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. You have proven without doubt the disobedience of the chosen people of , to run after the gods of other nations. Inscription: Uriyahu the prince wrote it: Blessed be Uriyahu by Yahweh and his Asherah, for from his enemies he has saved him." What Is an Asherah Pole and Does it Have Biblical Significance? In the beginning of the history of Israel as well as the beginning of history of many peoples, it mentions that Abrahams wife was named Sarai which means princess and Nahors wifes name was Milcah which means queen but in Assyrian, Sarru means king and Malika/Malku means prince.When God changes their name in Genesis 17 Abraham is told that kings shall issue from him (17:6) using the term malekim for kings but in Sarahs case, she is told that rulers of people shall issue from her, using the term malekai and depending on which vernacular you are using, the y as a suffix can mean my ruler.. Atlanta: 1988. 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. (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. However, we need to understand that they were committing their idolatry in private. Asherah. The Sacred Poles. The tale of our creation we know from the Bible is only half the storyone which has been heavily edited. 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. Megalithic Sites Are More than Just Stone, Sacred Marvels: 17 Cathedrals That Will Take Your Breath Away, In Pictures, From Ancient Mystery School to Culture Capital: Eleusis Secret Past is Recognized, In Search of the Fabled 1,000-ft White Pyramid of Xian in China, Egyptologists Reveal a Lost Chamber in the Great Pyramid With Cosmic Rays, Mother and Child Reunion Of Thetis And Achilles, Seductive Sirens of Greek Mythology and How Heroes Resisted Them, Celestial Goddess Selene: The Ancient Greek Goddess of the Moon, Pegasus of Greek Mythology: Majestic Winged Horse of Mount Olympus, Dreams of Human-Powered Flight: Daedalus and the Story of Icarus, The Warriors Who Shaped African History: The Horsemen of Oyo, Royal Mistress Jane Shore Walked Streets of London in her Underwear, Leonardo Da Vincis Notes Show He Understood Gravity Long Before Newton, Talks Begin on Repatriating Remains of Patrick Sarsfield, Irish War Hero, The Ramessid Dynasty: A Golden Era in Ancient Egypt, Unraveling the Mystery of the Carnac Stones: An Ancient Puzzle of Epic Proportions, Unraveling the Enigma of Aramu Muru, The Mysterious Gate of the Gods. If nobody could see them doing it, they thought, "Hey, I'm getting away with the perfect crime. 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. New York: 2000. WebIts symbol was the stem of a tree deprived of its boughs, and rudely shaped into an image, and planted in the ground. 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). (1930) by Russian esoteric Christian Nicholas Roerich. The "asherahs" were usually upright wooden objects, often standing beside altars, and in at least eight instances they are described as carved. (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. Put simply, an Asherah pole is a wooden idol (likely in the shape of a tree) used to worship the goddess Asherah. 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). Even while idolatry is reviled in the Hebrew Bible, ample archaeological evidence suggests that those living outside the metropolis idolized statuary and cult objects as part of their religion, leading one scholar to opine: Folk religion can be defined as everything that those who wrote the Bible condemned.. 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). However, his son Amon resumed the degrading worship of Baal and Asherah, with its accompanying ceremonial prostitution. Author: www.crosswalk.com Post date: 26 yesterday Rating: 3 (1036 reviews) Highest rating: 4 Low rated: 2 Summary: When you read in the Scriptures about worship under every green tree there is likely at least some connection to the worship of Asherah. That usage reflects a chain of associations. 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. 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. Help JWA continue to lift up Jewish womens stories, this month and every month, by. Two Millennia b.c.e. geographic south pole. 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. Yet despite these and other references associating Asherah with apostasy (for example, Exod 34:13; Deut 7:5; 12:3; Judg 3:7; 1 Kgs 18:19), and despite the fact that the Israelites are explicitly forbidden in Deut 16:21 to erect one of Asherahs sacred poles beside an altar of YHWH, there are multiple indications in biblical tradition that many in ancient Israel did regard Asherahs cult icon as an appropriate sacred symbol within the religion of YHWH. 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. The goddess Asherah was the Canaanite deity of fertility. The main reason Israel was exiled was because of her sins of idolatry: 2 Kings 17:16They rejected all the commands of the LORD their God and made two calves from metal. (NLT). WebAsherah poles were a representation of a Asherah, a Canaanite fertility goddess and consort of the gods. WebDramatically initiate end-to-end niches . Let us be your passport to Laos and much more. We want to believe that what we do can move the heavens. Are the Misty Peaks of the Azores Remnants of the Legendary Atlantis? : 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Their children form the pantheon of the gods, who are said to number seventy; a Hittite myth similarly mentions the seventy-seven and eighty-eight children of Asherah. Both the Greek and Latin translations of the Bible, moreover, render the words asherah and asherim as grove or wood.. 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. Micah 5:14 shows God s anger towards them, [] #3. John W. Ritenbaugh While there are voluminous artifacts identified as Asherah in the region, there are still pieces missing from the puzzle. Under 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. ( Queen of Heaven ). We seek to retell the story of our beginnings. 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. 