How do we know? What the Bible says about The sacred pole of Samaria, moreover, which was erected during the reign of King Ahab (reigned 873852 B.C.E. 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. This is one of the helpful points that the Puritan John Owen made in his work The Mortification of Sin. 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. Manasseh, King of Judah, followed the despicable practices of the pagan nations. Jewish Women's Archive. Thus Asherahs children at Ugarit can be called her pride of lions; the goddess is called lady of the serpent in second-millennium B.C.E. There is some debate on whether these were actual living trees or wooden figures in the shape of trees. 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. Asherah poles do not make an appearance. 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. Ezekiel 8:17. You have it right! 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. 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. Even their children go to worship at their pagan altars and Asherah poles, beneath every green tree and on every high hill. A Blazing Weapon: Unraveling the Mystery of Greek Fire, Theyre Alive! For my anger blazes like a fire that will burn forever. (NLT). [9] Deuteronomy 12 has Yahweh commanding the destruction of her shrines so as to maintain purity of his worship. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. Literature has been divided into two camps as a result of the relation between literary allusions to an asherah and archaeological discoveries of Judaean pillar-figurines. In the final revision of the history of the first temple period, Asherah is only a foreign deity that needed to be banned, though the Samaritans and Edomites still worshiped her after the Jews returned from captivity in Babylonia. 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) . The extra-biblical information we have concerning Asherah comes from the city of Ugarit from the 14th-12th-centuries B.C.E. Either way, God made it clear that the people of Israel shouldnt flirt with such syncretism. By the age of 10, most children in the United States have been taught all 50 states that make up the country. Copyright 2011-2023 Got Questions Ministries - All Rights Reserved. In this context, these people were in captivity because of what they were doingit was a matter of cause and effect. He was offended by what was going on. According to the biblical record, these sacred poles or stylized trees associated with Asherah were erected by the Israelites throughout most of their history, especially during the premonarchic (tribal) period (Judg 6:2526, 28, 30)) and during the period of the divided monarchy, both in the northern kingdom of Israel (1Kgs 14:15; 16:33; 2 Kgs 13:6; 17:10, 16; 23:15; and parallel references in 2 Chronicles) and in Judah, in the south (1 Kgs 14:23, 15:13; 2 Kgs 18:4; 21:3, 7; 23:6, 14; and parallel references in 2 Chronicles). This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. Webwhat does an asherah pole look like. 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. Though we have only 3 archaeological references that are indicative of a priestly blessing in the name of Yahweh and His Asherah, the prevalence of this goddess in ancient Israel was downplayed by the author of Deuteronomy, which recieved its final composition in the second temple period after the Jews eradicated all traces of this goddess. Becerrillo: The Terrifying War Dog of the Spanish Conquistadors. Burial inscription from Khirbet el-Quom, 8th cent. Wiggins, Steve A. Why is God jealous. 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. This site is a proud member of the Salem Web Network, a subsidiary of, Copyright 2023, Crosswalk.com. 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A (NLT). We seek to retell the story of our beginnings. 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. May they all topple at the feet of Christ. They are not the last word, only the Bible . 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. Correction: According to Ephraim Stern in Pagan Yahwehism; The Folk Religion of Ancient Israel in the May/June 2001 issue of BAR (p.28), it was the Jews in Judea (former Judahites) and the Samaritans (former mixed population settled in Samaria by the Assyrians) who discontinued the use of the clay goddess figurines, while it was the Idumaens (former Edomites) who also dwelt in the province of Judah and Galileans (populated by mostly Phoenicians) that continued the worship of the goddess during the period of the post-Exilic Persian Empire. [The goddess Asherah (Astarte) is the name of the wife of the God of Israel? They are idols that must be rooted out of Israelite worship. Before Israel entered and took possession of the promised land, God warned them not to worship Canaans gods (Deuteronomy 6:14-15). 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. The Lord God Jehovah is perfect, man is not. Phallic Symbol Why Do We Need to Be Crucified with Christ? One of these Pagan Phoenicians was "Jezebel" (Izebel), who married Ahab, king of Israel (Samaritan king). That usage reflects a chain of associations. Its our plight that moved the heavensit is the LORD Himself who would come and rescue us. But, you see, here in the dark nobody sees me bowing down and worshipping these idols.". That's all I have for now this was a very exciting Article to read thanks for Posting it much appreciated. A famous Asherah pole stood in Samaria in the days of King Jehoahaz (2 Kings 13:6). I am reading aerato lamo assuming: (a) an original r got corrupted to d (see Cross-Freedman ibid. Historians and archaeologists have pieced together Asherahs narrative and found large chunks of it interwoven in the artifacts from the region and in the scriptures of the Hebrew Bible itself. What causes infertility and how the IVF works? p. 106) . Atlanta: 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. She's within the Holy Trinity during the middle ages people used to say I baptize you in the name of The Father, The Son, and in the name of the Mother aka Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. and the Cult of Yahweh in Israel. They forgot about the LORD their God, and they served the images of Baal and the Asherah poles (Judges 3:7, NLT). It surprises me to see so many people deny this information with fervor. 