SPECIAL TOPIC: MOON WORSHIP

Moon worship was the most widespread mythology of the Ancient Near East
starting with Sumer (the first writing culture of
the ANE). There was both a male and female aspect to the myth.
Originally the moon god came from the rape of the grain goddess,
Ninlil by
Enlil, the sky god. Enlil was cast out of the pantheon and condemned to the
underworld for his act, but when Ninlil found out she was with child she joined
him. The child, Sin, was allowed to climb into the sky each night.

The worship of the moon is designed by its different phases.

1. new moon – Asimbabbar

2. crescent moon – Sin

3. full moon – Nanna (Sumerian “illumination” from
En-su, “lord of
wisdom”)

These names basically mean “wise lord” (i.e., Su’en,
Akkadian) or “illumination” (Nanna, Sumerian)
worshiped at Ur of the Chaldees. The city itself was often called the city of
Nannar. The fertility pair (i.e., En’su and consort
Ningal) were worshiped at Ziggurats (large pyramids with flat
tops) located in the city. The sun god (Shamash) was the firstborn of the couple
and later Ereshkigal (the Queen of the Underworld) and Inanna
(the Queen of
Heaven/sky).

The cult was spread all across the ANE, but the major centers of worship
were

1. Ur

2. Haran

3. Tema

4. Canaan

5. Mecca

Basically this mythology combined the fertility emphasis with astral worship.

The OT rejects astral worship (cf. Deut. 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs. 21:3,5;
23:5; Jer. 8:2; 19:13; Zeph. 1:5) and fertility worship (i.e.,
Ba’al and
Asherah, Ugarit poems). The Hebrews, originally nomads, were very careful to
resist moon worship because in general moon worship was characteristic of
nomadic peoples who traveled at night, while the sun was much more generally
worshiped by settled or agricultural peoples. Eventually nomads settle and then
astral worship in general became the problem.