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. 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). You so want to say God (Yaweh) had a wife. Trees, often connected to fertility, had been considered a sacred symbol for the nurturing figure of Asherah. Archaeologists excavating an ancient cemetery in Israel have uncovered an idol which they believe dates the worship of the goddess Asherah back an incredible 7,500 years. Right on Elizabeth F Was this something present within their own communities that they would have to abandon once they reached the land, or would this be a new temptation for them upon coming into contact with these nations? Or perhaps the more fundamental question iswhat in the world is an Asherah pole? inscriptions that mention YHWH and his Asherah (meaning YHWHs companion [consort? Happy Womens History Month! A Blazing Weapon: Unraveling the Mystery of Greek Fire, Theyre Alive! 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. 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. It is likely through the various secular conquests and the changing political landscape that God kept his promise to root out the Asherah images.. According to The Bible, an image of Asherah stood in the Temple in Jerusalem for about two-thirds of its existence. None the less, they were and have been instructed not to do this by the WORD of . Are the Misty Peaks of the Azores Remnants of the Legendary Atlantis? 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. 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. Unfortunately, we do not know what place these held within the worship of Asherah, nor do we have any lasting depiction of these idols. So it seems they were not merely wooden poles, but probably quite large carved images. 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. Some scholars believe that asherim were not poles, but living trees (like the one depicted on the Tanaach Cult Stand). Required fields are marked *. [The goddess Asherah (Astarte) is the name of the wife of the God of Israel? Learn Religions. 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. What does it mean that God is a jealous God? According to Giovanni Pettinato in Archives of Ebla; An Empire Inscribed in Clay (p.278-279), it is suggested that the word nesi referred to ruler in ancient Ebla and is related to the Egyptian term nsw or king (of upper Egypt) and the Sumerian term ensi or ruler and that these terms were imposed into the vocabulary of Sumer and Egypt when the Canaanite exerted their influence over them. WebIn Judges 6, a sacred pole of Asherah is said to have stood beside the altar of the Canaanite storm god, Baal. Fairchild, Mary. 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. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. But have you ever wondered how god created male and female in his image? (2022, November 28). Is the Bible Trustworthy? [9] Deuteronomy 12 has Yahweh commanding the destruction of her shrines so as to maintain purity of his worship. Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down. (NLT). 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. We will consider what/who is Asherah and the significant role it plays within the biblical narrative. 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. Abraham prepares a calf for the visitors (Genesis 18:7) which happens to be the symbol of the fertility god Baal, who is noticably absent from the Tale of Aquat, perhaps off on a journey or just retired (1 Kings 18:27): Asherah, along with Astarte and Anath, was one of the three great goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon. 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. 10 Reasons God Might Not Be Blessing Your Life, Inspiring Mother Breaks Down after Earning Golden Buzzer with Celine Dion Hit, 7 Things that Will Keep Me from Coming Back to Your Church, 6 Truths about Jesus Coming into the World, 9 Christians You Don't Want to Sit Beside on Sunday Morning, 10 Things You Should Know about the Intermediate State of Death, 'You Raise Me Up' Duet Earns A Standing Ovation From The Judges, 7 Things I Would Do Differently if I Were Raising My Children Again. The Bible also connects sacred poles with the high places (open-air cult sites?) Because the breasts are exaggerated with the hands supporting them, they are thought to symbolize the nurturing aspect of the mother goddess. 31 December 1999. But Israel disobeyed God and worshipped idols anyway, even bringing Asherah worship into the Temple in Jerusalem. 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. 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. Whether women, more generally, were more likely to be devotees of Asherahs cult is unknown. Also, vessels in the temple were used to make sacrifices to Asherah (2 Kgs 23:4), and in a compound within the temples walls, women cult functionaries wove garments used to clothe Asherahs cult statue (2 Kgs 23:7). 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. 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. How then did they worship? This same command is given in Deuteronomy 7:5 and 12:3. The goddess Asherah and Asherah poles are in the Bible from Exodus to Micah, which shows that this form of idolatry was a constant thorn in Israels side. What causes infertility and how the IVF works? The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. It was reputed in local legend to be the seat of the god Wotan and to be haunted. : They must be uprooted. Jewish Women's Archive. The poles were either carved to look like trees or to resemble the goddess (this could also be reflected in the numerous pillar figurines found throughout Israel ). the cross is a representation of Jesus to Christians. What Is an Asherah Pole and Does it Have Biblical Significance? (1930) by Russian esoteric Christian Nicholas Roerich. https://www.learnreligions.com/asherah-in-the-bible-6824125 (accessed March 4, 2023). 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. Probably orange. 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). (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. 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? A small votive statue of the Mother Goddess of Asherah. Send us your question and well respond within 24 hours. Meyers, Carol, General Editor. This does not necessarily denote a church steeple wherein its purpose was to set the building apart from others as a place of worship and not an item to be worshiped. Asherah, ancient West Semitic goddess, consort of the supreme god. By the age of 10, most children in the United States have been taught all 50 states that make up the country. Another translation of carved Asherah pole is graven image of the grove (KJV). She was occasionally called Elath (Elat), the Goddess, and may have also been called Qudshu, Holiness.. Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. What is the origin of the legend of the Christed Son who was born of a virgin on December 25th? Hezekiah also cut down the Asherah but Manasseh, his wicked son, rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed andmade an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done (2 Kings 21:3). 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. A modest proposal is that they were originally living trees but eventually became wooden poles. inscriptions from the Sinai; the late-thirteenth-century B.C.E. 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. How do we know? What is the answer punchline algebra 15.1 why dose a chicken coop have only two doors? They set up an Asherah pole and worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven. We seek to retell the story of our beginnings. Ibid. 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. Webcrimecon 2022 speakers. 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. 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. 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. 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. King Manasseh even placed there a carved image of the sacred pole, evidently a representation of the goddess Asherah. He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. The relation of the literary references to an asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate. Features thousands of biographic and thematic essays on Jewish women around the world. She was removed as queen mother and Asa cut down the Asherah and burned it in the river. Root them out of the land. (2Ki 21:7) Manasseh was disciplined by being taken captive to Babylon and, upon his returning to Jerusalem, showed he had profited from that discipline and cleansed Jehovahs house of idolatrous appendages. Even if Asherah was no more than a sacred tree it's possible that it was worshipped alongside Yahweh. Scripture does tell us however that the Asherah or groves were usually set up near Baal images, and that Asherah and Baal together symbolized both male and female sexual properties. 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. The Canaanites often worshipped her via trees (Asherah poles) because of her association with the tree of life. 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. | 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.