Summary: Newly published research claims to have documented the first known case of cannabis use in the Ancient Near East in connection to Judahite worship.
In every city of Judah he [King Ahaz] made high places to make offerings to other gods, provoking to anger the LORD, the God of his fathers. – 2 Chronicles 28:25 (ESV)
The Analysis of Incense Altars Found at Ancient Arad
A May 28, 2020 publication has reportedly documented the first known case of cannabis use in the Ancient Near East. According to the paper, residue from two apparent altars excavated from an 8th century Judahite shrine at Tel Arad (about 35 miles south of Jerusalem) in the 1960s has now been independently analyzed and confirmed by two unrelated laboratories. The residue consists of dark organic matter from the tops of each of the altars which has reportedly remained since the 8th century BC, and has yielded clearly identifiable, and surprising, chemical compounds.
According to the report, after the residue from the altars was scraped away, it was sent to laboratories at the Israel Institute of Technology and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The samples were analyzed using liquid and gas chromatography. The organic matter from the larger of the altars was found to contain remnants of frankincense, while the smaller of the two was found to contain “residues of cannabinoids such as Δ9-teterahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN)….,” according to the study.
These findings apparently confirm the presence of ancient cannabis on the smaller of the two altars. But where did these come from and why did it take so long to confirm these findings?
The Backstory of the Shrine at Arad
The altars were located in a shrine thought to have been used for a brief time between 750 – 715 BC, which roughly equates to the reign of King Ahaz of Judah. After this point the site was buried, seemingly intentionally, and possibly in connection to the Assyrian conquest. The structure is arranged according to a common north-west axis orientation, and measures 42 feet wide by 62 feet deep. It contained a courtyard, storage area, a main hall with storage rooms, and a small niche where cultic activities occurred. The altars were discovered just outside this small niche, or cella often described by archaeologists as the holy of holies. (See the toilet seat found at a holy site that’s evidence of King Hezekiah’s war on idolatry)
In 1965, the original floor, steps, and altars were relocated from the excavation site and reconstructed for an exhibition at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. From 2007-2010 the reconstructed cultic niche was featured in a new gallery, and it was during this time that Eran Arie, curator of Iron Age and Persian Periods archaeology concluded that the dark organic matter observable on the altars was original.
Arie told CNN, “This was the point I realized for the first time the real incense was really left there.” The discovery is so unprecedented that researchers initially suspected that cross contamination may have somehow occurred. Arie stated, “We never thought about Judah taking part in these cultic practices. The fact that we found cannabis in an official cult place of Judah says something new about the cult of Judah.” He explained, “We know from all around the Ancient Near East and around the world that many cultures used hallucinogenic materials and ingredients in order to get into some kind of religious ecstasy.”
So what should readers make of these reports? Are claims that worshipers in 8th century BC Judah would have or could have used cannabis in worship consistent with what we see in the Bible? Although this substance is foreign to Scripture, the character out of which such behavior emanates is not.
Biblical Perspective
Over the years, many have tried to make connections between the various plants referenced in the Bible to those with known psychoactive properties, as well as to their implementation in ritual for ceremonial intoxication. This is because: (1) such practices are known in ancient polytheistic or pagan religions (including Hinduism and with indigenous peoples of the Americas); (2) pagan religion with its often extreme practices was a constant source of temptation to which the Israelites often succumbed; (3) the integration of alcohol intoxication into religious experience is accounted for in Scripture; and (4) some have sought to account for biblical depictions of miracles as the result of entheogens (psychotropic drugs specifically employed to achieve mystical pharmaco-religious experiences).
What We Know for Sure
The first thing to note is that there is an absence of any clear direct or indirect reference to the use of psychotropic drugs in the Bible. Even more, the biblical narrative does not even indicate awareness of such practice, apart from alcohol intoxication, which is both described and condemned. This reality is significant as the Bible has no problem addressing and prohibiting all forms of the rankest religious or sexual practice. (See a past Thinker Update on evidence of idol worship in ancient Israel)
Of course, this is not conclusive evidence that all Israelites at all times were unaware of such practice and never engaged in such. It does support the idea, though, that this specific practice was at least unusual even for those eager to engage in various forms of illicit spirituality. On the other hand, what is certain is that the period during and leading up to the destruction of this cultic site was in fact characterized by widespread religious deviance. This is the clear biblical explanation for the Assyrian conquest that occurred almost simultaneously with the abandonment of this particular shrine.