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. However Asherah (as wikipedia said) was wife of sumerian god Anu, whileAstarte is known from the mythic Baal Cycle, which is a story of Baal fighting with Yam, god of the sea in cannanite mythology. Does it make any difference? Thegoal of Ancient Origins is to highlight recent archaeological discoveries, peer-reviewed academic research and evidence, as well as offering alternative viewpoints and explanations of science, archaeology, mythology, religion and history around the globe. "Who Is Asherah in the Bible?" It was closely associated with the worship of Baal: The Israelites did evil in the LORDs sight. All rights reserved. Both the Greek and Latin translations of the Bible, moreover, render the words asherah and asherim as grove or wood.. Archaeologists argue that these statues depict the goddess Asherah. The ruling elite propagandized against goddess worship by integrating the story of the fall of mankind to the tree which was clearlyassociated with Asherah. 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). 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. I watched a documentary on this made by PBS which is now on You Tube if i may say the name ? Who is Jason crabb mother and where is she? I would guess that Eve was acquiring the attributes of the Queen of Heaven in a microcosmic way when she said, I have gotten a man with the help of Yahweh (Genesis 4:1) and there is no longer mention of Elohim since the woman is a partner with Yahweh. They must be replaced. At times, to appease Baal and Asherah, human sacrifices were made. 7 Things I Would Do Differently if I Were Raising My Children California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 31 December 1999. 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. But this revival would only last about as long as Asaas only a short time thereafter Ahab made an Asherah and did more to provoke the LORDto anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.. Most believe she was the wife of the supreme god El and the mother of Baal. What, then, was an Asherah pole? One possibility is that in royal circles, especially in the southern capital city of Jerusalem, the cult of Asherah was particularly attractive to the kings mother. Article Images Copyright . In a break with previous rulers, Sargon didnt appropriate the highest religious office but instead appointed his daughter as high priestess of the moon god. inscriptions that mention YHWH and his Asherah (meaning YHWHs companion [consort? Atlanta: 1988. Christian Truth. of Biblical Literature 112 (1993): 385401. 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She has an M.A. This fact suggests that Jehu perceived the sacred pole as appropriate in the worship of YHWH. When Asa reigned in Judah, He banished the male and female shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made. So I will hand over my holy mountainalong with all your wealth and treasures and your pagan shrinesas plunder to your enemies, for sin runs rampant in your land. The year 1185 BC heralded a diaspora of the so-called Sea Peoples to the south-western coast of the Levantine. Source: northernway.org, By Mary Naples, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom Weekly, Anya Leonard is the co-founder and Director of Classical Wisdom Weekly. They forgot about the LORD their God, and they served the images of Baal and the Asherah poles (Judges 3:7, NLT ). ( 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. 10 Reasons Why the Trial of Jesus Was Illegal. All of the things which we long for that can make idols tempting are found perfectly in Jesus Christ. Archaeologists have been able to take a closer look at one of the United Kingdoms most famous shipwrecks. He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. And here are some pictures to wrap it all up: http://img2.timg.co.il/forums/1_153651851.JPG, http://img2.timg.co.il/forums/1_153688877.JPG. It was reputed in local legend to be the seat of the god Wotan and to be haunted. http://www.transoxiana.org/0108/roberts-enheduanna.html, If you look at the Anchor Bible Series on the book of Psalms you will notice that they are full of expressions borrowed from Canaanite mythology. Many scholars believe that Asherahs tree functioned in the Garden of Eden parable. [8] This role gave her a similarly high rank in the Ugaritic pantheon. Another of Asherahs sacred poles stood in that kingdoms capital city, Samaria. Two Millennia b.c.e. Micah 5:14 shows God s anger towards them, [] #3. 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). In ancient times these altars were typically built under green trees. Both Israel and Judah disregarded Gods express command not to set up sacred pillars and sacred poles; they placed them upon every high hill and under every luxuriant tree alongside the altars used for sacrifice. 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. Unfortunately, our sources do not provide enough information to identify definitively which Israelites were particularly attracted to the worship of Asherah or the reasons for this attraction. Considered the moon-goddess, Asherah was often presented as a consort of Baal, the sun-god ( Judges 3:7, 6:28, 10:6; 1 Samuel 7:4, 12:10 ). If you only try to uproot them, they grow back; but they can be supplanted. Every Action Has a Reaction. Cut them down. 1992. Unfortunately, we do not know what place these held within the worship of Asherah, nor do we have any lasting depiction of these idols. "Who Is Asherah in the Bible?" Some scholars believe that asherim were not poles, but living trees (like the one depicted on the Tanaach Cult Stand). (Viewed on March 4, 2023) . In the above article the author mentions Asherah as being the mother of the 70 gods of the Canaanite pantheon. 