What does Asherah pole represent?
Answer. 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. While the exact appearance of an Asherah pole is somewhat obscure, it is clear that the ancient Israelites, after entering the land of Canaan, were influenced by the pagan religion it represented.
What does an Asherah pole look like?
Is an Asherah a good thing, or a bad thing? Or perhaps the more fundamental question is—what in the world is an Asherah pole? And how do you even ... The prophets, like Isaiah, would look to a day when the worship of God’s people would be pure and ...
What is the Asherah pole mentioned in the Old Testament?
What was an Asherah pole? An Asherah pole was a sacred pole (or sometimes a tree) that was used in the worship of the pagan goddess Asherah. 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.
What they are Asherah poles?
Asherah poles were wood poles (sometimes carved, sometimes not) or trees planted by the “high places” where pagan worshipers sacrificed, although the specific purpose of the poles is not clear.
Who is goddess Asherah in the Bible?
Asherah, along with Astarte and Anath, was one of the three great goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon. In Canaanite religion her primary role was that of mother goddess. Canaanites associated Asherah with sacred trees, an association also found in the Israelite tradition.
What does the Bible say about Asherah?
Deuteronomy 16:21 commands: You shall not plant any tree as a sacred pole [asherah] beside the altar that you make for the Lord your God… And 1 Kings 14:23 states: For they also built for themselves high places, pillars, and sacred poles [asherim] on every high hill and under every green tree…
What is the symbol of Asherah?
“Asherah's themes are kindness, love, divination and foresight. Her symbols are lions, lilies, a tree or a pole.
Is Asherah God's wife in the Bible?
Some scholars say early versions of the Bible featured Asherah, a powerful fertility goddess who may have been God's wife.
Why was Asherah removed from the Bible?
Asherah as a tree symbol was even said to have been "chopped down and burned outside the Temple in acts of certain rulers who were trying to 'purify' the cult, and focus on the worship of a single male god, Yahweh," he added.
Is Asherah in the Old Testament?
The word asherah in the Old Testament was used not only in reference to the goddess herself but also to a wooden cult object associated with her worship.
What are Asherah powers?
She was once said to have the same power as the Shekhinah, and the Lady when she appeared to Job made it clear that she could destroy the entire universe with a mere word. Ultipotence: Asherah possesses immeasurable supernatural strength and power, capable of surpassing even the Archangels and the Great Ancients.
Who was Asherah married to?
Asherah is identified as the consort of the Sumerian god Anu, and Ugaritic ʾEl, the oldest deities of their respective pantheons. This role gave her a similarly high rank in the Ugaritic pantheon. Deuteronomy 12 has Yahweh commanding the destruction of her shrines so as to maintain purity of his worship.
Did Jesus have a wife?
"Christian tradition has long held that Jesus was not married, even though no reliable historical evidence exists to support that claim," King said in a press release.
What was Jesus's wife's name?
Mary Magdalene as Jesus's wife One of these texts, known as the Gospel of Philip, referred to Mary Magdalene as Jesus's companion and claimed that Jesus loved her more than the other disciples.
Who is Satan's wife?
LilithLilith is a powerful sorceress in the Madō Monogatari series, where she was the wife of Satan until she lost her physical body when using the artifact known as Seraphim Orb to create the Madou World, of which she is now the guardian. She is also very similar to the protagonist Arle.
Who was God's first wife?
God had a wife, Asherah, whom the Book of Kings suggests was worshipped alongside Yahweh in his temple in Israel, according to an Oxford scholar. In 1967, Raphael Patai was the first historian to mention that the ancient Israelites worshipped both Yahweh and Asherah.
What is an Asherah pole?
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. The relation of the literary references to an asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate.
Which king destroyed the Asherah pole?
For example, King Manasseh placed an Asherah pole in the Holy Temple (2 Kings 21:7). King Josiah 's reforms in the late 7th century BC included the destruction of many Asherah poles (2 Kings 23:14).
What is the pole in the Hebrew Bible?
In translations of the Hebrew Bible that render the Hebrew asherim into English as "Asherah pole s", the insertion of "pole" begs the question by setting up unwarranted expectations for such a wooden object: "we are never told exactly what it was", observes John Day.
Where in the Bible is Asherim mentioned?
Asherim are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, Judges, the Books of Kings, the second Book of Chronicles, and the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah. The term often appears as merely אשרה, ( Asherah) referred to as "groves" in the King James Version, which follows the Septuagint rendering as ἄλσος, pl. ἄλση and the Vulgate lucus, and "poles" in the New Revised Standard Version; no word that may be translated as "poles" appears in the text. Scholars have indicated, however, that the plural use of the term (English "Asherahs", translating Hebrew Asherim or Asherot) provides ample evidence that reference is being made to objects of worship rather than a transcendent figure.
