Bible Dictionary
TOTEMISM
Totemism is the theory that clans or peoples identify with and reverence an animal, plant, or other ancestral symbol. Animal-related personal and tribal names have been cited as possible evidence in early Israel, but the evidence is uncertain and does not show that totemism shaped Israel’s established religion.
Biblical Usage
The Old Testament religion, as presented in the source, retains no clear recollection of a totemistic stage. The names and passages sometimes connected with totemism do not prove that Israel practiced such worship or that it was a dominant factor in Israel’s historical religion.