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. Israelite ceramic figure of a nude woman, identified as an Asherah pillar. WebThe image of Asherah was a tree used by the Pagan Canaanites and Phoenicians. 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). God says that their wickedness was the same as sticking that idol (and what they were doing) right in His noseright in His face. In Hebrew, she is known as Asherah. Gen 2:4b3:24 may further suggest the association of Asherah with sacred trees, since the way that Eve, the mother of all living (3:20), is described in the Eden story mimics in certain respects the role of the Canaanite mother goddess Asherah. Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. 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. I am reading aerato lamo assuming: (a) an original r got corrupted to d (see Cross-Freedman ibid. From what i know Asherah is a false god(dess) which the Children of Israel worshiped and abandoned God for. 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. 26 Jun, 2022 festival hearts of palm spaghetti costco fredi richter bodybuilder rivercrest country club membership cost. 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. inscriptions that mention YHWH and his Asherah (meaning YHWHs companion [consort? 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. 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). The presence of Asherahs cult in Israel also raises questions about the nature of the monotheistic confession that is often assumed to be a core principle in Israelite faith. This site is a proud member of the Salem Web Network, a subsidiary of, Copyright 2023, Crosswalk.com. This is always the remedy for idolatry. Required fields are marked *. Therefore he asked for it, since his desire focused constantly on that site (p.221). The cryptic blessing is in an early rendition of Deuteronomy 33.2-3, when Asherahs influence had not yet been fully subordinated. They must be uprooted. The Moora Mystery: What Happened When a Girl Stepped into the Moor 2,500 Years Ago? The Jews had been commanded by the Lord to tear down and completely destroy all the high places and sacred sites throughout the territory. AtAncient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. Every Action Has a Reaction. Asherah, along with Astarte and Anath, was one of the three great goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon. 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). 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. In Ugaritic literature, she was called Lady Asherah of the Sea.. 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. It was essentially a phallic symbol. In the Scriptures, the Hebrew word for Asherah is used both for the goddess herself and for the poles erected in her honor. 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. (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. Before Israel entered and took possession of the promised land, God warned them not to worship Canaans gods (Deuteronomy 6:14-15). Kevelaer, Germany: 1993. While Ashtoreth appears to have figured as the wife of Baal, Asherah may also have been so viewed. WebAn Asherah pole was a sacred pole (or sometimes a tree) that was used in the worship of the pagan goddess Asherah. 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. (Viewed on March 4, 2023) . 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. An eighth-century B.C.E. Upon entering the region, the ancient Israelites soon adopted her and gave her the Hebrew equivalent name of Asherah. Webwhat does an asherah pole look like. Examine the Core Theme of Reconciliation in the Bible, General Biblical Studies, Interdenominational Christian Training Center, The term Asherah appears 40 times in the. The relation of the literary references to an asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate. Asherah cannot provide what she promises. 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.) Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure. (NLT). Plaque depicting Asherah. and the Cult of Yahweh in Israel. Rusty and rough looking. 7 Things I Would Do Differently if I Were Raising My Children California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Asherah was one of the chief deities of the ancient world. 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. Ackerman, Susan. Ackerman, Susan. WebFor instance the carved Asherah, also a pagan monument, represented female properties because it was carved to resemble the pagan goddess Ashtaroth (Astarte). What they sowed earned captivity. 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 Met ). It surprises me to see so many people deny this information with fervor. Ancient Origins 2013 - 2023Disclaimer- Terms of Publication - Privacy Policy & Cookies - Advertising Policy -Submissions - We Give Back - Contact us. In the time of Hezekiah, there was a similar revival to that of Asa. 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. Her name means she who enriches. Asherah was mistranslated as grove in the King James Version of the Bible. Judges 3:7 ). 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? They would mockingly show the inadequacy of worshipping sticks of wood (that you have to craft) that you created while rejecting the living God. 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. Many scholars believe that Asherahs tree functioned in the Garden of Eden parable. 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. p. 106) . In this context, these people were in captivity because of what they were doingit was a matter of cause and effect. From the Israel Museum via Wikimedia Commons. 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. He rebuilt the high places and set up altars for Baal and an Asherah pole. She is often placed beside the chief male deity. Fairchild, Mary. The mention of these deities in the plural may indicate that each locality had its Baal and 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 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? Asherah, along with Astarte and Anath, was one of the three great goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon.