Fuller Theological Seminary

Religious Syncretism and The Prophets in the 8th Century

A Paper

Presented in Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Course

OT502 Hebrew Prophets

By

Jack Hakimian

Fall 2006
 Table Contents

Introduction 2

Definition of Syncretism 2

8th Century Examples of Syncretism during the 3

Hosea 4

Amos 5

Isaiah 6

Extra Biblical Works 7

8th Century Prophets Response To Syncretism 8

Proper Cultic Worship 9

Proper Social Responsibility 10

Promise of Hope & Restoration 10

Closing 11

Bibliography 12

1
 Introduction

The Old Testament makes it clear that God was always concerned about

His people becoming syncretistic, forsaking torah (law) and loosing their land.1

The syncretism started in Sinai during the Exodus (Exodus 32), appears in the

settlement period (Judges 6:25-32, 8:27), flourishes during the monarchy period

(1 Kings 11:1-8), and becomes a major cause in dividing the kingdom (1 Kings

12:25-32, 16:29-34; 2 Kings 21:1-9). Israel never got control of it’s affiliation with

idol worship and the evils that follow separation from Yahweh.2 But, from a

western postmodernist perspective it is sometimes hard to understand the line

between syncretism and acceptable cultural norms. Due to this confusion I have

three purposes in this paper. Firstly, to define what syncretism means. Secondly,

to examine the syncretism of Israel in the 8th century. Thirdly, to examine the

response of the prophets and how they shaped their message?

Definition of Syncretism

There is confusion about the definition of “syncretism”. Dever William defines the

word as, “To incorporate various beliefs, some of which may once have been

contradictory, into a fusion on the basis of other beliefs held in common”.3

1
Tate, Marvin. From Promise to Exile: The Former Prophets. Macon, Georgia:
Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 1999, pg 10.
2
Daniel Isaac Block, The Gods of the Nations : Studies in Ancient near Eastern National
Theology. Edited by David W. Baker. Second ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2000,
pg 65.
3
Dever, William G. Did God Have a Wife?: Archeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel.
Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eardmans 2005, 269.

2
Charles Kraft a notable anthropologist defines the words as, “Mixing of Christian

assumptions with those worldview assumptions that are incompatible with

Christianity so that the results are not biblical Christianity”.4 Despite these

definitions some scholars argue that Israel was not syncretistic at all, rather

Canaanite religion possessed native aspects of Israelite culture.5 Others argue

that Israelite culture was totally engulfed in pagan culture and should not be

considered any different from paganism.6 There is a need for balance because

the Israelite culture maintained their social commonalities with their neighbors,

but had great distinctiveness in their form of worship, covenant stipulations,

motives, and law codes.7 But, this I state with caution because Israel negatively

still sought after the fertility gods of Palestine. 8 Block’s perspective adequately

communicates the tension,

“As for the Israelites, their fundamentally theological approach to national affairs
was of piece with the perspectives of their neighbors. Nevertheless, in several
crucial respects their attitude (in particular that of the doctrinaire Yahwist) toward
their own divine patron, Yahweh, differed radically from these. Whereas the
population never seemed to rid itself entirely of syncretistic religious perspectives,
the spokesperson for orthodoxy in Israel became more and more intolerant of any
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rivals to Yahweh.

4
Kraft, Charles H. Culture, Worldview and Contextualization. Edited by Ralph Winter, and Steven
C. Hawthorne. Third ed, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Pasadena, Ca: William
Carey Library, 1999, pg 390.
5
Dever, William G, pg 269.
6
Dever, William G, pg 269.
7
Dyrness, William. Themes in Old Testament. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1977,
pg 133.
8
Dever, William G, pg 269, 270.
9
Daniel Isaac Block, pg 150.

3
 8th Century Examples of Syncretism during the

Now let us examine the biblical text. Some scholars of the Old Testament

argue that the text is a myth like the other exaggerated creation stories. Due to

the fact that the authors were pro-Yahwehist and clearly communicate Israel’s

failure to please Him, there is no way the biblical text can be a propagandistic in

the negative sense.10 We can rely on the literature as not being an intentional

fabrication of stories for national purposes.11 Before we look to external sources

of Israel syncretism, let us look at 3 prophetic books of the 8th century.

Hosea

Some scholars say that Amos prophesied against social injustice and Hosea

against false cultic worship.12 Both prophesied in Israel around the same

time.13You can gather from Hosea that Israel is steeped in deep syncretism

through the worship of Baal. Hosea was called by God to get married to a

woman named Gomer who would play the harlot on him (Hosea 1:2, 3), thus

publicly symbolizing through the prophet’s life Israel adultery against Yahweh.

