An Alternative View of Biblical History, Part 2 - Canaanite Religion and the Book of Mormon

More from my private notes

The following are my notes on things I learned from religious studies classes, books, and LDS apologetics. FYI, apparently this is too long to go through email, so if you get it in your inbox you may need to read it online to see the entire thing.

Please note that I am not promoting this as a true or correct view of history. Some views put forward are speculative, and I do not theologically endorse them. The views presented below most assuredly do not represent the beliefs or views of the Orthodox Church. I alone am responsible for this collection of material.

Context

The material put together here was done over time in a way that fits with and supports traditional LDS theology via an alternative view of biblical history. Some of this comes from my religious studies classes (including a Mormonism class), and some comes from LDS Scholars and other non-LDS Scholars like DR. Margaret Barker and DR. Francesca Stavrakopoulou (an atheist biblical scholar who did a series for the BBC years back called The Bible’s Buried Secrets,) and a book called The Evolution of God, by Robert Wright (which is a good and very accessible, non-technical, overview of the current state of religious studies thinking for the general public.)

There are no doubt some controversial, even speculative, ideas and conclusions from these sources in the following sets of information. Some of it is now supported by archaeological evidence and much more of it is now mainstream than it was when I first started delving into it. I do think that at least some of these ideas help make the Bible make more sense, and it certainly allows LDS Scripture / theology to claim an ancient antecedent - which is why LDS scholars have more or less supported this type of work.

Disclaimer and Setting some Context

The ideas below are not taught or endorsed by the official Orthodox or LDS Church’s in any way. I’m sure both would consider much of it erroneous if not Heretical. At the time I compiled this (2000-2008-ish), this was not a mainstream consensus—although there seems to be a greater acceptance of some of these views in the larger Religious Studies world—as these ideas seem to be largely supported by archaeology, particularly finds from Ugarit. Disclaimer

The ideas below are not believed by or endorsed by the Orthodox or LDS Church in any way. I’m sure both would consider much of it erroneous if not outright Heretical. At the time I compiled this (2000-2008-ish) This was not a mainstream consensus - although there seems to be a greater acceptance of some of these views in the larger Religious Studies world - as these ideas seem to be what is supported by archaeology, particularly finds from Ugarit.

Note that Religious Studies scholars tend to treat the bible as an unreliable narrator of history due to manipulation and alteration for socio-political purposes, along with an understanding that cultural exchange between different groups of people in contact with each other invariably creates a transmission of ideas that may be adopted and syncretized into belief systems, or reacted to in a hostile manner. Religious Studies professionals (as opposed to bible studies scholars) will generally try to square textual, cultural, historical, and archaeological evidence together to form a picture of what likely really happened.

This information is being published for General Interest. It has taken much time to do as some of the links to sources I had before no longer exist on the internet, and much information has been updated in the last 20 years. Please note that I have not gone through to update everything so some things may be outdated.

Understanding Canaanite Religion

The following material notes some of the early Canaanite religious beliefs and practices so that we can understand the radical shift that is the Deuteronomic reforms and thus contrast with the religion as understood in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon follows the older religion, while the Bible, from Deuteronomy onwards, follows the new YHWH-only “reformed” religion.

Margaret Barker’s paper “What did King Josiah reform?” is recommended reading on this subject and the Deuteronomic reforms.

The Tree of Life

• The Tree of Life symbolized life, inexhaustible fertility and absolute reality; as related to the Great Goddess (Ashera) and the symbolism of the waters of creation; also identified with the fount of immortality. (Mircea Eliade, Patterns in Comparative Religions)

• In Tree of Life imagery, the “waters of creation” bubble forth from its roots.

• Some of the earliest Tree of Life mythology comes from Babylon 1900-1660 BC (this is significant b/c all religions in the fertile crescent have similarities, including the Israelite / Canaanite religion. They are probably all related.)

  • The Babylonian Tree of Life stands in the garden of paradise. The myth says that it was founded in the ‘year in which the garden of the gods was made.” It is always associated with primordial waters because the original tree is located near ‘the Deep,” meaning the waters under the earth’s surface.

    • The Garden of paradise, has close connections to themes in the Temple of the first temple period.

  • (Note the significance in Lehi’s dream that the Tree of Life is by a river. That river would have been understood as a representation of the waters of creation. However in the dream, the waters are dirty - symbolizing that creation had been polluted.) Here is a quick synopsis of Lehi’s Dream for non LDS readers.