Was the Israelite folk religion canaanite?
In light of archeological finds, however, some modern scholars now theorize that the Israelite folk religion was Canaanite in its inception and always polytheistic; this theory holds that the innovators were the prophets and priests who denounced the Asherah poles. Such theories inspire ongoing debate.
Where in the Bible is the Asherah pole mentioned?
In the Bible, Asherah poles were first mentioned in Exodus 34:13. God had just remade the Ten Commandment tablets, and Moses had requested God graciously forgive the Israelites for worshiping the golden calf.
Why did the ancient Israelites have an Asherah pole?
While the exact appearance of an Asherah pole is somewhat obscure, it is clear that the ancient Israelites, after entering the land of Canaan, were influenced by the pagan religion it represented.
Who installed the Asherah pole in the temple?
King Manasseh of Judah went so far as to install a pole in the temple of the Lord ( 2 Kings 21:3, 7 ). In the midst of a great cleansing, King Josiah took out the Asherah pole and ground it to powder, further defiling it by spreading the dust over graves ( 2 Kings 23:6 ).
Who was Asherah's consort?
Asherah’s consorts varied, depending on the cultic beliefs of the people—sometimes Asherah was said to consort with the Canaanite creator-god, El; or with the god of fertility, Ba’al; or, horrifically, with the Lord God Himself.
What did the sons of Israel do in the sight of the LORD?
Two books later, In Judges 3:7, “The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.”. Gideon became the first to fight against the infestation of Asherah poles, although, in his fear, he chopped his father’s Asherah pole down at night ( Judges 6:25-27 ).
What is an Asherah pole?
What was an Asherah pole? An Asherah pole was a sacred pole (or sometimes a tree) that was used in the worship of the pagan goddess Asherah. 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.
Why are Asherah poles called high places?
Asherah poles were also known in Scripture as the "high places.". This is likely due to the connection of worship upon hilltops and mountains.
What command did the Israelites give to destroy the Asherah pole?
The Israelites were commanded to destroy any Asherah pole they found among the other people in the land. In Deuteronomy 16:21, the Lord commanded the people of Israel to not make Asherah poles of their own. However, it did not take long for the Israelites to disobey this command.
Who cut down the Asherah pole?
Instead of obeying God's commands, they worshiped the gods of the people God sent them to drive out. God later used Gideon as one of the judges who would stand against this practice of the Asherah pole. He cut down his father's Asherah pole as part of God's call for reform ( Judges 6:25-27 ).
Was Asherah a fertility goddess?
She was considered a goddess of fertility. Some believe that the worship of the Queen of Heaven condemned by the prophet Jeremiah was also a reference to the goddess Asherah, though this is uncertain. Certainly, as a fertility goddess, those who worshiped Asherah were also often involved in sexual practices prohibited by the God of Israel.
Where in the Bible is Asherah?
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 Israel’s side. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Exodus 34:13.
What is Asherah worship?
Asherah worship. One common feature of Canaanite worship and of syncretized Israelite worship on “high places” and in city shrines is the erection of Asherah poles ( Judg 3:7; 1 Kings 14:15; 15:13; 2 Kings 13:6 ). However, we have little information on the function of these poles in ritual practice. The writer of Kings points to the veneration of ...
Why did Hezekiah and Josiah cut down the poles?
Therefore, the order to cut down these cultic poles signified the need to purify the nation of foreign influence and return to compete loyalty of Yahweh.
What is the IVP Bible background commentary?
With the IVP Bible Background Commentary, a staple of many religious educational institutions, you can learn cultural information to enrich and contextualize your study of the Bible. Because the Bible comes from a different cultural perspective, this vital tool brings understanding around actions, dialogue, literary devices, and cultural references. So if this historical viewpoint interests you, add the IVP Bible Background Commentary to your library today!
What did wooden poles symbolize?
Scholars are not completely sure about whether these were simply wooden poles that symbolized trees, perhaps containing the carved image of the fertility goddess, or part of a sacred grove. Pictures on seals excavated in Palestine, for instance, show Asherah as a stylized tree in the Iron Age.
Overview
References from the Hebrew Bible
Asherah poles in biblical archaeology
See also
Sources
Asherim are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, Judges, the Books of Kings, the second Book of Chronicles, and the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah. The term often appears as merely אשרה, (Asherah) referred to as "groves" in the King James Version, which follows the Septuagint rendering as ἄλσος, pl. ἄλση and the Vulgate lucus, and "poles" in the New Revised Standard Version; no word that may be translated as "poles" appears in the text. Scholar…