In the Scriptures, the Hebrew word for Asherah is used both for the goddess herself and for the poles erected in her honor. Help JWA continue to lift up Jewish womens stories, this month and every month, by. Happy Womens History Month! A small votive statue of the Mother Goddess of Asherah. (2Ch 33:11-13, 15, 21-23) This made it necessary for righteous King Josiah, who succeeded Amon to the throne, to pull down the houses of the male temple prostitutes that were in the house of Jehovah, where the women were weaving tent shrines for the sacred pole.2Ki 23:4-7. Understandings and Misunderstandings about the Ancient Practice of Sacred Prostitution, 7,500-year-old Juniper Stump Is Believed Oldest Goddess Asherah Idol, Tracing The Footprints Of The Philistines To Minoan Knossos On Crete, The Resurrection of Asherah, Mother-Goddess of Humankind, Unravelling the Roots of Hera, the Wrathful Goddess of Marriage. God chose Israel to be his own special treasure and ordered the destruction of pagan altars and the cutting down of Asherah poles: Deuteronomy 7:56This is what you must do. Webwhat does an asherah pole look like. This site is a proud member of the Salem Web Network, a subsidiary of, Copyright 2023, Crosswalk.com. Her principal epithet was probably She Who Walks on the Sea.. These sacrifices usually consisted of the firstborn child of the person making the sacrifice (see Jeremiah 19:5). Burial inscription from Khirbet el-Quom, 8th cent. (Nick Thompson/ CC BY NC SA 2.0 ), In fact, this phrase Yahweh and his Asherah was so quotidian that it actually appears in the Hebrew Bible itself. The wonderful possession I have reserved for you will slip from your hands. Copyright 2011-2023 Got Questions Ministries - All Rights Reserved. The full hymn reads: YHWH came from Sinai and shone forth. at his right hand his own Asherah.. As Owen would say, Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you. We see from history that when the Israelites refused to cut down the Asherah poles it was an indicator that their hearts were not fully given over to the Lord. (From Forerunner Commentary). A Blazing Weapon: Unraveling the Mystery of Greek Fire, Theyre Alive! This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. ( Public Domain ), Whereas Asherahs influence was restrained in the official religion, her presence loomed large in the rural communities, most often in the form of figurines which are prolific in the region. In the time of Hezekiah, there was a similar revival to that of Asa. Idols are alluring at times because we want something tangible. Prior to this, we have abundant evidence that other gods and goddesses were worshipped in Israel in addition to (or sometimes instead of) YHWH. The relation of the literary references to an asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate. The Lord God Jehovah is perfect, man is not. Cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols. I will tell your enemies to take you as captives to a foreign land. In 1 Kings 14, we see that Jeroboam and his followers would be judged by the Lord because they have made their Asherim, provoking the LORD to anger. The same judgment would befall Maacah, the mother of Asa, because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. They forgot about the LORD their God, and they served the images of Baal and the Asherah poles (Judges 3:7, NLT ). And nowhow much close can be Yahweh to Baal ? For perhaps hundreds of years before Abraham migrated to what would become known as Israel, Asherah was revered as Athirat, Earth Mother and Fertility Goddess. Some scholars believe that asherim were not poles, but living trees (like the one depicted on the Tanaach Cult Stand). They would mockingly show the inadequacy of worshipping sticks of wood (that you have to craft) that you created while rejecting the living God. And how do you even pronounce it? By God himself, of course. Therefore, Asherah worship often took place in forested areas, under a tree, or in an area marked by a carved "Asherah pole," such as the one made by the evil King Manasseh ( 2 Kings 21:7 ). The relation of the literary references to an asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate. He will uproot the people of Israel from this good land that he gave their ancestors and will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, for they have angered the LORD with the Asherah poles they have set up for worship. http://www.transoxiana.org/0108/roberts-enheduana.html, He will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15). The