The key issue is about spiritual adultery.14 Israel has now married itself to foreign

gods, who did not deliver them out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1-7). It appears one of

10
http://www.crivoice.org/langcaan.html
11
Daniel Isaac Block, pg 65.
12
Dr. Jeremy Daniel Smoak, “Lecture On Hebrew Prophets.” Fuller Seminary Course, fall 2006.
Lecture.
13
Elizabeth. Achtemeir, New International Biblical Commentary: Minor Prophets 1, Old
Testament Series. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1996, pg 7.
14
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers

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these gods is the fertility Canaanite god named “Baal” (9:10).15 They had not

learned the lesson from their ancestors when 24,000 were destroyed by a plaque

for worshipping Baal-peor.16 What was the fascination with Baal-peor that Israel

kept idolizing him? Truly it was so captivating that Israel’s leaders encouraged

them worship Baal as the sustainer of life (Hosea 4:6, 7).17 According to Dennis

Bratcher,

“Ba’al who was also the god of rain and the god of springtime. In Palestine there
must be rain at a certain time of year to make crops grow. Ba’al as the god of rain
(called "Rider of the Clouds" in some texts; cf. Psa. 68:4) was personified as a
thunder storm sweeping in from the desert, bringing rain, and making life possible
in that part of the world. The worship of Ba’al in Palestine involved imitative magic in
the form of ritual prostitution and other fertility rituals. The idea was that Ba’al
needed to be sexually aroused so that the rains would come, the crops would grow,
and the people survive. (There are other OT connections to this cultural background,
such as the agricultural images used for women producing offspring; they are either
18
fruitful or barren.)”

Amos

Amos ministry takes place around 760 B.C.19 He starts with 6

pronouncements of judgment upon the surrounding nations and 1 on the

southern and 1 on the northern kingdom. The indictments upon the south have to

do with religious syncretism (Amos 1:4, 5) and the north concerning social

injustice (Amos 1:6-9). It seems God highlights their greater sins and for each

nation they will experience His wrath (Amos 1: 3, 6, 9, 11; 2:1, 4, 6). His wrath

should not be mistaken for a sudden burst of anger or pleasure in judging people;

15
Elizabeth. Achtemeir, pg3.
16
Number 25:3-9
17
Elizabeth. Achtemeir, pg3.
18
Bratcher, Dennis. "Genesis Bible Study: The Cultural Context of Israel."
Review of Reviewed Item., no.(2006), http://www.crivoice.org/biblestudy/bbgen2.html.
19
Elizabeth. Achtemeir, pg 165.

5
rather it is a warning for the sake of repentance and forgiveness.20 This fact is

proven by God’s appeal to the past acts of mercy where he delivered Israel.

Yahweh declares to the people in Amos 2:9-11

"I brought you up out of Egypt, and I led you forty years in the desert
to give you the land of the Amorites. I also raised up prophets from among your
sons and Nazirites from among your young men. Is this not true, people of Israel?"

Amos seems like a social reformer, but in reality he is a social exposer of their

rebellion against God. Even though Amos preaches and God speaks as if he

wants to them to repent, he does not expect them to and Assyrian judgment is

inevitable. The main issue God has with Israel is that they do not honor His name

as “Adonai Elohim Sebaoth” (“Yahweh, Lord God of host”) and they have joined

the other nations in rejecting God’s lordship.21

Isaiah

It seems that Isaiah and Amos were contemporaries. Isaiah 1:11-17 sounds
very much like Amos’ speech in chapter 5:12-15. It seems that syncretism in
Isaiah consisted of false worship and disregard for the weak. Joseph
Blenkinsopp writes,

20
Heschel, Abraham J. The Prophets. Vol. Volume II. New York, NY: Harper & Row, Publishers,
1962, pg 62.
21
Rendtorff, Rolf. The Old Testament: An Introduction. Philadelphia: Fortress
Press, 1991, pg 221. Amos 5:15-16 reads: “15 Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts.
Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph. 16 Therefore this is
what the Lord, the LORD God Almighty, says: "There will be wailing in all the streets and cries of
anguish in every public square. The farmers will be summoned to weep and the mourners to wail.
In response to the abrupt change of tone in this passage Rendtorff writes, “This (vs.15) invites the
people to seek the good and preserve justice, so that YHWH may then perhaps be gracious to
the remnant of the house of Joseph. But all in vain-the dirge is struck up (vv.16f.), ‘for I go in the
midst of you’: the encounter with YHWH has taken place (cf.4.12f. also 5.16, ‘YHWH, God
Sabaoth’).

