The brand new conceptual away from Phoenician myths which has been preserved out-of Philo thanks to Eusebius (including biblical observes on a single topic) was once are not regarded having suspician by important grant and you may thought to be mostly an innovation by Philo, without having any independent worthy of once the a way to obtain expertise in Phoenician faith. So it suspicious attitude as disappered courtesy the latest data recovery out-of religious impressive books away from Ugarit towards north Syrian shore (1927-1937).

These tall poetical messages located by the D.F.A beneficial. Schaefer when you look at the a number of methods have demostrated that the gods of Philo happen labels in highest region today well-known regarding Ugarit also off their present. The fresh Philo myths are characterized by a comparable moral ditch and primitive barbarity that have affection for detailed labels and you may personifications that will be available at Ugarit.

The newest resources of education indicate little change in the message regarding Canaanite myths anywhere between c. 1400 BC and you may 700 BC. Of numerous information on Philo’s membership, not just in the issue of one’s brands out of deities, but in new mythological environment too come in done arrangement to your Ugaritic myths and you will later Phoenician inscriptions. Scholars is actually, therefore, warranted during the recognizing, at the very least provisionally, every study preserved by Philo that don’t involve subjective interpretation into his region.

The fresh divinities which figure regarding the mythological texts regarding Ugarit was in fact plainly perhaps not odd into town, but were most recent certainly all the Canaanites, simply because they brear just a vague link to the best deities worshipped around by itself

Because the myths off ancient Ugarit imply, the new faith of the Canaanite peoples is actually a crude and you can debased sort of routine polytheism. It actually was associated with beautiful virility-cult worship out-of an especially smutty and you may orgiastic kind, and that proved to be more influential than just about any other character faith throughout the ANE.

The fresh Ugaritic deities are in fact best-known by the various out of spiritual messages dating regarding the fifteenth and you may early fourteenth millennium BC which have been found in a collection housed into the a creating established anywhere between Ugarit’s two great temples, you to serious about Baal while the almost every other to help you Dagon

Canaanite deities, toward one-hand, establish remarkable fluidity away from character and you will means, so that it is often extremely hard to fix the particular domain name of various gods or perhaps to describe the kinship to at least one several other. This is exactly one of the grossly unreasonable regions of Canaanite religion, a sign of its corrupt nature. At the same time, Canaanite deities have generally etymologically clear brands, an undeniable fact and therefore generally seems to point out new Canaanite pantheon as symbolizing good cruder and much more ancient kind of polytheism.

Miscellaneous epigraphic and you will literary supply reveal brand new names of your captain gods and goddesses of a lot Canaanite citaies in almost any attacks.

Este ‘s the name wherein the fresh new finest Canaanite goddess was known. This is including a reputation for which God is called within the the outdated Testament — Este, the brand new Jesus (Elohim) away from Israel ( el elohe yisrael: Gen. ). In most prose it occures more frequently which have a keen adjunct: El Elyon (by far the most higher Jesus, Gen. ), El Shaddai (usually, God almighty, Gen. 17:1), El Hai (The newest living Jesus, Josh. 3:10), and incredibly commonly on the plural out of majesty, Elohim. When you look at the Hebrew poetry Este is much more regular, in which they really stands oftentimes with no adjunct (Ps. , 33, 48; ; Jobs 8:3).

The phrase Este was an universal label to have “god” for the Northwest Semitic (Hebrew and you can Ugaritic) and thus it is extremely found in the outdated Testament for heathen deities or idols (Ex boyfriend. ; Ps. ; Try. ). The original generic label was ‘ilum ; shedding the fresh mimation additionally the nominative instance finish ( you ) becomes ‘el into the Hebrew. It had been probably a keen adjectival development (intransitive participle) on the resources “to be good, powerful” ( ‘wl ), meaning “The latest Strong (otherwise Strong) You to definitely.”