In Josephus' defense of Judaism, Against Apion, he defended against the slander that Jews worshiped a donkey/ass. In many ancient cultures, some major deities were associated with specific animals. I understand that certainly the Jews did not worship a donkey idol or a donkey's head because the Torah banned idolatry. So my basic question that I want to ask is: Why did some pagans make the slander that Jews, and later Christians, worshiped the head of an ass in particular, as opposed to that of another animal?
Archeologists uncovered a ritually sacrificed donkey from 2700 BC in the ancient Canaanite village of Gath. Besides reporting the discovery, in its article "Canaanites Imported Sacrificial Animals From Egypt, Archaeologists Find", Haaretz interpreted the command on redeeming donkeys in Exodus 13:13 to imply that donkeys were sacrificed in pre-Judaic times. The article noted: "In the Old Testament, the son of the founding father of the city Shechem is named hamor, which means donkey in Hebrew (Gen. 33:18-43:31). Moreover, a donkey is given the power to talk by [the LORD] in the story of Balaam (Num. 22)."
Further, the Encyclopedia Britannica reports:
In the Late Period of Egyptian culture (712-323 BC), the god Seth was depicted as a donkey or having a donkey's head, according to Wikipedia's article on the god Seth. The Egyptian priest Manetho, who lived in Ptolemaic Egypt in the early 3rd century BC, was one of the first writers whom I found claiming that the Jews worshiped an ass/donkey. Perhaps Manetho and others confused Jewish religion with the earlier donkey rituals or worship of the Canaanites?
Archeologists uncovered a ritually sacrificed donkey from 2700 BC in the ancient Canaanite village of Gath. Besides reporting the discovery, in its article "Canaanites Imported Sacrificial Animals From Egypt, Archaeologists Find", Haaretz interpreted the command on redeeming donkeys in Exodus 13:13 to imply that donkeys were sacrificed in pre-Judaic times. The article noted: "In the Old Testament, the son of the founding father of the city Shechem is named hamor, which means donkey in Hebrew (Gen. 33:18-43:31). Moreover, a donkey is given the power to talk by [the LORD] in the story of Balaam (Num. 22)."
Further, the Encyclopedia Britannica reports:
During the rule of the Hyksos invaders (c. 1630–1521 BCE), Seth was worshipped at their capital, Avaris, in the northeastern Nile River delta, and was identified with the Canaanite storm god Baal.
(Encyclopedia Britannica, Seth | Egyptian god)
In the Late Period of Egyptian culture (712-323 BC), the god Seth was depicted as a donkey or having a donkey's head, according to Wikipedia's article on the god Seth. The Egyptian priest Manetho, who lived in Ptolemaic Egypt in the early 3rd century BC, was one of the first writers whom I found claiming that the Jews worshiped an ass/donkey. Perhaps Manetho and others confused Jewish religion with the earlier donkey rituals or worship of the Canaanites?
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