under the appellations of Sate, Kneph, and the child Anouk; and
thus downward, through the varying spheres of celestial light and
life involved in their theogony are observed the divine creative
energies represented under the figures of Mother, Father, and the
Life proceeding therefrom, until, finally, when the earth is
reached, Isis, Osiris, and Horus appear as the representation of
the creative forces in human beings, and therefore as the
embodiment of the divine in the human.
The Deity invoked in all the earlier inscriptions is a triad, and
we are assured that in Babylonia, where Beltis is associated with
Belus, "no god appears without a goddess."
The supreme Deity of Assyria was Asshur, who was worshipped
sometimes as female, sometimes as male. This God doubtless
represents the dual or triple creative principle observed in all
the earlier forms of worship. Asshur had no distinct temple, but
as her position was at the head of the Pantheon, all the shrines
throughout Assyria were supposed to have been open to her
worship.
According to Bunsen, in the Sidonian Tyrian district, there were
originally three great gods, at the head of which appears
Astarte--a woman who represents pure reason or intelligence; then
follows Zeus, Demarius, and Adorus. Without doubt this triad
represents a monad Deity similar in character to the one observed
in Egypt and other countries.
In the minds of all well-informed persons, there is no longer any
doubt that in Abraham's time the Canaanites worshipped the same
gods as did the Persians and all the other nations about them--
namely, Elohim, the dual or triune creative force in Nature. As
the Sun was the source whence proceeded all light and life as
well as reproductive or generative power, it had become the
object of adoration, and as the emblem of the Deity, it was
worshipped by all the nations of the earth in its three
capacities as Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer or Regenerator
each female and male.
Melchizedek, who was a priest of the most high God, blessed
Abraham, who was a worshipper of the same Deity. On this subject
Dr. Shuckford says:
"It is evident that Abraham and his descendants worshipped not
only the true and living God, but they invoked him in the name of
the Lord, and they worshipped the Lord whose name they invoked,
so that two persons were the object of their worship, God and