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). Judges 6:26 describes the destruction of an Asherah pole by using it to fuel the fire of a sacrificial offering to the Lord: Then build an altar to the LORD your God here on this hilltop sanctuary, laying the stones carefully. Likewise, these writers do not always make a clear distinction between references to the goddess Asherah and the objects dedicated to her for worship. and the Cult of Yahweh in Israel. Were theonlyPop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives. (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. Or perhaps the more fundamental question iswhat in the world is an Asherah pole? Examine the Core Theme of Reconciliation in the Bible, General Biblical Studies, Interdenominational Christian Training Center, The term Asherah appears 40 times in the. 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. 599-610). 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. However, his son Amon resumed the degrading worship of Baal and Asherah, with its accompanying ceremonial prostitution. The Ugarit excavation of 1928 put Asherah, the goddess, on the map again, after having lost her place for thousands of years. But do we still have God-substitutes? Root them out of the land. (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. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure. (NLT). | The Word Ministries, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0011_0_09825.html, http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200273085, http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200270520, http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/asherah-and-the-asherim-god…, http://www.transoxiana.org/0108/roberts-enheduanna.html, http://www.transoxiana.org/0108/roberts-enheduana.html. Scripture also references carved images of Asherah (1 Kings 15:13; 2 Kings 21:7). The story starts with Aquats father Daniel (Ezekial 15:14,20) who upon seeing the approach of the craftsman god Kothar wa-Khasis (skillful and clever), tells his wife to prepare a lamb. 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. showing cannanite gods Baal and Astarte. You bet. https://www.learnreligions.com/asherah-in-the-bible-6824125 (accessed March 4, 2023). Would the Israelites have known of this worship before entering the Canaanite areas? But the most abundant of these are her pillar figurines which were popular from the 10th through the 7th centuries BC. Most significant, though, in demonstrating Israels association of Asherah with sacred trees are biblical materials that describe the asherah (singular) or asherim (plural), the cult object(s) that are associated with the goddess Asherah more than thirty times in the Hebrew Bible. 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). Required fields are marked *. 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). (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. Plaque depicting Asherah. 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. WebDramatically initiate end-to-end niches . I will tell your enemies to take you as captives to a foreign land. 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. But who was Asherah to the ancient Israelites? 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. 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. Under 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. Instead, rural communities had their own religious beliefs using statuary and other artifacts. It seems as well in 2 Chronicles, that the goodness or wickedness of a king is determined by what they did with the Asherim. After all, Asherahs place in the pantheon is alongside Yahwehs, the supreme deity. "Asherah/Asherim: Bible." According to Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible manifestations of Asherah worship have been identified in Egyptian, Hittite, Philistine, and Arabic texts. So, the Asherah cult was prominent. 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! The Jews had been commanded by the Lord to tear down and completely destroy all the high places and sacred sites throughout the territory. But by God we do not mean a general belief in his existence. 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. 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. If nobody could see them doing it, they thought, "Hey, I'm getting away with the perfect crime. Whether women, more generally, were more likely to be devotees of Asherahs cult is unknown. Under Israelite ceramic figure of a nude woman, identified as an Asherah pillar. 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. Only seven instances of Asherah are references to the goddess herself. Ackerman, Susan. Right on Elizabeth F Asherah. The cryptic blessing is in an early rendition of Deuteronomy 33.2-3, when Asherahs influence had not yet been fully subordinated. It's kind of like Seatlle, but windier and with more trees. What does asherah pole mean? In Judges 6, a sacred pole of Asherah is said to have stood beside the altar of the Canaanite storm god, Baal. Prior to this, we have abundant evidence that other gods and goddesses were worshipped in Israel in addition to (or sometimes instead of) YHWH. Two Millennia, The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women, Copyright 19982023, Jewish Women's Archive. ( Queen of Heaven ). By the time of the New Testament, idolatry seems to have taken a different flavor. By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy.
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