Ugarit – foundations of Canaanite religion

For background read previous Blogs on The Eridu Genesis and The Enuma Elis


Throughout Mesopotamia various cults were evolving based on the cults before them, such as those mentioned in the Eridu Genesis and the Enuma Elis. Each pantheon had a similar theme with various gods having particular powers and responsibilities. As each cult developed in a different region one particular god seemed to develop as the patron of the city or region, to claim the title of supreme god over the others, even taking some of their powers, such as Marduk in the Enuma Elis. This assimilation would eventually lead to monotheism.

Before we get there however, one particular cult developed around Mesopotamia which is now seen as one of the most important in the foundations of the Cult of Abraham and eventually Judaism.

In 1928 a group of French archaeologists discovered a cemetery in the Syrian town of Ras Shamra on the shores of the Mediterranean. In the graves they discovered Egyptian and Phoenician artifacts. After further investigation they found a city, a royal palace, libraries, and further Egyptian artifacts dating to the 2nd millennium BCE.

The greatest discovery made at the site was a collection of tablets carved with (a then) unknown cuneiform script. In 1932 the identification of the site was made when some of the tablets were deciphered; the city was the ancient site of Ugarit. Ugarit was established in the Neolithic period around 6000 BCE. Over time various cultures controlled the city with the Egyptians having great influence right up to its peak around 1400 BCE.

During the excavation of Ugarit fragments of several poetic works have been identified including the Ba'al tales that detail Baal-Hadad's conflicts with Yam and Mot. These finds are of great interest in researching the history of our modern day God because this is the first time we hear descriptions of Canaanite religious beliefs during the period directly preceding the Israelite settlement to the south.

Ugaritic religion centered on the chief god, Ilu or El, the "father of mankind", "the creator of the creation". The Court of El was referred to as the 'lhm or Elohim. The most important of the great gods was Hadad, the king of Heaven, Baal, Asherah , Yam (Sea god) and Mot (Death).

For those familiar with the Old Testament you will have already noticed some interesting names popping up in Ugarit around 1400BCE.

El was the chief god at Ugarit and El is also the name of God used in many of the Psalms for Yahweh (the Hebrew name for modern day God). Many of the attributes of Yahweh are the same for which El is acclaimed in Ugarit myth. Possibly, the Psalms could actually originalte from Ugaritic hymns to El which were simply adopted by the Israelites.

Besides the chief god at Ugarit there were also lesser gods and demons. The most important of these lesser gods were Baal (commonly referred to in the Bible), Asherah (Yahweh’s consort in the Bible), Yam (the god of the sea) and Mot (the god of death). Interestingly, Yam is the Hebrew word for sea, and Mot is the Hebrew word for death. Coincidence?

In the Old Testament the Ugarit gods in El, Baal, and Asherah are popular personalities. The reason for this is simple; the people of Israel worshipped these gods along with, and sometimes instead of, Yahweh, the God of Israel. In fact, the Israelites would worship these pagan gods for centuries, even after God handed Moses the 10 Commandments at Mt Sinai.

Most importantly to the present discussion, the pantheon of gods worshipped at Ugarit were collectively known as the Elohim, a plural term.

Elohim is the third word in the Hebrew text of Genesis and is mentioned countless times through the Old Testament. Somehow, the term Elohim plural at Ugarit, morphed into the Hebrew God El, and finally into Yahweh. How this occurred is difficult to pin down.

One theory is that Yahweh was one of the Elohim in Ugarit but there is disputing evidence of Yahweh’s existence as one of the Elohim of Ugarit, until much later.

The people of Ugarit influenced by the Egyptians are the foundation of the Canaanites who march into present day Israel, taking their religion with them.

But how did we get to monotheism?