Did Canaanites Sacrifice Children?

[♦ ficino ♦]

I'm splitting this off from my Sacrifice of Isaac thread.  Does anyone know whether it is documented that inhabitants of Canaan sacrificed children to one or more gods in at least the pre-exilic period?  The question arises from the Sacrifice of Isaac story, for some have suggested that the story seeks to show that Yahweh, unlike other gods, does not demand human sacrifice - or, alternatively, that it seeks to correct a practice of sacrificing children to Yahweh.

 

This writer cites OT verses that seem to show that worshipers of Yahweh did in fact sacrifice children to that god at some point:

 

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithpromotingrumor/2010/01/child-sacrifice-a-traditional-religious-practice-in-ancient-israel/

 

I have read that some ancient historians erred when they claimed that Carthaginians, whose city was a Phoenician colony, sacrificed children.

[Guest ninurta]

There's no evidence of this. There is alot known about the canaanite religion, but nothing close to sacrificing children. There's a possible situation where the minoans may have, but even that is based on limited evidence.

[DoubtingNate]

It seems like racist propaganda... those accounts are almost like the Fox News of their day.  OR it could have been a common practice, and the binding of Isaac story is a priestly attempt to sanitize it.  I'm not well informed on any evidence or lack thereof, but I am checking out the article linked in the OP.

 

One funny thing I noticed recently was some pro-life sermon I was looking at, where the speaker compares abortion to a 'modern day equivalent of child sacrifice to Molech.'  Of course he completely forgot to mention that the Israelites supposedly dealt with this by killing everyone, including the babies.

[♦ ficino ♦]

Some stuff on sacrifice of first-born children over here:

 

http://contradictionsinthebible.com/firstborn-sons-redeemed-or-not/

[TrueFreedom]

The article in the OP includes an interesting observation in Isiaiah 30:33, which states that YHWH kindles the Topheth, which is where children were sacrificed to Moloch.

[Guest ninurta]

The article in the OP includes an interesting observation in Isiaiah 30:33, which states that YHWH kindles the Topheth, which is where children were sacrificed to Moloch.

Interesting observation indeed. It's funny how they'll deny this though.

[♦ ficino ♦]

This writer thinks the evidence is ambiguous but that it inclines toward the historicity of child sacrifice in Canaan.  She (he?) relies a lot on literary sources, such as the Sacrifice of Isaac story:

 

http://christ.org.tw/bible_and_theology/Bible/Burnt_Offering_of_Children.htm

 

The Wikipedia article on Child Sacrifice, which I don't think is very good, says that a Tophet may have been a place for cremation of children who died of natural causes:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_sacrifice

 

I'm thinking that the OT passages do make it seem as though at one time, worshipers of Yahweh sacrificed their children, perhaps their first born.

[mymistake]

I hope Ravenstar weighs in on this.

[mwc]

I'm splitting this off from my Sacrifice of Isaac thread.  Does anyone know whether it is documented that inhabitants of Canaan sacrificed children to one or more gods in at least the pre-exilic period?  The question arises from the Sacrifice of Isaac story, for some have suggested that the story seeks to show that Yahweh, unlike other gods, does not demand human sacrifice - or, alternatively, that it seeks to correct a practice of sacrificing children to Yahweh.

 

This writer cites OT verses that seem to show that worshipers of Yahweh did in fact sacrifice children to that god at some point:

 

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithpromotingrumor/2010/01/child-sacrifice-a-traditional-religious-practice-in-ancient-israel/

 

I have read that some ancient historians erred when they claimed that Carthaginians, whose city was a Phoenician colony, sacrificed children.

     I'm inclined to accept what they have to say.  It's reasonable given the evidence.

 

     I recall seeing what people have said about the Carthaginians some years back and I believe that they have said they did not commit "systemic" child sacrifice not that they did not commit any child sacrifice.  An important distinction I think.

 

     So in times of great strife and turmoil people might sacrifice their children as a last resort (as well as easing resources).  Or perhaps they'll sacrifice a child heir (or heirs) to remove them as a future competition for empire.  Doing these things in the name of a god is neither here nor there.

 

          mwc

[Orbit]

At about 43 minutes into this video, there is archeological evidence of child sacrifice in Canaan-- 20,000 burial jars in Carthage.

[TheRedneckProfessor]

I hope Ravenstar weighs in on this.

Seconded. 

[mwc]

     Here's a good article that explains the study on Carthage and child sacrifice (from back when that study was released).  I didn't have it handy earlier.

