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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. All of the things which we long for that can make idols tempting are found perfectly in Jesus Christ. He cut down her obscene pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley (1 Kings 15:1213, NLT; see also 2 Chronicles 15:16). Her name means she who enriches. Asherah was mistranslated as grove in the King James Version of the Bible. Both the Greek and Latin translations of the Bible, moreover, render the words asherah and asherim as grove or wood.. When you look at something logically, you have placed yourself at a distance from it (Innerspace by Aryeh Kaplan, p.58). The term images of Asherah is often used in the Hebrew Bible and it is thought that these pillar figurines are what the writers of the bible had in mind. Features thousands of biographic and thematic essays on Jewish women around the world. Ugaritic and other Canaanite materials further associate Asherah with lions (indicating power), serpents (representing immortality or healing), and sacred trees (signifying fertility). In Hebrew, she is known as Asherah. Do we still have Asherah poles today? 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. It has been suggested that the poles represented the female principle, whereas the pillars represented the male principle. 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. 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. Mary Fairchild is a full-time Christian minister, writer, and editor of two Christian anthologies, including "Stories of Calvary.". Idols are alluring at times because we want something tangible. 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The strategy for dealing with idolatry that we see employed in the minor prophets is that they are shown to be empty. of Biblical Literature 105 (1986): 385408. Does it make any difference? 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. In some translations, Asherah is taken to refer to a tree or grove. What is the reflection of the story of princess urduja? And the history that we see of the Asherah pole is fitting for our own battle with idolatry. In mythological texts from the Late Bronze Age (c. 15501200 B.C.E) city-state of Ugarit, she is called the creatress of the gods; her consort at Ugarit, the god El, is called creator. El is also referred to as father and patriarch at Ugarit, as Asherah, likewise, is called mother. Two Millennia b.c.e. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. 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. See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. Routing number of commercial bank of Ethiopia? 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. Who is Asherah? 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! (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. Asherah was known as the Mother or Creator of all the gods. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. In older translations, it will often be interpreted as grove. Their appearance in the Old Testament, as to be expected, is always in the negative. And why is she often found paired with Yahweh, the Hebrew god? If Jezebel had the goddess Asherah Astarteas the one she worshiped.. One should know it was nothing to do with The Lord God most High Jehovah. : 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. Hence the woman being proclaimed as the Hurrian goddess Hepa, Heba, Heva, or Eve, the mother of all living (hai) (Genesis 3:20), that is also Eywa, the mother creation goddess in the film Avatar. This site is a proud member of the Salem Web Network, a subsidiary of, Copyright 2023, Crosswalk.com. In their minds, they thought it did not make any difference; it was not hurting anyone. The full hymn reads: YHWH came from Sinai and shone forth. at his right hand his own Asherah.. Why Do We Need to Be Crucified with Christ? 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. The Bible also connects sacred poles with the high places (open-air cult sites?) 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. These sacrifices usually consisted of the firstborn child of the person making the sacrifice (see Jeremiah 19:5). WebPut simply, an Asherah pole is a wooden idol (likely in the shape of a tree) used to worship the goddess Asherah. 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. and the Cult of Yahweh in Israel. He even went so far as to put the Asherah within the house of the Lord. When you read in the Scriptures about worship under every green tree there is likely at least some connection to the worship of Asherah. According to ancient mythology, Asherah was the wife of El, who mothered 70 gods, including Baal, the most famous. Put simply, an Asherah pole is a wooden idol (likely in the shape of a tree) used to worship the goddess Asherah. So it seems they were not merely wooden poles, but probably quite large carved images. 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. Only seven instances of Asherah are references to the goddess herself. 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. What is an Asherah Pole 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). By the age of 10, most children in the United States have been taught all 50 states that make up the country. what does an asherah pole look like The "asherahs" were usually upright wooden objects, often standing beside altars, and in at least eight instances they are described as carved. 