What were these pagan religions into which Israel kept backsliding? All of them had their roots in ancient Babylon! However, Israel borrowed, or absorbed, the Canaanite and Egyptian adaptations. Baal and Asherah were the two most frequently worshipped deities in Israel and Judah. Asherah is the same as Ashteroth, Asherim, Athirat, Astarte [Easter], Artemis, Diana, Ishtar, Isis, Semiramis, and many others besides.