They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the LORD carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the LORD to anger … So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day. – 2 Kings 17:9-11, 23 (ESV)
(See evidence for the unlikely Bible prediction that Assyria would not also be the cause of Judah’s downfall)
Most interesting for this discussion is that during the period that the Tel Arad cultic site was in use, Isaiah castigated the false prophets and priests of Israel not only for their low morality, but specifically for engaging in intoxicated, ecstatic prophetic utterances. He wrote,
“These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed by wine, they stagger with strong drink, they reel in vision, they stumble in giving judgment. For all tables are full of filthy vomit, with no space left.” – Isaiah 28:7-8 (ESV)
So, the kind of behavior and attitudes that would cause or result from cannabis use in Israelite worship were in fact characteristic of much of the religious leadership of the period. Regardless of the specific chemical substances employed, the prophets and priests of the era were engaging in illicit spirituality that incorporated intoxicating substances into worship so as to enhance mystical, spiritual experience, and artificially produce bogus “visions.” And, as the Bible and archaeological evidence show, they were judged for it.
Later, in the 7th and 6th centuries, Jeremiah similarly wrote,
Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: “Behold, I will feed them with bitter food and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has gone out into all the land.” Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. – Jeremiah 23:15-16 (ESV)
Of note is the reference to “bitter food,” which is translated from a Hebrew word traditionally rendered “wormwood.” There is, in fact, a connection between this plant and intoxication. Whether or not that is intended as a reference in this passage is not clear. What is clear, though, is that these prophets are condemned by Jeremiah for inventing their own revelations and in a way that seems to be connected to what they were consuming, hence the judgment’s reference to the “bitter food” (or wormwood) and “poisoned water” that would factor into their judgment.
The Long History of Illicit Spirituality
Though disappointing, none of these realities are surprising. Even the most casual reader of the biblical narrative can observe what seems like a long, constant stream of worshipers who succumb to the draw of illicit spirituality. From the earliest chapters of Genesis, the Bible shows how such a draw can be a deadly allurement.
In fact, the Genesis narrative records that humanity’s downfall occurred when an exotic tempter showed up and presented our first parents with a means for achieving a state of God-like existence. Transcendence and new heights of wisdom could be gained, he explained, through the simple act of consuming the produce of a mysterious, off-limits tree. A new appetite was awakened. Satan lied.
“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:5 (ESV)
As presented by the serpent, the path to enlightenment crossed the Lawgiver’s established boundaries. The suggestion that the Lawgiver was unjustly restrictive, combined with the allure of an altered state, a heightened state of existence, led the impressionable to believe that something good had been withheld. Adam and Eve violated the Creator’s prohibition. And in doing so, man sinned.
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” – Genesis 3:6 (ESV)
Very quickly, though, the thrill of forbidden transcendence morphed into dread of the Divine. Guilt was acquired; corruption took hold; shame was realized, and death became imminent. They hid.
“Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” – Genesis 3:7-8 (ESV)
The actions of Adam and Eve brought immeasurable suffering to themselves and to humanity. They also began a precedent of a never-ending effort on the part of human beings to approach God in their own way. In Chapter 3 the first sin is recorded, and Chapter 4 continues with Cain’s innovative model of self-expression through worship. His self-styled way to approach God was shown to be more about him than about God.
Conclusion
In the end, although cannabis and the use of psychotropic drugs are foreign to Scripture, illicit and sometimes intoxicated worship is not. Regrettably, people have sought the thrill of mystical experience apart from God’s ordained models of worship. And in so doing, they have experienced the severe and devastating consequences that inevitably come with religious perversion. Could cannabis have been used at an 8th century Judahite shrine? Perhaps, but this is precisely the kind of behavior that led to the judgement of the Israelites during this period. The writer of Ecclesiastes had warned decades earlier:
“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.” – Ecclesiastes 5:1 (ESV)
Until next time, KEEP THINKING!
TOP PHOTO: The shrine at the high place in Arad. (Sarah Murray from South Bend, IN, USA / CC BY-SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)
NOTE: Not every view expressed by scholars contributing Thinker articles necessarily reflects the views of Patterns of Evidence. We include perspectives from various sides of debates on biblical matters so that readers can become familiar with the different arguments involved. – Keep Thinking!
