This engraved print, by Philips Galle (1537–1612) and Maarten van Heemskerck (1498–1574), depicts the brutal and ruthless crackdown by King Josiah of Judah (r. 640–609 BCE) against the worship of Canaanite gods and goddesses in his kingdom. Interestingly, there was actually a large number of such applicable worshippers for him to target, because many of Josiah’s kingly predecessors had long been tolerant, if not supportive, of particular deities from the Canaanite religious tradition. This Canaanite (or West Semitic) pantheon, including figures like the high-god El, the storm-god Baal, the consort goddess Asherah, and the fertility goddess Astarte, was loosely shared by peoples of ancient Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, who had notable linguistic and literary similarities. Intriguingly, the most ancient and foundational Hebrew kings (like Saul, David, Solomon, and others) had enigmatic ties to the Canaanite pantheon. Kings Saul (said to have ruled approximately c. 1021–1000 BCE) and David (flourished c. 1000 BCE), the first and second king of Israel, both had children with names that referenced Baal. King Solomon (said to have ruled in the 10th century BCE), famous for his wisdom, was reported to have built shrines to the gods Chemosh, Moloch/Molech, Milcom, and the goddess Astarte. King Ahab (flourished 9th century BCE) built shrines for Baal and Asherah, as did King Manasseh (said to have reigned c. 686 to 642 BCE). This tradition of tolerance and interaction with the Canaanite religion is what King Josiah was credited with undoing. In his crackdown, he demolished shrines, executed worshippers, and defiled the sites of Canaanite worship with taboo uncleanliness. On Josiah’s efforts to crush the worship of anything other than God, and God alone, the Second Book of Kings reported:
“The king commanded the high priest Hilkiah, the priests of the second order, and the guardians of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. He deposed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem, those also who made offerings to Baal, to the sun, the moon, the constellations, and all the host of the heavens. He brought out the image of Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the Wadi Kidron, burned it at the Wadi Kidron, beat it to dust, and threw the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. He broke down the houses of the illicit priests who were in the house of the Lord, where the women did weaving for Asherah. He brought all the priests out of the towns of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings… Moreover, Josiah removed all the shrines of the high places that were in the towns of Samaria that kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger; he did to them just as he had done at Bethel. He slaughtered on the altars all the priests of the high places who were there and burned human bones on them.” (2 Kings 23.4-8, 19-20).
Such is the scene of carnage that Philips Galle and Maarten van Heemskerck depict in their art. It shows the destruction of the shrines, the removal of any objects of Canaanite worship, and the execution of the religious leaders who had tended to the sites. King Josiah can be seen wearing his crown, directing the destruction from the temple steps.
Written by C. Keith Hansley
Sources:
- The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version With The Apocrypha (Fifth Edition, Fully Revised), edited by Michael D. Coogan and associates. Oxford University Press, 2018.
- The Oxford Companion to the Bible, edited by Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan. Oxford University Press, 1993.
- Stories from Ancient Canaan (Second Edition), translated and edited by Michael D. Coogan and Mark S. Smith. Published by Westminster John Knox Press in 1978 (second edition in 2012).
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ahab
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Manasseh-king-of-Judah
- https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KKSgb10005/3