sacred poles apparently stood upright and were made of wood, or at least contained wood, the Israelites being commanded to cut them down and to burn them. In their mythology, the Canaanites (or Israelites of a certain Canaanite cult) sometimes paired Asherah with Yahweh, as though she was Yahwehs wife. Asherah worship was deeply sensual, involving illicit sex and ritual prostitution. Asherah poles do not make an appearance. Fairchild, Mary. In the above article the author mentions Asherah as being the mother of the 70 gods of the Canaanite pantheon. Combine a one-year tablet and print subscription to BAR with membership in the BAS Library to start your journey into the ancient past today! ]. WebIf you look at the Statue of Liberty you will notice that near her feet the robe resembles a tree trunk. In a world beset by hardship and drought, likely a concern for fecundity was what attracted the rural Israelites and Judeans to the goddess Asherah, whom they associated with abundance. For those ancient Israelites who saw Asherah as YHWHs consort, this should suggest a correspondence between the queen mother, the wife of the kings biological father on earth, and Asherah, the wife of YHWH, who was the kings metaphorical father in the heavens. By way of contrast, the intellectual community in the metropolis produced a text, which was written entirely from the perspective of the upper or ruling classes. Olyan, Saul M. Asherah While sorting through some 280,000 artifacts excavated from land reserved for a highway construction project running from Cambridge to the village of Huntingdon in eastern England, archaeologists affiliated with the Museum of London Archaeology discovered a miniature comb that was incredibly ancient and also made from a most unusual material. What is an Asherah Pole The discussion of these texts revealed that scholars differ about the interpretation (of the Kuntillet el-'Ajrud inscriptions), reading either 'Asherata' or 'his Asherah' and also about the question whether only the sacred pole is implied. What did the Nazis begin using gas chambers instead of mobile killing units and shooting squads after a while. Yet even in these earlier materials, we sometimes see evidence of a phenomenon that comes to dominate in the exilic period: the impulse to assimilate the attributes of the many gods and goddesses of older polytheistic systems to the one god, YHWH. WebAsherah was often associated with carved trees. What is the origin of the legend of the Christed Son who was born of a virgin on December 25th? Answer. Worship of Asherah in biblical times was widespread throughout Syria, Phoenicia, and Canaan. Under No dew, no rain; no welling up of the deep, no sweetness of Baals voice. The Hebrews were not to intermarry with pagan nations and were to avoid anything that might be seen as pagan worship (Leviticus 20:23; 2 Kings 17:15; Ezekiel 11:12). ], the goddess Asherah) or his asherah (meaning YHWHs sacred pole that represents the goddess Asherah and that sits in his temple or beside his altar). Scripture also references carved images of Asherah (1 Kings 15:13; 2 Kings 21:7). Most believe she was the wife of the supreme god El and the mother of Baal. Literacy was close to non-existent in the rural communities, thus the book religion as practiced in the cities would have little meaning in the lives of those inhabiting the outlying areas. (Ex 34:13; De 12:3) They may have simply been uncarved poles, perhaps even trees in some instances, for Gods people were instructed: You must not plant for yourself any sort of tree as a sacred pole.De 16:21. "Who Is Asherah in the Bible?" In Deuteronomy 16:21 they are forbidden to plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the LORD your God. This would have been syncretizing Israelite worship with the worship of this pagan goddess. Ancient Cults Do Not Shed Light On The OT http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/asherah-and-the-asherim-god… [], [] http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/asherah-and-the-asherim-god… [], Oops! It was closely associated with the worship of Baal: The Israelites did evil in the LORDs sight. During the period of the Judges, it is noted that the apostate Israelites went serving the Baals and the sacred poles [the Asherim]. (Jg 3:7, ftn; compare 2:13.) In Proverbs Wisdom is often referred to as Her at some point in 1st King's and 2nd Chronicles God became enraged for Judah and Israel's defiant worship of the Queen of Heaven