 

          mwc

[Ravenstar]

You betcha  

 

A thorough reading of the Bible makes it clear that child and human sacrifice was commonplace. Knowing other traditions that utilize blood sacrifice (especially of children, innocents and those highly valued to appease the gods or sanctify something) makes it a little easier to understand.

 

Christianity is BASED on the blood sacrifice of a first born son so I m actually kind of shocked when people deny that this is a recurrent theme - with an historical background. Whence comes the concept of Jesus' sacrifice having any meaning at all if it isn't for it's basis in real practice and deeply held tradition. Animals were only substitutes.. and never had the value of a real live first born son. This begins in Genesis with Cain and Abel… Abel was the first sacrifice (albeit tortuously beating around the bush)… and it is obvious then that Yahweh is only interested in blood.

 

The tithe is also an echo of this.. you give 10% of your income (wealth) off the top.. first fruits, to god.

 

Consider: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornerstone

 

The origins of this tradition are vague but its presence in Judeo-Christian countries can be associated with at least six quotations from the Old Testament (Job 38:6,Psalm 118:22,Isaiah 19:13,Isaiah 28:16,Jeremiah 51:26,Zechariah 10:4) and also six citations in the New Testament (Matthew 21:42,Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17, Acts 4:11, Ephesians 2:20 and 1 Peter 2:7)and Isaiah 28:16quoted by the writer of the Book of 1st Peter in chapter 2, verse 6 1 Peter. The writer of the Book of Ephesians makes clear that Jesus is the cornerstone, of a faith rather than a building, referred to in the New Testament Ephesians 2:20 .[1]

 

Often, the ceremony involved the placing of offerings of grain, wine and oil on or under the stone. These were symbolic of the produce and the people of the land and the means of their subsistence. This in turn derived from the practice in still more ancient times of making an animal or human[2][3][4] sacrifice that was laid in the foundations.

 

Foundation and passage sacrifices. There is abundant archaeological evidence that many societies practiced both animal and human sacrifice to persuade the gods to protect their buildings and ensure safe passage through dangerous areas where their own gods might lack jurisdiction. Burials suggestive of sacrifice have been found in the sites of ancient bridges and buildings throughout Asia, Europe, and North Africa. It was widely believed that territories were under the control of local gods who might be angered by intrusions. Blood sacrifice at border crossings (often marked by rivers) and within buildings were thought to be prudent offerings. Sacrificial victims were also interred beneath city gates.

Children were often selected as the sacrificial offerings. Excavation of the Bridge Gate in Bremen, Germany, and several ancient fortresses in Wales are among the many examples of this practice. According to the Book of Kings, when Joshua destroyed Jericho he prophesized that the man who rebuilds Jericho "shall lay the foundation stones thereof upon the body of his first born and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates thereof." In rebuilding the city, Hiel later sacrificed his oldest and youngest sons in precisely this manner. The historian Nigel Davies observes that biblical accounts of foundation sacrifices have been supported by archaeological investigations:

In the sanctuary in Gezer were found two burnt skeletons of six-year-old children and the skulls of two adolescents that had been sawn in two. At Meggido a girl of fifteen had been killed and buried in the foundations of a large structure. Excavations show that the practice of interring children under new buildings was widespread and some were evidently buried alive. (Davies 1981, p. 61)

Human sacrifice was considered so crucial a measure that it persisted for some time even in societies that had become more complex and sophisticated. For example, the practice of sacrificing the eldest son was a salient feature of Mediterranean cults 5,000 years ago and still a powerful theme in Judaism and early Christianity.

Read more: http://www.deathreference.com/Py-Se/Sacrifice.html#b#ixzz32IwMAHeS

 

Joshua practiced what is called "foundation sacrifice." In order to protect a structure from evil powers, a person was killed and buried at the foundation of a city or building. Sometimes the victim was walled in alive. In this case, Joshua's victim would be someone's first born.

²⁶Joshua laid an oath upon them at that time, saying, "Cursed before the LORD be the man that rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his first-born shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates."
 

²⁷So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was in all the land. (Josh. 6:26-27)

 

⁴The Gibeonites said to him, "It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel." And he said, "What do you say that I shall do for you?"
 

⁵They said to the king, "The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel,
 

⁶let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them up before the LORD at Gibeon on the mountain of the LORD." And the king said, "I will give them." (2 Sam. 21:4-6)

 

⁷But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of the oath of the LORD which was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

⁸The king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adri-el the son of Barzillai the Meholathite;

⁹and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the LORD, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest. (2 Sam. 21:7-9)

 

²6When the king of Moab saw that the battle was going against him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through, opposite the king of Edom; but they could not.

