However, as the book religion solidified, Asherah became increasingly marginalized in the scriptures to the point of being reduced to her cult objectthe stylized tree or wooden pole which became known as asherah or asherim. Conversely, when destroyed, these cult symbols can be described as being cut down, hewn down, or uprooted; they can also be said to be burned, overturned, or broken. an Asherah pole Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily? King Manasseh even placed there a carved image of the sacred pole, evidently a representation of the goddess Asherah. 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. The good kings took them out of Israelite worship, and the wicked kings either erected them or continued the worship of these idols unabated. The year 1185 BC heralded a diaspora of the so-called Sea Peoples to the south-western coast of the Levantine. Cut them down. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure. (NLT). Josiah reversed this course and took all of these pagan symbols out of the temple. 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. Tracing the history of Asherah poles is an interesting study. (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. They forgot about the LORD their God, and they served the images of Baal and the Asherah poles (Judges 3:7, NLT ). 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. 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. She has an M.A. (2Ki 13:6, ftn) However, it is not always possible to determine whether a particular scripture is to be understood as referring to the idolatrous object or to the goddess. I don't believe her name is Asherah I think from what I've learned from Enoch and Jubilees Asherah was so supposed to have been married to a bad angel name Baraqiel or Baraqel it means Lightening Giver in Hebrew Baraqiel name was shortened I believe to Baal a weather deity like Zeus or Marmaduke in Babylon. 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. And why is she often found paired with Yahweh, the Hebrew god? inscription from Khirbet el-Qom, about twenty-five miles southwest of Jerusalem, contains similar language in 1 Kgs 15:13 and 2 Kgs 18:4, 21:7, and 23:6 (with parallels in 2 Chronicles) indicate that at least during certain points in the ninth, eighth, and seventh centuries B.C.E., Asherahs sacred pole was perceived as an appropriate icon to erect in Jerusalem, even in YHWHs temple. Wife He thus divided the administration of government between this Czars militaristic empire-building sphere and the cultic-religious sphere with his daughter in her capacity as patroness of the arts. In Ugaritic literature, she was called Lady Asherah of the Sea.. The Ras Shamra texts identify this goddess as the wife of the god El, the Creator of Creatures, and refer to her as Lady Asherah of the Sea and Progenitress of the Gods, this also making her the mother of Baal. what does an asherah pole look like (1Ki 14:22-24; 2Ki 17:10) Only seldom did kings such as Hezekiah (and Josiah) come along, who removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars to pieces and cut down the sacred pole.2Ki 18:4; 2Ch 34:7. 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. And nowhow much close can be Yahweh to Baal ? Sign up to receive our email newsletter and never miss an update. Instead, rural communities had their own religious beliefs using statuary and other artifacts. What we need is a living encounter with God. (Keller, Counterfeit Gods, 155). Olyan, Saul M. Asherah 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. Both of these phrases are stereotypically used by the biblical writers to describe sites of idolatrous worship, implying, as does Judges 6, that the worship of Asherah was an apostate behavior in Israel and improper for followers of YHWH. Micah 5:14 shows God s anger towards them, [] #3. Its our plight that moved the heavensit is the LORD Himself who would come and rescue us. Asherah Asherah was known as the Mother or Creator of all the gods. But the gospel teaches something different. Evidence suggests that Asherah was observed in ancient Israel and Judah as early as the 12th century BC, to a few decades before the fall of the southern kingdom of Judah (587-588 BC), a time known as the pre-exilic period. These appendages of idolatry, likely phallic symbols, were associated with grossly immoral sex orgies, as is indicated by the reference to male prostitutes being in the land as early as Rehoboams reign. Very much like the lyrics of the famous She may be ancient Egypts most famous face, but the quest to find the eternal resting place of Queen Nefertiti has never been hotter. ], 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). WebAn Asherah pole was a sacred pole (or sometimes a tree) that was used in the worship of the pagan goddess Asherah. Asherah pole (Jg 6:25) Jezebel, the Sidonian wife of Ahab the king of Israel, entertained at her table 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the sacred pole, or Asherah.1Ki 18:19. One of the primary reasons Israel fell to the Assyrians was because of Gods anger over their worship of Asherah and Baal (2 Kings 17:523). 