S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

Asherah, or Ashtoreth, was the name of the chief female deity worshiped in ancient Syria, Phoenicia, and Canaan. The Phoenicians called her Astarte, the Assyrians worshiped her as Ishtar, and the P...

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July 01 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter Arizona Bible College graduate and Dallas Seminary graduate

Asherah (/ˈæʃərə/),[a] in ancient Semitic religion, is a mother goddess who appears in a number of ancient sources. She appears in Akkadian writings by the name of Ašratu(m), and in Hittite as Aserdu(s) or Asertu(s). Asherah is generally considered identical with the Ugaritic goddess ʼAṯirat (Athirat).

Asherah 
and pl. Asherim in Revised Version, instead of "grove" and "groves" of the Authorized Version. This was the name of a sensual Canaanitish goddess Astarte, the feminine of the Assyrian Ishtar. Its symbol was the stem of a tree deprived of its boughs, and rudely shaped into an image, and planted in the ground. 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.). These images were also sometimes made of silver or of carved stone (2 Kings 21:7; "the graven image of Asherah," RSV). (See GROVE [1].). 

Grove. 
1.	A word used in the Authorized Version, with two exceptions, to translate the mysterious Hebrew term Asherah, which is not a grove, but probably an idol or image of some kind. [ASHERAH] It is also probable that there was a connection between this symbol or image, whatever it was, and the sacred symbolic tree, the representation of which occurs so frequently on Assyrian sculptures. 
2.	The two exceptions noticed above are (Genesis 21:33) and 1Sam. 22:6 (margin). In the religions of the ancient heathen world groves play a prominent part. In the old times altars only were erected to the gods. It was thought wrong to shut up the gods within walls, and hence trees were the first temples; and from the earliest times groves are mentioned in connection with religious worship. (Genesis 12:6-7; Deuteronomy 1:1; 11:30) Authorized Version "plain." the groves were generally found connected with temples, and often had the right of affording an asylum. 


Asherah 
(straight), the name of a Phoenician goddess, or rather of the idol itself (Authorized Version "grove"). Asherah is closely connected with ASHTORETH and her worship, (Judges 3:7) comp. Judges 2:3; 6:25; 1Kings 18:19 Ashtoreth being, perhaps, the proper name of the goddess, while Asherah is the name of her image or symbol, which was of wood. See (Judges 6:25-30; 2 Kings 23:14) 

Ashtoreth 
(a star) the principal female divinity of the Phoenicians, called Ishtar by the Assyrians and Astarte by the Greeks and Romans. She was by some ancient writers identified with the moon. But on the other hand, the Assyrian Ishtar was not the moon-goddess, but the planet Venus; and Astarte was by many identified with the goddess Venus (or Aphrodite), as well as with the plant of that name. It is certain that the worship of Astarte became identified with that of Venus, and that this worship was connected with the most impure rites is apparent from the close connection of this goddess with ASHERAH. (1 Kings 11:5,33; 2 Kings 23:13)

June 26 2019 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jeffrey Johnson Supporter

Who was Asherah?

Asherah was a major ancient Semitic false mother goddess, widely worshipped across the Levant as a deity of fertility, motherhood, and the sea. Known as the consort of the supreme god El and frequently depicted as the "Queen of Heaven," she was later viewed by many scholars as the consort of Yahweh in early Israelite religion before the rise of strict monotheism.

How did the Israelites view these local centres for mixed worship? Professor Ephraim Stern of Hebrew University observed that many of these high places were probably "dedicated to Yahweh [Jehovah]." Inscriptions found at archaeological sites seem to support this view. For example, one says, "I bless you by Yahweh of Samaria and by his asherah," and another says, "I bless you by Yahweh of Teman and by his asherah!"

NOTE: However, she was never viewed as such by strict followers of Jewish traditions or by Christians.

The Canaanite goddesses Ashtoreth (Jg 2:13; 10:6; 1Sa 7:3, 4), Asherah, and Anath are presented in an Egyptian text as both mother-goddesses and as sacred prostitutes who, paradoxically, remain ever-virgin (literally, "the great goddesses who conceive but do not bear"). Their worship apparently was invariably involved with the services of temple prostitutes. These goddesses symbolised the quality not only of sexual lust but also of sadistic violence and warfare. Thus, the goddess Anath is depicted in the Baal Epic from Ugarit as effecting a general slaughter of men and then decorating herself with suspended heads and attaching men's hands to her girdle. At the same time, she joyfully wades in their blood.

The Canaanite goddesses Ashtoreth (Jg 2:13; 10:6; 1Sa 7:3, 4), Asherah, and Anath are presented in an Egyptian text as both mother-goddesses and as sacred prostitutes who, paradoxically, remain ever-virgin (literally, "the great goddesses who conceive but do not bear").

According to the reference work Manners and Customs in the Bible, "sexual activity at local shrines was designed to promote the fertility of the land by encouraging the storm god Baal and his consort Asherah to engage in divine intercourse, causing abundant harvests and herds."

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