²⁷Then he took his eldest son who was to reign in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there came great wrath upon Israel; and they withdrew from him and returned to their own land. (2 Kings. 3:26-27)

 

¹⁶And they forsook all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made for themselves molten images of two calves; and they made an Asherah, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.

¹⁷And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings, and used divination and sorcery, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger.

¹⁸Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight; none was left but the tribe of Judah only. (2 Kgs. 17:16-18)

 

Note: It isn't the sacrifice itself that makes god angry here.. it is the sacrifice to another god.

 

 

³³And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

³⁴In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho; he laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his first-born, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun. (1 Kgs. 16:33-34)

 

²Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God, as his father David had done,

³but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. (2 Kgs. 16:2-3)

 

¹⁷And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings, and used divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. (2 Kings 17:7)

 

¹Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah.

⁶And he burned his son as an offering, and practiced soothsaying and augury, and dealt with mediums and with wizards. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. (2 Kgs. 21:6, 2 Chron. 33:6)

 

King Josiah's reign began approximately 50 years before the exile and lasted 31 years. Yet at this late stage, he still had to devote effort to stopping the people of Judah from sacrificing their children to Molech.

 

¹⁰He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of Benhinnom, so that no one would make a son or a daughter pass through fire as an offering to Molech. (2 Kgs. 23:10)

 

³⁰"For the sons of Judah have done evil in my sight, says the LORD; they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it.

³¹And they have built the high place of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind. (Jer. 7:30-31)

 

³⁵They built the high places of Baal in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. (Jer. 32:35)

 

Many kings of Judah were condemned for burning their sons in offerings to Baal.

³You shall say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon this place that the ears of every one who hears of it will tingle.

⁴Because the people have forsaken me, and have profaned this place by burning incense in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents,

⁵and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind; (Jer. 19:3-5)

 

²⁰And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter

²¹that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them? (Ezek. 16:20-21)

 

²⁵Moreover I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not have life;
²⁶and I defiled them through their very gifts in making them offer by fire all their first-born, that I might horrify them; I did it that they might know that I am the LORD. (Ezek. 20:25-26)

 

³⁰Wherefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go astray after their detestable things?

³¹When you offer your gifts and sacrifice your sons by fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.(Ezek. 20:30-31)

 

Note: In one case Ezekiel says God made the Israelites offer their children by fire to horrify them. In the other, he complains when they do the same for other gods.

 

A woman complained to the king about being tricked by another woman to share in eating their sons. After they boiled the first son and ate him, the second woman refused to give up hers.

²⁶Now as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, "Help, my lord, O king!"

²⁷And he said, "If the LORD will not help you, whence shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?"

²⁸And the king asked her, "What is your trouble?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'

²⁹So we boiled my son, and ate him. And on the next day I said to her, 'Give your son, that we may eat him'; but she has hidden her son." (2 Kings 6:26-29)

 

Speaking through Jeremiah, Yahweh threatened to make the Israelites eat the flesh of their sons and daughters. They were to eat their warring neighbors too

 

⁹And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and every one shall eat the flesh of his neighbor in the siege and in the distress, with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them. (Jer. 19:9)

 

As judgment, Yahweh will make fathers eat their sons and sons shall eat their fathers.

⁹And because of all your abominations I will do with you what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again.

¹⁰Therefore fathers shall eat their sons in the midst of you, and sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on you, and any of you who survive I will scatter to all the winds. (Ezek. 5:9-10)

 

Speaking through Isaiah, Yahweh will make Israel's oppressors eat their own flesh and drink their own blood.

²⁶I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. (Isaiah. 49:26)

 

Micah complained about the Israelites being eaten by their enemies. Their skins were torn off and their bones were broken to make them fit in a kettle.

 

²you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin from off my people, and their flesh from off their bones;

³who eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones in pieces, and chop them up like meat in a kettle, like flesh in a caldron. (Micah 3:2-3)

 

⁹So I said, "I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die; what is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed; and let those that are left devour the flesh of one another." (Zech. 11:9)

 

The psalmist complained about the people sacrificing their sons and daughters to demons.

 

³⁷They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons;

³⁸they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood.