in the form of Idolatry the 2nd Commandment from God in Exodus Chapter 20 and Deutronomy chapter 5 Thou Shall Not make unto the any Graven Image neither what is in the Air, what is in the Sea, what is on the Land He Shall Not Bow before them. Asherah was known as the Mother or Creator of all the gods. I've have been recently studying Cast Out Bible Books like for example Enoch an in Enoch 1 The Book of Watchers (200 Evil-Angel), Enoch was given a grand tour of Heaven accompanied by some good Angels He made it all the way to the throne room of God and made known The Holy Trinity I AM Yahweh, The Holy One and The Elect One Who is Christ the Reedemer in fact Enoch bears witness in Heaven watching The Ancient of Days going by an The Son of Man Christ follows close behind with 10000 Angels accompanying them both. For perhaps hundreds of years before Abraham migrated to what would become known as Israel, Asherah was revered as Athirat, Earth Mother and Fertility The Ugarit excavation of 1928 put Asherah, the goddess, on the map again, after having lost her place for thousands of years. Becerrillo: The Terrifying War Dog of the Spanish Conquistadors. ), was allowed to remain standing by the reformer King Jehu (1 Kgs 16:33; 2 Kgs 13:6), even though Jehu was generally at pains to remove all non-Yahwistic cults and cult imagery from the land. and the Cult of Yahweh in Israel. 1992. Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women. In Exodus 34:12-14 the Asherim are specifically mentioned as needing to be cut down once the Israelites enter the land, so as not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and begin worshipping their gods. Asherah And the prophets began to exalt the fullness of the Lord and they would do so at the idols expense. Asherah veneration was explicitly forbidden in the Jewish law: You must never set up a wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build for the LORD your God (Deuteronomy 16:21, NLT). an Asherah Pole For example, one of the Canaanite epithets of Asherah, elat, goddess, is etymologically identical to the Hebrew word for the terebinth tree (ela). I just have found that there were discovered cylinders from XIV century B.C. We will consider what/who is Asherah and the significant role it plays within the biblical narrative. But do we still have God-substitutes? In Judges 6, Gideon was called to tear down the altar to Baal and to cut down the Asherah that is beside it. Again, we see Asherah almost as a sidekick to the prominent male deity. During the reign of Josiah, the priest Hilkiah purged the images of Asherah from the Temple (2 Kings 23:6). The Old Testament writers do not give a detailed description of Asherah or an Asherah pole nor of the origin of the worship of Asherah. An Asherah pole, like the ones found here, often represented trees associated with this mother goddess, but some archeologists believe they used living trees for these objects of religion. Despite these and other references associating Asherah with apostasy, contemporary discoveries have further indicated that, at least in the opinion of some ancient Israelites, YHWH and Asherah were appropriately worshipped as a pair. Tradition has it that Abraham chased the calf until it led him to the Cave of Macpelah which he later purchased from the Hittites, and they also worshipped a storm god that they borrowed from the Hurrians, Teshub. If that was the case, we would have seen the death of these Asherah poles when Asa, Hezekiah, or Jehosophat put in order stirring reforms and cut down the Asherim. Those raised in the Judeo-Christian tradition may be surprised to learn that the god we were told was singularly sacred once had a wife. You have proven without doubt the disobedience of the chosen people of , to run after the gods of other nations. How do we know? The statue appears such that she totally *could* be carved out of a single (yet giant) tree. Send us your question and well respond within 24 hours. One of these Pagan Phoenicians was "Jezebel" (Izebel), who married Ahab, king of Israel (Samaritan king). Who Is Asherah in the Bible? Your email address will not be published. At this point it is important to make a distinction between the book religion of the ruling classes in the metropolis and folk or popular religion as it was practiced in rural communities for which most Israelites were a part. No where in the Bible does it say God had a wife.. Do not take what great people have written in books and say it is right. Dig into the illuminating