They worshiped _fire_, and kept it burning on an altar, just as the Persians and other nations.[108:4] They worshiped _stones_,[108:5] revered an _oak tree_,[108:6] and "bowed down" to _images_.[108:7] They worshiped a "Queen of Heaven" called the goddess _Astarte_ or _Mylitta_, and "burned incense" to her.[108:8] They worshiped _Baal_,[108:9] Moloch,[108:10] and _Chemosh_,[108:11] _and offered up human sacrifices to them_,[108:12] after which in some instances, _they ate the victim_.[108:13] It was during the Captivity that idolatry ceased among the Israelites.[108:14] The Babylonian Captivity is clearly referred to in the book of Deuteronomy, as the close of Israel's idolatry.[108:15] There is reason to believe that the real genius of the people was first called into full exercise, and put on its career of development at this time; that Babylon was a _forcing nursery_, not a prison cell; _creating instead of stifling a nation_. The astonishing outburst of intellectual and moral energy that accompanied the return from the Babylonish Captivity, attests the spiritual activity of that "mysterious and momentous" time. As Prof. Goldziher says: "The intellect of _Babylon_ and _Assyria_ exerted a more than passing influence on that of the _Hebrews_, not merely touching it, but _entering deep into it_, and _leaving its own impression upon it_."[108:16] This impression we have already partly seen in the legends which they borrowed, and it may also be seen in the religious ideas which they imbibed. The Assyrian colonies which came and occupied the land of the tribes of Israel filled the kingdom of Samaria with the dogma of the _Magi_, which very soon penetrated into the kingdom of Judah. Afterward, Jerusalem being subjugated, the defenseless country was entered by persons of different nationalities, who introduced their opinions, and in this way, the religion of Israel was doubly mutilated. Besides, the priests and great men, who were transported to Babylon, were educated in the sciences of the Chaldeans, and imbibed, during a residence of fifty years, nearly the whole of their theology. It was not until this time that the dogmas of the hostile genius (Satan), the angels Michael, Uriel, Yar, Nisan, &c., the rebel angels, the battle in heaven, the immortality of the soul, and the resurrection, were introduced and naturalized among the Jews.[109:1] * * * * *