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. 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. They set up an Asherah pole and worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven. Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down. (NLT). Fairchild, Mary. Asherah poles were erected at sacred sites and alongside altars throughout the land of Canaan on every high hill and under every green tree (1 Kings 14:23, ESV). They must be replaced. Have an update or correction? Are the Misty Peaks of the Azores Remnants of the Legendary Atlantis? You must break down their pagan altars and shatter their sacred pillars. Scripture also references carved images of Asherah (1 Kings 15:13; 2 Kings 21:7). And Ahab made an Asherah. When I read that verse my first instinct is to say, I sure hope he had a tissue. Is an Asherah a good thing, or a bad thing? None the less, they were and have been instructed not to do this by the WORD of . Were the pre-exilic Israelites and Judeans polytheistic ? Is an Asherah Pole Ever Mentioned in the Bible? The Israelites also worshiped Asherah from as early as the time immediately following the death of Joshua (Judges 2:13). 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). Why Do We Need to Be Crucified with Christ? and the Cult of Yahweh in Israel. In this context, these people were in captivity because of what they were doingit was a matter of cause and effect. (Viewed on March 4, 2023) . The 4.What Is an Asherah Pole and Does it Have Biblical Significance? Asherah The relation of the literary references to an asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate. 7 Things I Would Do Differently if I Were Raising My Children California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. https://www.learnreligions.com/asherah-in-the-bible-6824125 (accessed March 4, 2023). Nefer Say Nefer - Was Nefertiti Buried in the Valley of the Queens? While Ashtoreth appears to have figured as the wife of Baal, Asherah may also have been so viewed. The Lord warns the people of Israel, portending the consequences of their idolatry: 1 Kings 14:15Then the LORD will shake Israel like a reed whipped about in a stream. Right on Elizabeth F She is most commonly depicted as a carved wooden image rather than by a proper name, which is why the Bible usually mentions her in the grammatical form as either an adjective or a noun (compare 2 Kings 23:6 vs. It is likely through the various secular conquests and the changing political landscape that God kept his promise to root out the Asherah images.. From the site of Kuntillet Ajrud, in the eastern Sinai, come three ninth- or eighth-century B.C.E. "Who Is Asherah in the Bible?" Your email address will not be published. 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. 31 December 1999. Routing number of commercial bank of Ethiopia? Christian Truth. We want to believe that what we do can move the heavens. Was her worship confined to folk religion only, or was her influence felt in the book religion of the Hebrew Bible as well? From what i know Asherah is a false god(dess) which the Children of Israel worshiped and abandoned God for. There is some biblical evidence that does see women as particularly attracted to goddess cults (for example, womens role in the cult of the queen of heaven, according to Jer 7:18 and 44:1719, 25), and the various female figurines found in domestic contexts at multiple Israelite sites might also suggest this, assuming, as many scholars do, that women played an especially important role in family-centered religious activities. Likewise, these writers do not always make a clear distinction between references to the goddess Asherah and the objects dedicated to her for worship. Asherah If a correspondence holds, then the trees of life and of knowledge in the Eden narrative may also reflect Asherah imagery. Her name means she who enriches. Asherah was mistranslated as grove in the King James Version of the Bible. of Biblical Literature 112 (1993): 385401. It could be that Astarte was a wife of Baal, or they are just praised together. Archaeologists have been able to take a closer look at one of the United Kingdoms most famous shipwrecks. The full hymn reads: YHWH came from Sinai and shone forth. at his right hand his own Asherah.. Hence the term nesi is related to the word ns which means to lift up, and in the Sumerian term ensi it refers to a ruler in the capacity of having his/her legitimacy derived from the local deities in their respective cities. An Asherah pole was a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the pagan goddess Asherah, also known as Astarte. Asherah worship was deeply sensual, involving illicit sex