world of the Bible with a BAS All-Access membership. The north pole is not a country, so it doesn't have a flag. Thus it appears that, although generally the biblical writersespecially certain prophets (Isa 17:8; 27:9; Jer 17:2; Mic 5:14) and the authors responsible for Deuteronomy, Judges, 1 and 2 Kings, and 2 Chroniclesregarded Asherah worship as inappropriate, at least some and possibly many in ancient Israel incorporated the goddesss cult imagery and ritual into the cult of YHWH. Ugaritic and other Canaanite materials further associate Asherah with lions (indicating power), serpents (representing immortality or healing), and sacred trees (signifying fertility). WebIn Judges 6, a sacred pole of Asherah is said to have stood beside the altar of the Canaanite storm god, Baal. Under A number of modern Bible translations, though, have rendered the original-language word as sacred pole(s) [or post] but transliterated it when the reference is apparently to the goddess. COPYRIGHT 2023 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY 5614 Connecticut Ave NW #343, Washington DC 20015-2604. like that of a bar magnet, with the north pole at earth's Kevelaer, Germany: 1993. The Untersberg is a great mountain straddling the Austro-German border opposite Salzburg. It was closely associated with the worship of Baal: The Israelites did evil in the LORDs sight. Reassessment of Asherah: A Study According to Textual Sources of the First The Bible also connects sacred poles with the high places (open-air cult sites?) WebFor instance the carved Asherah, also a pagan monument, represented female properties because it was carved to resemble the pagan goddess Ashtaroth (Astarte). Who is Jason crabb mother and where is she? An Asherah pole is a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the Ugaritic mother goddess Asherah, consort of El. If you only try to uproot them, they grow back; but they can be supplanted. Do we still have Asherah poles today? Asherah and Idol Worship Learn Religions, Nov. 28, 2022, learnreligions.com/asherah-in-the-bible-6824125. Routing number of commercial bank of Ethiopia? She has an M.A. Every Green Tree: Popular Religion in Sixth-Century Judah. No wonder those clay figurines were so popular, enabling immediate access to the goddess, while the serpent is planning his trap like acting inquisitive to find out which fruit is prohibited and she says something like Oh, I heard those cannabis cookies are a way too potent and those chocolate chip cookies are high in calories, and the serpent knows that the ingredient in chocolate makes her feel satisfied and she is not desiring for her husband (Genesis 3:16) It also states that God would put enmity between (bein) the woman and the serpent and between (bein) her descendants and serpent (Genesis 3:15), whose head is located at the lowest part of the human brain where the baser instincts are located. King Manasseh even placed there a carved image of the sacred pole, evidently a representation of the goddess Asherah. WebAn Asherah pole is a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the Ugaritic mother goddess Asherah, consort of El. Their father was El, and it is from this deity that the name Elohim is derived, meaning God or gods (70 gods or offspring of El). The painting on the jar depicts a pole with thin branches in the shape of a stylized tree. Tim Keller says it well: idols cannot simply be removed. Before Israel entered and took possession of the promised land, God warned them not to worship Canaans gods (Deuteronomy 6:14-15). Totem Poles, Christmas Trees and Obelisks Part Baal, the chief of the Canaanite pantheon, was the god of storm and bringer of rain. He was recognized as the sustainer of the fertility of crops, animals, and people. In Ugaritic literature, she was called Lady Asherah of the Sea.. He was offended by what was going on. WebSummary: An Asherah pole is a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the Ugaritic mother goddess Asherah, consort of El. Trees were revered as symbols of life and nourishment in arid regions and so became associated with Asherah and her cult. Then, two things happened: either Chaos or Gaia created the universe as we know it, or Ouranos and Tethys gave birth to the first beings. I can have my cake and eat it too. This is stretching it a bit. In a related sense, an asherah could refer to a wooden pole, effectively an indoor stand-in for a tree. Let us be your passport to Laos and much more. Two