6
 “(Isaiah 2-4) is also reminiscent of Amos it’s condemnation of the ruling classes
who “grind the face of the poor” (3:15) and of the society of women of Jerusalem
whose lifestyle reflects a lack of concern for traditional moral values (3:16-17, 24-26;
22
cf. Amos 4:1-3).

Extra Biblical Works

A growing body within the Old Testament and extra biblical sources gives

evidence that Israel was indeed involved in syncretism.23 For example “…..a

name like Samson (Hebrew Simson, “little sun”) looks suspiciously derivative

from Shamash/Shemesh, the Widely used Semitic name for the sun god”.24

Also, in the onomastic evidence we see evidence of syncretism in the

Israelite community. For example in extra biblical litetuare we see Israel use “El”

as theograpic element in some 77 personal names. Even though this word can

be used synonymously with Yahweh, Block argues, “…this should not blind us to

the variety of pagan deities that appear as theophores in the epigraphic

materials….”25

Extra biblical evidence confirms that the post-exilic Israelite community

was very syncretistic. For example a person by the name Micaiah invokes the

blessing of two gods. One is named “Yaho” and the others is “Khnub”.26 Other

materials like this have been discovered recently in Israel. One of those being a

22
Rolf Rendtorff. The Old Testament: An Introduction. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1991, pg
104.
23
Daniel Isaac Block, pg 65.
24
Daniel Isaac Block, pg 65.
25
Daniel Isaac Block, pg 67.
26
Daniel Isaac Block, pg 67.

7
large pithoi was inscribed with words mentioning alongside Yahweh, the gods

Asherah, El, and Baal.27

So the evidence internally in scripture and externally through other

sources demonstrates the syncretism of the Israelites and what their daily

practices must have been like. Now this leads me to my third point. How did the

prophets respond to the evil practices of the community?

8th Century Prophets Response To Syncretism

Abraham in his book “The Prophets: An Introduction” does a good job

summarizing what a prophet is and how we should understand a prophets

consciousness. He eloquently describes them as people,

“who said No to his society, condemning its habits and assumptions, its
complacency, waywardness, and syncretism? He was often compelled to proclaim
28
the very opposite of what his heart expected”.

These prophets were interpreters of their contemporary world, trying to teach

theodicy and the moral temperature in light of the covenant stipulations. With a

grasp of retribution theology (Deuteronomy 28) they spoke words of “doom” and

words of “salvation”.29 We know through archeology that very syncretistic

practices they condemned Israel for was part of in their everyday life. 30 Due to

the limits of time and space I will deal with two primary areas of concern for the

27
Daniel Isaac Block, pg 67.
28
Abraham J Heschel. The Prophets. Vol. An Introduction. New York, NY: Harper & Row,
Publishers, 1962, pg xv.
29
Amit, Yaira. Essays on Ancient Israel in Its near Eastern Context: A Rribute to Nadav Na’aman
Edited by Yairah Amit: Eisenbrauns, 2006, pg 24.
30
Dever, William G., pg 67

8
 prophets. First, the proper requirements from God for cultic worship. Secondly,

the proper social actions in response to injustice and corruption in the land.

Proper Cultic Worship

The audience Hosea preached had a worldview that was shaped by foreign
policy and syncretistic influences of priest.31 Baalism had affected the people so
much that God use of a bad marriage and sexual immorality would make sense
to them.32 Gary V. Smith explains,

“The people thought Baal was a god (2:13, 17; 11:2), the divine power that blessed
the land with fertility (2:5, 8-9; 7:14). Using sexual metaphors, Baal provided fertility
through giving rain to the land, the mother goddess. He gave people fruitfulness
33
(many children; 9:10-14), for he was “baal,” the “master, husband”

So, it is within this context that Hosea prophesies to the nation to turn from their

harlotry. To remember that they had been wed to him through the covenant. Look

at what God’s expresses this intimacy and commitment he expected from Israel,

but how they gave themselves to Baal. Hosea prophesied,

,
"When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your
fathers, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal
Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the
thing they loved” (Hosea 9:10)

Proper Social Responsibility

31
Gary V Smith. An Introduction to the Hebrew Prophets: The Prophets as Preachers.
Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994, pg 71.
32
Gary V Smith, pg 71.
33
Gary V Smith, pg 71.

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 During the reign of Jerobam (ca 786-746 BC) the northern kingdom of

Israel greatly prospered. During this period Assyria had not risen to the climax of

its power and Syria was declining in strength. Some of the sins that were taking

place in Israel included pride (6:13) due to extreme prosperity and comfort (3:12,

15; 5:11; 6:4-6), addiction to wines and foods (4:1), corruption in the courts (5:12)

and the neglect of the poor and their human rights (2:6-8; 5:11).34 In response

Amos stresses the fact that Israel must seek God and social justice in the courts

(5:4; 14, 15). If they don’t seek God, He will seek them as a hunted prey.