³⁹ Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the harlot in their doings. (Ps. 106:37-39)

 

Human sacrifice was not confined to Middle East countries, it was practiced worldwide. There is evidence of ritual murders in ancient Greece. The Romans practiced it during various periods. The Phoenicians at Carthage in North Africa routinely conducted child sacrifices. When Julius Caesar conquered Gaul and Britain, he found copious evidence of Celtic human sacrifice. In Scandinavia, the Norsemen sacrificed both animals and humans to their deities. The ancient Gnostic sect opposed childbirth in an "'evil" world.

 

When European explorers discovered new parts of the globe, they found almost every land pursuing diverse forms of human sacrifice. The South American Mayans, Aztecs and Incas were probably the record holders. Whole societies existed for the purpose of conducting human sacrifice en masse, relying on a steady stream of slaves and prisoners of war to keep their crimson altars occupied. One lapse, they feared, would blight their harvests, cause catastrophes, and even prevent the sun from rising.

 

Final thought

Theistic religions in one way or another were founded upon ritualized murder. What made children susceptible to sacrifice, was their virginity and their innocence. This concept is embedded in Judaism and Christianity to this day.

Paradoxically, child sacrifice ended when Judah was captured by the hated Babylonians in 586 BCE. Jews don't practice their canonical obligation to sacrifice anymore, but there is still one remaining legacy where they celebrate child sacrifice every year. And that is the Passover when Yahweh killed firstborn Egyptians and their firstborn livestock. To ease their conscience they label it as their release from Egyptian bondage.

 

²⁴You shall observe this rite as an ordinance for you and for your sons for ever.

²⁵And when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service.
²⁶And when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?'

²⁷you shall say, 'It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he slew the Egyptians but spared our houses.'" And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. (Ex. 12:24-27)

 

Christians may feel that their religion is above such barbarous practices. That is only because they have been dulled into ignoring the immorality of the torturous sacrifice of one innocent man.

 

http://usbible.com/sacrifice/sacrifice_israel.htm

 

 

[Ravenstar]

http://issuu.com/childjarburials/docs/childjarburials

 

 

 

 

"Jars containing the skeletons of week‑old infants were found here and could conceivably point to sacrifice."

Read more: Discover Gezer, Israel's lost city | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/discover-gezer-israels-lost-city/#ixzz32JC7l2Xh 

 

 

 

The earliest inhabitants were Troglodytes living in the many caves which riddled the hill surface; they were apparently a non-Sem race, and there was some evidence that they at least knew of cremation. These, or a race soon after-the earliest Semites-enclosed the hilltop with high earth rampart faced with rough stones-the earliest "walls" going back at least before 3000 B.C. At an early period-probably about 3000 B.C.-a race with a relatively high civilization fortified the whole hilltop with a powerful and remarkably well-built wall, 14 ft. thick, with narrow towers of short projection at intervals of 90 ft. At a point on the South side of this was unearthed a very remarkable, massive, brick gateway (all the other walls and buildings are of stone), with towers on each side still standing to the height of 16 ft., but evidently once much higher. This gate showed a strong Egyptian influence at work long before the first historic reference (XVIIIth Dynasty), for both gateway and wall to which it belonged had been ruined at an early date, the former indeed, after its destruction, was overlaid by the buildings of a city, which from its datable objects-scarabs, etc.-must have belonged to the time of Amenhotep III, i.e. as early as 1500 B.C.

 

This [ba`al] temple, or bamoth, consisted of a row of 8 matstsebhoth or rude stone pillars ranging in height from 5 ft. 5 inches to 10 ft. 9 inches (see HIGH PLACE; PILLAR), together with a curious trough which may have been a socket for the 'Asherah (see ASHERAH), or some kind of altar. The area around these pillars had a kind of rough floor of consolidated earth under which were found a number of large jars containing infant bones, considered to be the remains of infant sacrifice.

 

http://biblehub.com/topical/g/gezer.htm
 

[srd44]

You betcha  

 

A thorough reading of the Bible makes it clear that child and human sacrifice was commonplace. Knowing other traditions that utilize blood sacrifice (especially of children, innocents and those highly valued to appease the gods or sanctify something) makes it a little easier to understand.

 

Christianity is BASED on the blood sacrifice of a first born son so I m actually kind of shocked when people deny that this is a recurrent theme - with an historical background. Whence comes the concept of Jesus' sacrifice having any meaning at all if it isn't for it's basis in real practice and deeply held tradition. Animals were only substitutes.. and never had the value of a real live first born son. This begins in Genesis with Cain and Abel… Abel was the first sacrifice (albeit tortuously beating around the bush)… and it is obvious then that Yahweh is only interested in blood.

 

The tithe is also an echo of this.. you give 10% of your income (wealth) off the top.. first fruits, to god.