and ritual prostitution. The Asherah pole is a sacred tree or pole found near Canaanite religious sites in honor of Asherah, a Canaanite mother goddess who is Els consort. In Hebrew, she is known as Asherah. Jewish Women's Archive. Reassessment of Asherah: A Study According to Textual Sources of the First WebFor instance the carved Asherah, also a pagan monument, represented female properties because it was carved to resemble the pagan goddess Ashtaroth (Astarte). It was essentially a phallic symbol. Put simply, an Asherah pole is a wooden idol (likely in the shape of a tree) used to worship the goddess Asherah. But there is more than removal of idols (more than keeping yourself from temptation) that must take place if real holiness and dedication are to be the result. Whether as Asherah, Astarte, or any other name, feminine manifestations of the godhead were systematically and sometimes violently opposed by the religious authorities of the Kingdom of Judah and its Temple. Atlanta: In fact, the very notion of polytheism is inherent in the quest for Asherah. 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. (AT, JB) Others have not endeavored to make a distinction but have simply transliterated the Hebrew word (RS) or have consistently translated it sacred pole(s). (NW) In the older translations of the Bible, the Hebrew word has usually been rendered as grove(s). (KJ, Le) But this rendering is inappropriate in such texts as Judges 3:7 and 2Kings 23:6 (KJ), which speak of serving groves and bringing out the grove from the temple at Jerusalem. The ruling elite propagandized against goddess worship by integrating the story of the fall of mankind to the tree which was clearlyassociated with Asherah. These cult objects are generally described as being in the shape of a pole or stylized tree. Webcrimecon 2022 speakers. What they sowed earned captivity. Dig into the illuminating world of the Bible with a BAS All-Access membership. WebIf you look at the Statue of Liberty you will notice that near her feet the robe resembles a tree trunk. Iron Age Comb Made from Human Skull Discovered Near Cambridge, Caesars Savage Human Skewers Unearthed In German Fort, The Evidence is Cut in Stone: A Compelling Argument for Lost High Technology in Ancient Egypt. : 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. 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. Asherah figures prominently as the wife of Elthe supreme godin a treasure trove of cuneiform texts found in the second millennium port city of Ugarit (in todays Northern Syria). Judah was punished for the sin of idol worship: Jeremiah 17:14The sin of Judah is inscribed with an iron chiselengraved with a diamond point on their stony hearts and on the corners of their altars. Lovelock Cave: A Tale of Giants or A Giant Tale of Fiction? The Bible also connects sacred poles with the high places (open-air cult sites?) Were theonlyPop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives. What Is an Asherah Pole and Does it Have Biblical Significance? Idols are alluring at times because we want something tangible. Does it make any difference? In the Authorized Ibid. You have proven without doubt the disobedience of the chosen people of , to run after the gods of other nations. He (Abraham) saw a light radiating from the cave, so there he prayed, and there the blessed Holy One spoke with him. 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.) (From Forerunner Commentary). Baruch haba bshem Adoni YAHUAH. WebIts symbol was the stem of a tree deprived of its boughs, and rudely shaped into an image, and planted in the ground. The ancient city of Eleusis in Greece was the site of one of the most mysterious and revered religious rites of ancient Greece, the Eleusinian Mysteries. Asherah A famous Asherah pole stood in Samaria in the days of King Jehoahaz (2 Kings 13:6). Like a pole or tree, they can be said to be planted, stood up, or erected. They portray a woman clutching her exaggerated breasts as if offering them to a nursing child. 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. An eighth-century B.C.E. Rusty and rough looking. The Sacred Poles. Asherah Some scholars believe that asherim were not poles, but living trees (like the one depicted on the Tanaach Cult Stand). The bible itself denounced the Israelites several times for their polytheistic tendencies they worshipped the idols left by both Gideon and Moses (Moses brazen serpent), An article on the slow change among the Israelites going from saying, "Our god is the best god" to "Our god is the only god" would probably go well with this one, There is a footnote on the explanation of this thesis. Put simply, an Asherah pole is a wooden idol (likely in the shape of a tree) used to worship the goddess Asherah. 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) . See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. 