  • Lehi’s dream is found in 1 Nephi 8 of the Book of Mormon. It is a vision in which the prophet Lehi sees a symbolic landscape that represents the journey toward salvation. In the dream, he encounters a “tree of life,” whose fruit is described as exceedingly desirable and represents the love of God. The tree stands near a river of filthy water, and a path runs along the river, with an iron rod (symbolizing the word of God) guiding people safely toward the tree. Some individuals grasp the rod and reach the tree, while others are led astray by worldly distractions, symbolized by a great and spacious building filled with people mocking those seeking the tree. The vision illustrates themes of faith, obedience, and the importance of clinging to God’s word amid temptations and challenges.

  • In this Garden of Paradise, the gardener is identified as the king. He stands guard over the Tree, and a twig from the tree is his ‘rod’ or scepter i.e. the rod of the kings ruler-ship comes from the Tree of Life. Thus in psalms (the lord is my shepherd) it is significant that the king has both a rod and a staff.

    • The rod represents the king’s divine right of ruler-ship, the ability to protect, defend, and discipline.

    • The staff is used to guide and protect, ensuring the people’s well-being and safety. The Tree of Life, with its association with wisdom and knowledge, can be seen as a source of guidance and protection for those who seek its fruits

  • The Tree of Life was often depicted as a stylized date palm, connecting the heavens, earth, and the underworld.

  • The Tree of Life was associated with creation, fertility, nourishment, and the continuous cycle of life and death. It was believed to provide sustenance and blessings to both gods and mortals.

  • In some depictions, the Tree of Life was guarded by supernatural beings and associated with deities, suggesting its connection to divine knowledge and wisdom. Access to the Tree of Life, or its fruits, could symbolize attaining higher understanding or even immortality.

• The fruit of the Tree of Life represented everlasting life and gave life and possibly immortality to those who ate its fruit.

• The fruit of the Tree of Life was seen as having healing powers and properties. This could be because the fruit's juices were believed to come from the waters of creation. Life-restoring powers also came from touching its twigs (which are wielded by the king.) In some texts both the plant of life and the water of life must be taken together so that a man may be revived¹. (Geo Widengren, The King and the Tree of Life in Ancient Near Eastern Religion.)

• In Egypt, in the ancient temple of Heliopolis, a new pharaoh would bow before the sacred Persea tree to receive the life and power of kingship.

  • In Egypt the Nile was the life giving waters.

• In Later Jewish myths (i.e. after the time of Christ) these themes existed in and persisted in Israelite thought over time.  “Adam bade Eve to go with Seth to the gates of Paradise and entreat God to have mercy upon him, and send His angel to catch up some of the oil of life flowing from the tree of His mercy and give it to his messengers. The ointment would bring him rest, and banish the pain consuming him.” (Louis Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews.)

• The tree in the garden was also associated with the olive tree, hence the reference below. This connection between the healing powers of oil from the olive “tree of life” underlies the new testament and modern LDS use of olive oil for blessings and healing. b/c it is seen as the fruit of the tree of life.

• The tree is also connected to 2 things of importance, the tree and the king, and the tree and a goddess. The tree is always considered to be female.

Asherah

• Her name means literally ‘She who treads on the sea.’

• Ashera is the mother goddess in the old Canaanite pantheon presided over by El.(Originally named Elat before the bronze age). She is seen as the consort of El (and later as the consort of Yahweh² when Yahweh takes over El’s role.) She is also known by other regional names as Astarte, Astarte, and possibly later as Ishtar.

• Anciently, the tree of life was identified with the goddess Asherah. 

• The rabbinic authors of the Jewish Mishna (second–third century ad) explain the asherah as a tree that was worshipped.

• Asherah worship was very commonplace in Israel until Josiah’s reforms and the Babylonian destruction. In Jeremiah 44, when the people are referencing burning incense to the Queen of Heaven, they are talking about Asherah.

• Divine right of ruler-ship was symbolized by possession of the ‘rod.’ The ‘rod’ came from the Asherah. In the old testament times, El and Yahweh are both pictured in a garden with a rod next to the tree of life (which represents Asherah.) The ‘rods’ were likely Asherah poles.

• Ashera was represented by a wooden pole or rod and that was housed in the first temple holy of holies. As part of the Deuteronomic reforms, Ashera is deliberately suppressed and removed from the Temple.

• In Lehi’s dream Ashera is represented by and is the embodiment of the tree of life. 

• The worship of Ashera as the consort of Yahweh was an integral element of religious life prior to the reforms of King Joshiah.

• More information on Lehi’s dream and Ashera can be found here:

• https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol9/iss2/4/