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). 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). Who Is Asherah in the Bible? That usage reflects a chain of associations. Under Trees were revered as symbols of life and nourishment in arid regions and so became associated with Asherah and her cult. It was essentially a phallic symbol. If nobody could see them doing it, they thought, "Hey, I'm getting away with the perfect crime. The prophets, like Isaiah, would look to a day when the worship of Gods people would be pure and there would be no Asherim to remain standing. Micah 5:14 spoke of the work of God in rooting out your Asherah images from among you. Which, according to Jeremiah, would have been a mighty task as there was Asherim beside every green tree and on the high hills (Jeremiah 17:2). In a related sense, an asherah could refer to a wooden pole, effectively an indoor stand-in for a tree. Asherah and the Asherim: Goddess or Cult Symbol What, then, was an Asherah pole? 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. They must be uprooted. 599-610). WebThe branch He mentions is probably an Asherah, a tree or a wooden pole that stood for the fertility goddess. 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. Phallic Symbol 10 Reasons Why the Trial of Jesus Was Illegal. COPYRIGHT 2023 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY 5614 Connecticut Ave NW #343, Washington DC 20015-2604. No dew, no rain; no welling up of the deep, no sweetness of Baals voice. Even the angle at which she holds the torch is extraordinarily parallel much like a pole. Was Asherah Yahwehs wife, as many scholars now contend? 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. Archaeologists speculate that it is an image of an Asherah pole. Worship of Asherah in biblical times was widespread throughout Syria, Phoenicia, and Canaan. WebAsherah is identified as the consort of the Sumerian god Anu, and Ugaritic El, [7] the oldest deities of their respective pantheons. 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. It was closely associated with the worship of Baal: The Israelites did evil in the LORDs sight. 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. However, there apparently was considerable overlapping in the roles of the three prominent goddesses of Baalism (Anath, Asherah, and Ashtoreth), as may be observed in extra-Biblical sources as well as in the Scriptural record. 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. One of these Pagan Phoenicians was "Jezebel" (Izebel), who married Ahab, king of Israel (Samaritan king). For perhaps hundreds of years before Abraham migrated to what would become known as Israel, Asherah was revered as Athirat, Earth Mother and Fertility 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. 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). (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. (2022, November 28). The relation of the literary references to an asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate. But is removal and uprooting all that is required? By God himself, of course. an Asherah Pole Seven years shall Baal fail, eight the Rider of the Clouds. Sign up to receive our email newsletter and never miss an update. (From Forerunner Commentary). WebAsherah poles were a representation of a Asherah, a Canaanite fertility goddess and consort of the gods. WebMeaning of asherah pole. The account of the visitation by angels at the terebinth of Mamre (cult shrine centered on a sacred tree) has its parallel in the Tale of Aquat, who like Isaac, was blessed by a divine entity. 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? What Is an Asherah Pole 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. What is the answer punchline algebra 15.1 why dose a chicken coop have only two doors? But, you see, here in the dark nobody sees me bowing down and worshipping these idols.". What did the Nazis begin using gas chambers instead of mobile killing units and shooting squads after a while. Is an Asherah Pole Ever Mentioned in the Bible? Asherah and Idol Worship I will tell your enemies to take you as captives to a foreign land. Asherah worship was deeply sensual, involving illicit sex and ritual prostitution. Author: www.crosswalk.com Post date: 26 yesterday Rating: 3 (1036 reviews) Highest rating: 4 Low rated: 2 Summary: Asherah Tracing the history of Asherah poles is an interesting study. Asherah Olyan, Saul M. Asherah Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women. Perhaps surprisingly, Asherah is mentioned in the early Hebrew Bible some forty separate times, although most often as an object of derision. What the Bible says about The branch He mentions is probably an Asherah, a tree or a wooden pole that stood for the fertility goddess. 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. Phallic Symbol WebRegarding Asherah: "In the Middle East the Goddess of the GROVE was Asherah, whose GROVES were found "on every high hill and under every green tree" 1 Kings 14:23. For my anger blazes like a fire that will burn forever. (NLT). I can have my cake and eat it too. Totem Poles, Christmas Trees and Obelisks Part 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.