The Case Against the Canaanites
Archaeological Evidence of the Hideous Practices of Israel’s Pagan Neighbors
This book examines archaeological evidence of pagan Canaanite religious practices, with the goal of demonstrating that God had morally sufficient reasons to destroy the Canaanites. The scriptural basis of God’s war against the pagan nations is explained. The complex host of Canaanite deities is described, with emphasis on Baal and other major Canaanite deities. The findings of several archaeological excavations are described in detail. Archaeologists discovered evidence of extensive child sacrifice to Ashtoreth at a high place in Gezer. Excavations of sites known as tophets revealed thousands of infant victims of Baal worship throughout Phoenician civilization. Epigraphical evidence of child sacrifice to Baal is examined. Skeptical theories about pagan practices are explained and refuted. Findings from a late Bronze Age temple in Jordan are described. Textual evidence of a sacrificial cult of Ishtar in Assyria is summarized. Overall, there is clear and compelling evidence of systematic and prolonged child sacrifice in pagan Canaanite nations. The evidence establishes a moral imperative for God to destroy the Canaanites and spare the world from further horrors of Canaanite religious practices.