Oriental Antiquities

Triad of Beelshamên and Canaanite pantheon

Triad of Beelshamên AO 19801 Sully room 20 showcase 3 (2) This religious relief was found in Palmyra, commonly identified with Tadmor - 2 Chronicles 8:4.

 Triad of Beelshamên and Canaanite pantheon

The three main deities of the city are shown appearing like Roman soldiers. Baal, described as “Lord of the Sky” or “Rider of the Clouds” appears between the moon-god Aglibol to his right and the sun-god Malakbel to his left. Baal and the other divinities of the Canaanite pantheon were associated in the minds of their worshippers with certain heavenly bodies. A text from Ras Shamra mentions an offering to “queen Shapash (the sun) and the stars”; another speaks of the “army of the sun and the host of the day”. The Bible established a link between the heavenly bodies and the worship of Baal. “They began to bow down to all the army of the heavens and to serve Ba´al.” - 2 Kings 17:16.

This conception of a triune God is also found
in Egypt and Babylon

This concept of a Trinitarian god was already found in Babylon and in Egypt.
On the orb of the stele, as if on the celestial vault, are the astral divinities: Sin, the Moon, Shamash, the Sun, and Ishtar in the form of a star representing the planet Venus. The gods are represented by their symbols. Babylonian Triad     Sb 22 Richelieu room 3
The Egyptian worshipped triads of divinities. The best known is shown here. It is composed of the god Osiris, sat on a pillar inscribed with the name Osorkon II. The god is flanked by two figures: on his left, his sister and wife, Isis, divine symbol of Motherhood; on his right, their son Horus. The Egyptian pantheon patently displays the stamp of Babylonian heritage. The relationship between Osiris and Isis and their respective characteristics correspond surprisingly with those of the Babylonian divinities, Tammuz and Ishtar AE50, AE51

Triad of Osorkon II     E 6204

Sully room 29

Crowning of the Virgin

RF 1966-11 Christian Trinity  

 “The Old Testament

tells us nothing, implicitly or explicitly, about a Triune god. There is no proof that any of the sacred authors even suspected the existence of a Trinity in God” AE52 
It is interesting to note that ‘the word Trinity does not feature in the New Testament. This doctrine took shape progressively, over several centuries and through many a controversy.’ AE53