 

Consider: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornerstone

 

The origins of this tradition are vague but its presence in Judeo-Christian countries can be associated with at least six quotations from the Old Testament (Job 38:6,Psalm 118:22,Isaiah 19:13,Isaiah 28:16,Jeremiah 51:26,Zechariah 10:4) and also six citations in the New Testament (Matthew 21:42,Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17, Acts 4:11, Ephesians 2:20 and 1 Peter 2:7)and Isaiah 28:16quoted by the writer of the Book of 1st Peter in chapter 2, verse 6 1 Peter. The writer of the Book of Ephesians makes clear that Jesus is the cornerstone, of a faith rather than a building, referred to in the New Testament Ephesians 2:20 .[1]

 

Often, the ceremony involved the placing of offerings of grain, wine and oil on or under the stone. These were symbolic of the produce and the people of the land and the means of their subsistence. This in turn derived from the practice in still more ancient times of making an animal or human[2][3][4] sacrifice that was laid in the foundations.

 

Foundation and passage sacrifices. There is abundant archaeological evidence that many societies practiced both animal and human sacrifice to persuade the gods to protect their buildings and ensure safe passage through dangerous areas where their own gods might lack jurisdiction. Burials suggestive of sacrifice have been found in the sites of ancient bridges and buildings throughout Asia, Europe, and North Africa. It was widely believed that territories were under the control of local gods who might be angered by intrusions. Blood sacrifice at border crossings (often marked by rivers) and within buildings were thought to be prudent offerings. Sacrificial victims were also interred beneath city gates.

Children were often selected as the sacrificial offerings. Excavation of the Bridge Gate in Bremen, Germany, and several ancient fortresses in Wales are among the many examples of this practice. According to the Book of Kings, when Joshua destroyed Jericho he prophesized that the man who rebuilds Jericho "shall lay the foundation stones thereof upon the body of his first born and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates thereof." In rebuilding the city, Hiel later sacrificed his oldest and youngest sons in precisely this manner. The historian Nigel Davies observes that biblical accounts of foundation sacrifices have been supported by archaeological investigations:

In the sanctuary in Gezer were found two burnt skeletons of six-year-old children and the skulls of two adolescents that had been sawn in two. At Meggido a girl of fifteen had been killed and buried in the foundations of a large structure. Excavations show that the practice of interring children under new buildings was widespread and some were evidently buried alive. (Davies 1981, p. 61)

Human sacrifice was considered so crucial a measure that it persisted for some time even in societies that had become more complex and sophisticated. For example, the practice of sacrificing the eldest son was a salient feature of Mediterranean cults 5,000 years ago and still a powerful theme in Judaism and early Christianity.

Ravenstar, this is quite thorough --- thanks.

 

To add a few biblical examples, the most famous example of a Canaanite child sacrifice in the Bible comes from 2 Kings 3:26-27, where arrayed in battle formation against the Israelites, the Moabites perform a firstborn male sacrifice to their god, Chemosh. What is revealing in this example is how this child sacrifice was viewed.

 

The sacrifice is done to procure the god's favor, in this case Chemosh, in granting them, the Moabites, a favorable victory (cf. Jephthah's sacrifice of his daughter to Yahweh to procure the same in Judges 11:29-40). But how do the Israelites react to this child sacrifice, or how does the omnipotent Yahweh (note sarcasm) respond (or the scribe present him responding) to the Moabites' child sacrifice to Chemosh to win the battle? Yahweh is portrayed acknowledging the sacrificial ritual as effectively favorable toward the Moabites’ victory, and therefore orders the Israelites to retreat!! In other words, the biblical authors understood such sacrifices as so powerful that not even Yahweh could have changed the outcome of the battle now! Through this sacrifice, the Moabites have secured their victory! And Yahweh has acknowledged the efficacy of child sacrifice!! 

 

Not only the Isaac animal substitution sacrifice has led scholars to hypothesis that the Israelites themselves once practiced child sacrifice (perhaps a remnant of their Canaanite origins), but there are other pieces of evidence from the Bible as well:

 

1. Mention of substitute sacrifices abound in the Bible.

 

“Consecrate every firstborn for me [Yahweh]. The first birth of every womb of the children of Israel, of a human and of an animal, is mine!” (Ex 13:2)

 

However, it is the tribe of Levities who come forth and act as sacrificial-substitutes for this ritual of first-borns here. Thus instead of all male firstborns belonging to Yahweh, the Levites redeem them and it is thus the Levites who belong to Yahweh. This is not only a sacrificial theology of substitution, but it also accords the Levites, like consecrated sacrificial animals, as the “holy ones” of Yahweh.

