba‘al worshipers. This brought the seductive elements of the cult closer, even into the Israelites’ homes. Second, the fact that Yahweh was viewed as the god of the wanderings posed a threat. The Ba‘al worshipers’ polytheistic background caused them to view the gods as having power along geographical lines. Since the Israelites were dependent on the land once they settled in Canaan, it might have seemed wise to pay homage to the god of that land, a feature recognized in David’s confession (1 Sam. 26:19) and Naaman’s request (2 Kings 5:17–19).
These syncretistic tendencies can be seen in Scripture (Judg. 3:5–7; 6:25–26). Many of the names in Scripture have elements of the Canaanite gods: Esh-baal, Meribaal (1 Chron. 8:33–34), and Beeliada (1 Chron. 14:7). It is difficult to know whether these usages directly refer to the Canaanite deity or whether the term was used in reference to the Lord Yahweh as owner and master. In time the syncretistic tendency became so blurred that the Israelites banned the use of Ba‘al in reference to the lordship of Yahweh.
The syncretistic tendency was particularly prominent in the northern kingdom, according to the scriptural authors. This area was more exposed to pagan elements and more agricultural than was the south. The north was therefore more susceptible to elements of the Ba‘al worship. In the northern kingdom the golden calves at Dan and Bethel horrified those who were seeking true worship of Yahweh. Even the southern kingdom eventually experienced the influence of Canaanite worship despite the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah. Scripture indicates that even Jerusalem itself was influenced (2 Kings 21:7). One of the most blatant attempts at syncretism was a deliberate ploy by Queen Jezebel to make Ba‘al the official god of the land. Scripture states that only seven thousand Israelites resisted her to follow the true religion of Yahweh (1 Kings 19:18). Throughout the eighth century the prophets constantly reminded the people of the syncretistic danger on all sides. It seems that the people of Yahweh did not recognize the apostasy in which they were involved (Jer. 2:23; Hos. 2:16–17).