Millennia, The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women, Copyright 19982023, Jewish Women's Archive. Trees, often connected to fertility, had been considered a sacred symbol for the nurturing figure of Asherah. In Judges 6, a sacred pole of Asherah is said to have stood beside the altar of the Canaanite storm god, Baal. Sign up to receive our email newsletter and never miss an update. Manasseh, King of Judah, followed the despicable practices of the pagan nations. : Monotheism in Ancient Israel and the Veneration of the Goddess Asherah (Biblical Seminar ) by Bob Becking, Meindert Dijkstra, Marjo C. A. Korpel, Karel J. H. Vriezen, Sheffield Academic Press 2001, p. 117. What does asherah pole mean? What is the reflection of the story of princess urduja? Nefer Say Nefer - Was Nefertiti Buried in the Valley of the Queens? Fairchild, Mary. In the mid-1970s, a large pottery storage jar known as a pithos was found at Kuntillet Ajrud in the northeast part of the Sinai Peninsula. But Israel disobeyed God and worshipped idols anyway, even bringing Asherah worship into the Temple in Jerusalem. So I wonder how much close that myth can be to the literary insciptions found in the Bible, and how much Asherah can be understood as Astarte, as both of those goddesses are goddesses of love, war and fertility. Predominantly, the pillar figurines were found in private homes, suggesting their domesticity. It is likely through the various secular conquests and the changing political landscape that God kept his promise to root out the Asherah images.. Nevertheless, the presence of Asherahs cult in the Jerusalem temple and in the cult city of Bethel indicates that worship of the goddess was also appealing to men, given that it was an all-male clergy that officiated at these (and at every) Israelite religious site. They must be uprooted. inscriptions from the Sinai; the late-thirteenth-century B.C.E. Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. Asherah is not Eve, nor is she the wife of God for God does not have a wife ( Jesus has a Bride ie the Church) . Put simply, an Asherah pole is a wooden idol (likely in the shape of a tree) used to worship the goddess Asherah. Not only was the queen mothers position in the palace generally paralleled by Asherahs position as mother goddess in the heavens, but also the queen mothers status as the wife of the kings father suggests an affinity to Asherahs cult. Are the Misty Peaks of the Azores Remnants of the Legendary Atlantis? The Iliad can provide new insights on the role of motherhood among the ancient Greek gods, and by extension, amongst ancient mortal Greek women themselves. Sacrificial feasts were held in the sacred GROVES of Asherah in Jerusalem according to Apion." ( The Met ). WebAn Asherah pole was a sacred pole (or sometimes a tree) that was used in the worship of the pagan goddess Asherah. (NLT). How then did they worship? It was essentially a phallic symbol. Either way, God made it clear that the people of Israel shouldnt flirt with such syncretism. They portray a woman clutching her exaggerated breasts as if offering them to a nursing child. Another of Asherahs sacred poles stood in that kingdoms capital city, Samaria. The inscription reads: I have blessed you by Yahweh.and his Asherah. Not only was this engraving found in the 9th-8th century BC Israelite caravanserai, Kuntillet Ajrud, the same text was found in a number of sites thought to be Yahweh sanctuaries, such as in Samaria, Jerusalem, Teman, and in the Biblical kingdom of Judah, at the ancient burial site of Khirbet el-Qom, dating to 750 BC. Asherah worship turned good people into sex addicts. the cross is a representation of Jesus to Christians. The Moora Mystery: What Happened When a Girl Stepped into the Moor 2,500 Years Ago? This can easily happen in either the old Hebrew or the Aramaic script. He rebuilt the high places and set up altars for Baal and an Asherah pole. If a correspondence holds, then the trees of life and of knowledge in the Eden narrative may also reflect Asherah imagery. Yet increasingly, Asherahs influence in the region is becoming recognized by archaeologists and historians alike, with the expectation of further scrutiny and scholarship to come in this area. What the Bible says about (b) a construction similar, to the admittedly much later, Song of Songs 1:6 karmi elli. Such religious symbols ("groves") are frequently alluded to in Scripture ( Exodus 34:13 ; Judges 6:25 ; 2 Kings 23:6 ; 1 Kings 16:33 , etc. These sacred poles were situated in various locations.