what does an asherah pole look like

In Hebrew, she is known as Asherah. 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 ). Idols are alluring at times because we want something tangible. From the Israel Museum via Wikimedia Commons. 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. This can easily happen in either the old Hebrew or the Aramaic script. Like a pole or tree, they can be said to be planted, stood up, or erected. 10 Reasons Why the Trial of Jesus Was Illegal. and frequently mentions that they stood on every high hill and under every green tree (1 Kgs 14:23; 2 Kgs 17:10; 18:4; 21:3; 23:1314; 2 Chr 14:3; 17:6; 31:1; 33:3, 19; 34:3; Jer 17:2). For you are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. 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. Predominantly, the pillar figurines were found in private homes, suggesting their domesticity. But, you see, here in the dark nobody sees me bowing down and worshipping these idols.". Asherah. 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. Olyan, Saul M. Asherah For example, one of the Canaanite epithets of Asherah, elat, goddess, is etymologically identical to the Hebrew word for the terebinth tree (ela). showing cannanite gods Baal and Astarte. The cryptic blessing is in an early rendition of Deuteronomy 33.2-3, when Asherahs influence had not yet been fully subordinated. You have proven without doubt the disobedience of the chosen people of , to run after the gods of other nations. 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). What is the origin of the legend of the Christed Son who was born of a virgin on December 25th? 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. That's why God got angry and for the record Jesus said that the Unpardonable Sin is Sinning against the Holy Spirit there is no coming back from that blunder. Throughout the history of civilization, the concept of the apocalypse has been ever present, in one way or another. Judges 3:7 ). At times, to appease Baal and Asherah, human sacrifices were made. Article Images Copyright . It was closely associated with the worship of Baal: The Israelites did evil in the LORDs sight. The Israelites also worshiped Asherah from as early as the time immediately following the death of Joshua (Judges 2:13). It has been suggested that the poles represented the female principle, whereas the pillars represented the male principle. 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. See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. I am sure you are familiar with his legend which states that he was born in a manger surrounded by shepherds, about 7,500-year-old Juniper Stump Is Believed Oldest Goddess Asherah Idol, about Tracing The Footprints Of The Philistines To Minoan Knossos On Crete, about The Resurrection of Asherah, Mother-Goddess of Humankind, about Goddess NinkharsagAncient Powerful Mother who Faded into The Holy Ghost, about Unravelling the Roots of Hera, the Wrathful Goddess of Marriage, Dizzying Inca Rope Bridges Were Grass-Made Marvels of Engineering. 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. As much as the ruling elite tried to inhibit Asherah and Yahwehs marriage, their union appears solidified in an ancient blessing seen with some regularity at a number of excavation sites in the region. Ready for a unique experience? If you only try to uproot them, they grow back; but they can be supplanted. The Lord God Jehovah is perfect, man is not. They must be replaced. Most believe she was the wife of the supreme god El and the mother of Baal. In ancient times these altars were typically built under green trees. He was offended by what was going on. While Ashtoreth appears to have figured as the wife of Baal, Asherah may also have been so viewed. Her name means she who enriches. Asherah was mistranslated as grove in the King James Version of the Bible. Asherah cannot provide what she promises. 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. (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. 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. COPYRIGHT 2023 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY 5614 Connecticut Ave NW #343, Washington DC 20015-2604. These sacrifices usually consisted of the firstborn child of the person making the sacrifice (see Jeremiah 19:5). 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). Asherah 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. It was essentially a phallic symbol. The relation of the literary references to an asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate. Manasseh, King of Judah, followed the despicable practices of the pagan nations. By what? This name brings to mind the founder of the Akkadian Empire, Sargon, or Sarukin (legitamate king) and his descendant on the throne who was the last functioning emperor, Sharkalisharri (king of all kings). You must break down their pagan altars and shatter their sacred pillars. http://www.transoxiana.org/0108/roberts-enheduana.html, He will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15). It seems as well in 2 Chronicles, that the goodness or wickedness of a king is determined by what they did with the Asherim. He rebuilt the high places and set up altars for Baal and an Asherah pole. Reassessment of Asherah: A Study According to Textual Sources of the First We will consider what/who is Asherah and the significant role it plays within the biblical narrative. 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. Because the breasts are exaggerated with the hands supporting them, they are thought to symbolize the nurturing aspect of the mother goddess. what does an asherah pole look like Furthermore, the many artifacts representing Asherah and her cult from the region belies the biblical prohibition against the creation of idols. By the age of 10, most children in the United States have been taught all 50 states that make up the country. All rights reserved. By the time of the New Testament, idolatry seems to have taken a different flavor. They are not the last word, only the Bible . Asherah In Christ, we see the fullness of God made manifest. We see her worship in the form of a tree and right next to the altar. 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. Sign up to receive our email newsletter and never miss an update. I can go to the Temple and look like I'm really somebody in the community. The ruling elite propagandized against goddess worship by integrating the story of the fall of mankind to the tree which was clearlyassociated with Asherah. However, his son Amon resumed the degrading worship of Baal and Asherah, with its accompanying ceremonial prostitution. Even their children go to worship at their pagan altars and Asherah poles, beneath every green tree and on every high hill. A little leaven would work through the whole lump and before long they were fully engaged in syncretic worship; having idols, like Asherah, in the very temple of YHWH. In 2 Kings 17, we see how prominent the worship of Asherah and Baal had become throughout the land as they set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree. At this point, they were all-in on the worship of these false gods. (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. Is the Bible Trustworthy? Only seven instances of Asherah are references to the goddess herself. 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). Or perhaps the more fundamental question iswhat in the world is an Asherah pole? (NLT). Webwhat does an asherah pole look like. 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. WebAn Asherah pole was a sacred pole (or sometimes a tree) that was used in the worship of the pagan goddess Asherah. That's all I have for now this was a very exciting Article to read thanks for Posting it much appreciated. 