Abraham J. Heshel writes, “It is amazing that in the book of Amos, which

proclaims that God’s supreme concern is righteousness and that His essential

demand of man is to establish justice, God is compared with a lion in search of

its prey”. 35

Promise of Hope & Restoration

Hosea 3
3:1 The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is
loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites,
though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."

2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of
barley. 3 Then I told her, "You are to live with me many days; you must not be a
prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you."

4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or
sacred stones, without ephod or idol. 5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek
the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and
to his blessings in the last days.

34
, Abraham J Heschel, pg 27
35
Abraham J Heschel, pg 34.

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 In these verses lie a great promise of hope and restoration for Israel.

Eerdmans Handbook of the Bible states, “Again Hosea’s action, and his

continuing love, provides an object lesson. For a while, Israel too will be deprived

of the things she counted on-her king and her religious emblems but in time she

will turn back to God”.36 Most of the prophets combine in the oracles Davidic

promises of restoration. Hosea portrays God willingness to purchase his people

after judgment.37 Of course judgment was later viewed by Israelites community

as an opportunity to become a new community that was recreated through the

fires of exile, shame and discipline. Even though they have committed the harlot

God’s bond of love will always be there to accept them back. 38

Closing

The prophets, especially Hosea are a great lesson for pastors and preachers
of our time as secular culture invades the church and tries to squeeze us into its
mold. We need to draw lines between cultural issues that are matters of
conscience before God (1 Corinthians 8:9-13) and clear violations of his moral
will. The law of loving God and people still applies for us Christians (Romans
13:8-10). As Gary Smith concludes his commentary of Hosea, he writes,

“If preachers today hope to acknowledge God’s power over their lives and desire to
remain loyally devoted to Him, they will need to identify and confront the deceptive
39
love for self that parades as religion in society”

36
Alexander, David, and Pat Alexander, eds. Eerdmans Handbook to the Bible.
Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1983, pg 438.
37
James M. Ward, Thus Says the Lord: The Message of the Prophets. Nashville, TN: Abingdon
Press, 1981, pg 230.
38
, James M. Ward, pg 140.
39
Gary V Smith, pg 84

11
 Bibliography

Books

Achtemeir, Elizabeth. New International Biblical Commentary: Minor Prophets 1,

Old Testament Series. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers,
1996.

Alexander, David, and Pat Alexander, eds. Eerdmans Handbook to the Bible.
Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1983.

Amit, Yaira. Essays on Ancient Israel in Its near Eastern Context: A Tribute to
Nadav Na’aman Edited by Yairah Amit: Eisenbrauns, 2006.

Blenkinsopp, Joseph. A History of Prophecy in Israel. Louisville: Westminster

John Knox Press, 1996.

Block, Daniel Isaac. The Gods of the Nations: Studies in Ancient near Eastern
National Theology. Edited by David W. Baker. Second ed. Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Baker Books, 2000.

Bratcher, Dennis. "Speaking the Language of Canaan: The Old Testament and
the Israelite Perception of the Physical World." Review of Reviewed Item.
no. (1991), http://www.crivoice.org/langcaan.html.

Day, John. Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan. Sheffield,
England: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.

Dever, William G. Did God Have a Wife?: Archeology and Folk Religion in
Ancient Israel. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans 2005.

Dyrness, William. Themes in Old Testament. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity

Press, 1977.

Heschel, Abraham J. The Prophets. Vol. An Introduction. New York, NY: Harper
& Row, Publishers, 1962.

———. The Prophets. Vol. Volume II. New York, NY: Harper & Row, Publishers,
1962.

Jr., Walter C. Kaiser. Mission in the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Baker Books, 2000.

12
Kraft, Charles H. Culture, Worldview and Contextualization. Edited by Ralph
Winter, and Steven C. Hawthorne. Third ed, Perspectives on the World
Christian Movement. Pasadena, Ca: William Carey Library, 1999.

Rendtorff, Rolf. The Old Testament: An Introduction. Philadelphia: Fortress

Press, 1991.

Smith, Gary V. An Introduction to the Hebrew Prophets: The Prophets as

Preachers. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994.

Tate, Marvin. From Promise to Exile: The Former Prophets. Macon, Georgia:
Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 1999.

Walton, John H. Ancient Israelite Literature in Its Cultural Context. Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1989.

Ward, James M. Thus Says the Lord: The Message of the Prophets. Nashville,
TN: Abingdon Press, 1981.

Electronic Book

Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson

Publishers

Websites

http://www.crivoice.org/biblestudy/bbgen2.html.

http://www.crivoice.org/langcaan.html

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