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. Let us know. What Is an Asherah Pole The Ugarit excavation of 1928 put Asherah, the goddess, on the map again, after having lost her place for thousands of years. Perhaps Im opening a Pandoras Box, but this goddess never really was eradicated from Judaism because the sacred tree of Asherah was so universal in ancient times so that (almost) everyone would understand that the position of the Tree of Life in the middle of the garden (Genesis 2:9) referred to the all-pervading cultural influence where this iconic image appeared everywhere like the pithos from Kuntilet Ajrud depicting two ibexes flanking a stylized tree and on the cult stand from Tanaach on the third tier from the bottom that features two goats flanking a tree, with both examples having depictions of lions that are identified with Asherah. There is also a connection with Abraham whom the Hittites referred to as a prince and an ancient tradition of self-governance in Canaan; Hear us my lord, you are the prince (nesi) of God among us (Genesis 23:6). Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women. On occasion in Ugaritic myth, Asherah performs the maternal role of wet nurse. Archaeologists speculate that it is an image of an Asherah pole. From torch to toe the Statue of Liberty resembles a pole. Her principal epithet was probably She Who Walks on the Sea.. He even went so far as to put the Asherah within the house of the Lord. Answer. (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 goddess Asherah (Astarte) is the name of the wife of the God of Israel? Israels association of Asherah with sacred trees is repeated over thirty times in the Bible; many of these citations are stereotypically used by the biblical writers to describe sites of idolatrous worship, implying that the worship of Asherah was an apostate behavior in Israel and improper for followers of YHWH. In the above article the author mentions Asherah as being the mother of the 70 gods of the Canaanite pantheon. The word itself is pronounced Ash-Ruh. Ash, like the stuff you have in the bottom of your fireplace, and ruh like the first part of Scooby-Doos ruh-roh. But what is it and what is the significance of it? That's all I have for now this was a very exciting Article to read thanks for Posting it much appreciated. There are other Hera, also known by her Latin title as Juno, is best known in Western culture as the wife of Zeus, king of the gods. It's kind of like Seatlle, but windier and with more trees. Nearly all instances of Asherah in the Bible refer to a sacred pole constructed by human hands and erected in honor of the fertility goddess. ( The Met ). But centuries ago, the land that is now the United States was a very different place As Greek mythology goes, the universe was once a big soup of nothingness. Another translation of carved Asherah pole is graven image of the grove (KJV). ). Archaeological discoveries from the late 1970s and early 1980s have further indicated that, at least in the opinion of some ancient Israelites, YHWH and Asherah were appropriately worshipped as a pair. Trees, often connected to fertility, had been considered a sacred symbol for the nurturing figure of Asherah. The painting on the jar depicts a pole with thin branches in the shape of a stylized tree. It could be that all of the middleeastern goddesses of love, were very similiar in nature, together with Ishtar and Inanna. The city of Tyre on the Mediterranean coast was home to the best cedars of Lebanon and seemed to have been an important center for the worship of Asherah. Kevelaer, Germany: 1993. Who is Asherah? The mention of these deities in the plural may indicate that each locality had its Baal and Asherah. p. 106) . It was essentially a phallic symbol. She is often placed beside the chief male deity. I think the mere evidence of their present condition easily confirms that as well. AtAncient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. rim) is thought to refer to (1) a sacred pole representing Asherah, a Canaanite goddess of fertility (Jg 6:25,26), and (2) the goddess Asherah herself. Asherah figures prominently as the wife of Elthe supreme godin a treasure trove of cuneiform texts found in the second millennium port city of Ugarit (in todays Northern Syria). Asherah in the Hebrew Bible and Northwest Semitic Literature. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. Subscribe to the CompellingTruth.org Newsletter: Asherah (also Ashtoreth or Astarte, though there may have been a distinction) was the primary goddess worshiped by the ancient Canaanites and neighboring peoples, including the Philistines (1 Samuel 31:10). It was reputed in local legend to be the seat of the god Wotan and to be haunted. By and large, the biblical writers were unhappy that Asherah shared the same platform with their male deity, Yahweh, and repeatedly tried to dissuade their pairing.
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