 

And as you rightly point out, the last in this long-line of human-substitute sacrificial theology is Christ, the “lamb” that substitutes for all believers, according to Paul’s Christology, and Paul has family origins with the Priestly clan!! No coincidence here then that this sacrificial theology becomes largely created by Paul— his way of understanding the crucifixion.

 

2. Any close reader of the Exodus-Passover event (so the Israelites traced the rite back to this “event”—this is how they perceived its origins) notices that Yahweh decrees ALL firstborns to die, Egyptians AND Israelites!! The Israelite firstborns, however, are saved, i.e., redeemed, through the apotropaic rite of the blood of the pascal lamb on the doorposts. The theology here?: Why must firstborns be sacrificed to Yahweh? Because Yahweh redeemed us “from death” in the Exodus? But now, the Levites themselves act as ritual substitutions, and later a monetary amount was accorded as the substitution for the sacrifice of the firstborn (Num 3)!, and again still later, Christ in Chritian theology.

 

3.  There is a curious and bizarre story in Exodus 4:22-26, where Yahweh pronounces to Egypt that Israel is Yahweh’s firstborn, and that he plans to kill Egypt’s firstborns. Then, the narrative switches to a story in which Yahweh threatens to kill “him”—Moses’ firstborn?—but this is averted due to his circumcision. This might suggest that the rite of circumcision was envisioned as a blood ritual, like that of the pascal lamb, which redeemed Israel’s firstborn males from Yahweh.

 

4.  Michah 6:6-8, Jeremiah 7:31, 19:5, 32:35, and Ezekiel 20:18-31 all mention the sacrifice of firstborns in polemical contexts which vehemently condemn such practices—suggestion, therefore, that it was indeed practiced!

 

I have various posts about sacrificial redemption on my site:

http://contradictionsinthebible.com/total-number-levites-22300-or-22000/

http://contradictionsinthebible.com/firstborns-consecrated-to-yahweh-or-not/

http://contradictionsinthebible.com/ass-not-redeemed-killed-or-sold/

 

One of the biggest contradicitons I missed on my site and will have to go back and add it is between Deuteronomy 24:16---"Every man shall be put to death for his own sin"; Ezekiel 18---"The soul that sins, it shall die"; and Jer 31:29-30 who imagines that day when the mistaken belief that one man's death atones for another man's sins shall no longer be held by anyone" versus NT Christology. The idea that one human life could atone for the sins of another is most likely a remant of firtborn sacrifical atonement theology.

[Ravenstar]

Thank you… I think what we see in ancient Judaism as well as christianity is the evolution of a deeply held child-sacrificing belief system… i.e.: from child sacrifice to animal substitution, to priestly substitution - then back to human sacrifice (Jesus) and then, as you point out,… to self-responsbility at some point in the future.

 

It is distasteful to us moderns, and that's where I think the misreading comes from, but I believe it is very clear that the Canaanites sacrificed children and since the Hebrews come out of the early Canaanites, so did they. Archaeology seems to support this (Carthage and Gezer) - though there is much left to study and child bones are extremely rare to find due to their fragility.

 

I can imagine that at the end of the paleolithic/beginning of the iron age that people would consider a human sacrifice as the ultimate sacrifice - they didn't have much else to offer and life was short and brutal… mortality was high and the survival of the tribe would have been precarious at best. Appeasing 'nature' (gods) for good fortune in a world where survival was hard could have made a lot of sense since little was understood about how things work. I think the practice probably predates husbandry - since hunter/gatherers don't 'own' animals.. can't offer what you don't own.

[TheRedneckProfessor]

   Ravenstar

[Bhim]

It seems like racist propaganda... those accounts are almost like the Fox News of their day. OR it could have been a common practice, and the binding of Isaac story is a priestly attempt to sanitize it. I'm not well informed on any evidence or lack thereof, but I am checking out the article linked in the OP.

 

One funny thing I noticed recently was some pro-life sermon I was looking at, where the speaker compares abortion to a 'modern day equivalent of child sacrifice to Molech.' Of course he completely forgot to mention that the Israelites supposedly dealt with this by killing everyone, including the babies.

This is a very common, if far fetched, Biblical defense for the pro-life position. I have read many Bible commentaries and sermons from disparate Protestant traditions which all liken abortion to sacrifice of infants to Molech. Personally the only similarity I can find is that early-stage humans are involved...