Challenging Dan McClellan debunk of the Cannabis in Incense Myth

Dan McClellan is a Bible scholar who publishes videos in which he confronts misinformation about academic Bible and religion research. This time, he tackles the claim that the biblical incense included cannabis. According to McClellan, this claim is based on findings from the temple at Tel Arad and relies etymologically on the similarity between the term “kaneh bosem” and cannabis, as argued by the Polish philologist and anthropologist Sula Benet, and supposedly confirmed by Michael Zohary in his book “Plants of the Bible” in 1982, and perhaps even earlier, allegedly by a 1980 study from the Hebrew University (Zohary and Raphael Mechoulam’s place). These claims are controversial and have been rejected by mainstream research. Therefore, he argues, while the idea might be reasonable and plausible, it is not proven. This is the extent of the video.

What McClellan does not mention is that the temple at Tel Arad was probably a temple to Asherah, and that worship of fertility goddesses in the ancient Near East did indeed include cannabis, similar to the worship of Ishtar in Assyria. Cannabis hot-boxing was also included in Scythian rituals and various Indo-European religious practices. The fact that the temple at Tel Arad is dated to the Assyrian period suggests that the worship there was influenced by Assyrian practices. The Bible confirms that Assyria had imperial aspirations in the region during that time, and there was a conflict in Israel between the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel about whether to resist the Assyrians. They even fought over it. Ahaz, King of Judah, sent a proposal of subjugation to Assyria, which proved beneficial for Judah as Assyria did not destroy the kingdom. In contrast, when Hezekiah carried out his religious reforms and abolished Asherah temples, he did so with the intent to eliminate Assyrian influence.

Hezekiah, of course, did other things that prompted Sennacherib to attack Judah. This scenario provides a satisfactory explanation, in my opinion, to infer the likelihood that cannabis was used in the worship of the Judahite Asherah, at least during the days of Ahaz, Hezekiah’s father, and Manasseh, his son. It could also possibly extend back to the days of Solomon, as the description of the sinful worship during Ahaz’s time (and also in the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah) applies throughout the days of the Kingdom of Judah, and of course during Solomon’s reign, who is said to have sacrificed and burned incense on high places. He even seemed to perform something like an incubation (in a hot-box) in the temple at Gibeon (i.e the hill). The high places were those where the altars stood, just as it is written about Ahaz: “He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree”. McClellan ignores this.

PTSD in mesopotamia

Medical texts in cuneiform from the Assyrian period (14th to 7th centuries BCE) refer to war injuries extending beyond physical damage, as well as unintelligible speech, terrifying hallucinations, and wandering thoughts. These can be interpreted today as PTSD —according to Walid Khalid Abdul-Hamid and Jamie Hacker Hughes in a 2014 study published in “Early Science and Medicine.”

Men in Mesopotamia served in a three-year rotation and frequently participated in brutal wars. Living conditions in the ancient world were much harsher, as were the frequency, intensity, and standards of warfare. The duration of military service varied over time based on military needs, but considering an average life expectancy of 30 to 40 years, with several rounds of conscription, a person might serve between 15% to 25% of their life in the army. The rest of life, spent with family, was often not secure, so one might experience trauma both as an attacker and as a victim. Living back then meant carrying a heavy traumatic burden.

Trauma could manifest as a bad mood, flashbacks, or nightmares. These were considered to be caused by evil spirits, and combat trauma could be experienced as an attack by the ghosts of soldiers who died in battle, whether comrades or avenging enemies. They were treated spiritually, as divine punishment or demonic revenge.

Treatment was a combination of spiritual and physical approaches. There were two types of healers: asu and asipu. An asu was a doctor who treated symptoms directly, often through trial and error, using medicines and rituals, probably more medicines. An asipu provided more holistic treatment, focusing more on diagnosing illnesses than on symptom management. Treatment often involved ritualistic recitations, offerings, and amulets, along with necessary medical supplements.