Did Jews ever worship other gods during the Second Temple Period?

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Accepted answer

Yes. Archaeological studies and scriptural evidence from the Apocrypha have shown that Jews of the Second Temple period sometimes worshiped other deities. It may be argued that these were not "true" Jews since worshiping any god other than YHWH is forbidden, but the evidence is quite strong.

Archaeology shows the continued presence of small goddess statues in Israel and Samaria in the Second Temple period. The likely scenario is that official Jewish religion strongly opposed and repressed worship of other gods, but the general populace was not nearly so pious. William Dever summarizes the evidence in his book, Did God Have a Wife?

We also have definite statements from the OT Apocrypha. 1 Maccabees describes a situation in which a faction of the Jews of that period (2nd c. B.C.E.) were strongly influenced by Hellenism and were even willing to go along with the anti-Jewish reforms of Antiochus IV.

13 and some of the people eagerly went to the king, who authorized them to observe the ordinances of the nations... 33 Many even from Israel gladly adopted his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the Sabbath. (1 Macc. 1)

This alone shows that "many" Jews of the time were willing to go along with Hellenistic customs, including the the worship of other gods. Moreover, as Diasporan Jews spread throughout the Greek and Roman empire they naturally formed communities with varying degrees of conformity to strict Jewish religion. This was true for the thousands of Jews living in large cities like Alexandria as well as those in the northern Mediterranean region, Asia Minor and the former regions of Babylon. (The rise of the Pharisees was in part an effort to combat the accommodation of Jews with Hellenistic influence.) Forms of accommodation to local religious culture must have taken many forms:

  • "folk religion" involving small goddess statues and amulets as described by Dever in "Did God have a Wife?"

  • willingness to offer sacrifices to Greek and Roman deities in order to gain power and prestige as described in 1 Maccabees.

  • Participating in local non-Jewish religious ceremonies in areas where Jewish authorities had little influence.

  • Not resisting idolatrous practices such as the Herod's erection of a golden Roman Eagle on the Temple of Jerusalem, honoring the Sun God.

  • syncretistic practices such as consulting astrologers and honoring Babylonian or Greek gods in the process.

Conclusion: there is strong evidence for Jews of the Second Temple period worshiping other gods in 1 Maccabees and in the archaeological record. However, it is difficult to know how widespread this would have been or how serious their devotion to these deities was.

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