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. 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. A teacher walks into the Classroom and says If only Yesterday was Tomorrow Today would have been a Saturday Which Day did the Teacher make this Statement? And the history that we see of the Asherah pole is fitting for our own battle with idolatry. AtAncient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. 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. 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. The mention of these deities in the plural may indicate that each locality had its Baal and Asherah. an Asherah pole Asherah worship turned good people into sex addicts. Ackerman, Susan. 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. If a correspondence holds, then the trees of life and of knowledge in the Eden narrative may also reflect Asherah imagery. 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. In the Kabbalah it is the attribute referred to as Binah, means understanding; God founded the earth with wisdom and established the heavens with understanding (Binah) (Proverbs 3:19); In a possible reference to the goddess; Say to Wisdom, You are my sister, and proclaim Understanding (Binah) a kinswoman (Proverbs 7:4). It is likely through the various secular conquests and the changing political landscape that God kept his promise to root out the Asherah images.. ]. These cult objects are generally described as being in the shape of a pole or stylized tree. New York: 2000. I watched a documentary on this made by PBS which is now on You Tube if i may say the name ? Josiah reversed this course and took all of these pagan symbols out of the temple. 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.) I think Ashera was all of the above: A goddess (in Ugarit it was the proper name of a specific goddess); A title for goddesses (such as the great goddess, the queen goddess or the spouse of the god X or Y); And, of course, a Cult Symbol such as a sacred tree, or a pole in a shape of a tree, or even a Menorah in a shape of a tree which stood in temples, and symbolized (at least originally, in the earlier days), the presence of these goddess in the worship sites, The suffix in the form of affiliation modifier ( = his Asherah) which is found in the inscriptions from Kuntillet Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom, and which, in Hebrew, is typical for nouns and not for proper names, may refer to either a still cult object (in the form of a noun), or to a title of a goddess (then Yahweh and his Asherah might mean Yahweh and his queen-goddess) As for the suffix in the plural form which we find the Bible this is typical to the manner in which the Bible refers to other gods too, such as Baal (we find the form Bealim which means Baals) and Aashtoret (we find the form Ashtarot which means Ashtarots). The Canaanite association of Asherah with sacred trees is also found in Israelite tradition. 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? "Who Is Asherah in the Bible?" in Sociology from University of Edinburgh and studied at St. Johns College with a double major in Philosophy and the History of Math of Science. Read More. 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. 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. Generally speaking, biblical scholars assume that full-blown, radical, or philosophical monotheism came to Israel fairly late in its history, during the time of the exile in the sixth century b.c.e. 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. By bringing together top experts and authors, this archaeology website explores lost civilizations, examines sacred writings, tours ancient places, investigates ancient discoveries and questions mysterious happenings. 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. Another translation of carved Asherah pole is graven image of the grove (KJV). Even the angle at which she holds the torch is extraordinarily parallel much like a pole. Cut them down. They set up an Asherah pole and worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven. WebAsherah the Name of a Syrian Goddess. Who Is Asherah in the Bible? 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). That usage reflects a chain of associations. 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. Trees were revered as symbols of life and nourishment in arid regions and so became associated with Asherah and her cult. Right on Elizabeth F 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. Prior to this, we have abundant evidence that other gods and goddesses were worshipped in Israel in addition to (or sometimes instead of) YHWH. Instead, rural communities had their own religious beliefs using statuary and other artifacts. 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! From Israels inception, God commanded His people not to worship idols or any other false gods (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7). what does an asherah pole look like None the less, they were and have been instructed not to do this by the WORD of . 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. The Jews had been commanded by the Lord to tear down and completely destroy all the high places and sacred sites throughout the territory. 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). Burial inscription from Khirbet el-Quom, 8th cent. From the site of Kuntillet Ajrud, in the eastern Sinai, come three ninth- or eighth-century B.C.E. I think the mere evidence of their present condition easily confirms that as well. In the Bible, Asherah is both the Hebrew name of a pagan fertility goddess and the wooden cult object dedicated to her. Plaque depicting Asherah. I am reading aerato lamo assuming: (a) an original r got corrupted to d (see Cross-Freedman ibid. Ackerman, Susan. pole The Sacred Poles. He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and even made a carved image of Asherah and set it up in the Temple (2 Kings 21:7, NLT). The "asherahs" were usually upright wooden objects, often standing beside altars, and in at least eight instances they are described as carved. See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. Who was the Beelzebub/Beelzebul that the Pharisees attributed Christ's work to? It could be that Astarte was a wife of Baal, or they are just praised together. How then did they worship? The Asherah pole was often mentioned in the Old Testament as one of the ways the Israelites sinned against the Lord and worshiped other gods. But the most abundant of these are her pillar figurines which were popular from the 10th through the 7th centuries BC. In the Scriptures, the Hebrew word for Asherah is used both for the goddess herself and for the poles erected in her honor. Who is Jason crabb mother and where is she? Atlanta: 1988. 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. No dew, no rain; no welling up of the deep, no sweetness of Baals voice. The Statue of Liberty is an Asherah Pole 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. Two Millennia b.c.e. What Is an Asherah Pole The tale of our creation we know from the Bible is only half the storyone which has been heavily edited. The Ugarit excavation of 1928 put Asherah, the goddess, on the map again, after having lost her place for thousands of years. Were theonlyPop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives. Sacrificial feasts were held in the sacred GROVES of Asherah in Jerusalem according to Apion." 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. But who was Asherah to the ancient Israelites? 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