Topical Bible: Asherah

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Topical Encyclopedia

Asherah is a significant figure in the religious and cultural history of the ancient Near East, often associated with idolatry and pagan worship practices that the Israelites were repeatedly warned against in the Old Testament. She is frequently mentioned in the context of the Canaanite religion, where she was revered as a mother goddess and consort of the chief god, El. Asherah is often depicted as a tree or wooden pole, known as an "Asherah pole," which was used in various fertility rites and religious ceremonies.

Biblical References:

The Bible frequently references Asherah in the context of Israel's struggle with idolatry. The Israelites were commanded to avoid the worship of foreign gods and to destroy any symbols associated with them. In Deuteronomy 16:21, the Israelites are instructed, "Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the LORD your God." This command underscores the prohibition against incorporating pagan symbols into the worship of Yahweh.

Throughout the historical books, the presence of Asherah poles is a recurring issue. In Judges 3:7, it is noted, "And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs." This verse highlights the syncretism that plagued Israel, as they often adopted the religious practices of the surrounding nations.

The reforming kings of Judah, such as Hezekiah and Josiah, took significant steps to eradicate the worship of Asherah. In 2 Kings 18:4, it is recorded that Hezekiah "removed the high places, shattered the sacred stones, and cut down the Asherah poles." Similarly, Josiah's reforms are detailed in 2 Kings 23:6, where he "brought the Asherah pole from the house of the LORD to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem, and there he burned it."

Cultural and Religious Context:

Asherah's worship was deeply entrenched in the Canaanite religion, which was characterized by a pantheon of gods and goddesses. Asherah was often associated with fertility, motherhood, and the sea. Her worship involved rituals that were considered abominable by the standards of Israelite monotheism, including sacred prostitution and other fertility rites.

The presence of Asherah worship among the Israelites is indicative of the constant cultural and religious pressures they faced from neighboring peoples. Despite the clear commandments against idolatry, the allure of Asherah worship persisted, often leading to periods of spiritual decline and apostasy.

Theological Implications:

The repeated references to Asherah in the Old Testament serve as a reminder of the Israelites' covenantal obligations to Yahweh. The struggle against idolatry, represented by figures like Asherah, underscores the call to exclusive worship of the one true God. The eradication of Asherah poles and other symbols of idolatry was not merely a cultural or political act but a profound theological statement about the holiness and uniqueness of Yahweh.

The narrative of Asherah in the Bible highlights the tension between the call to holiness and the temptation of syncretism. It serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of compromising one's faith and the importance of remaining faithful to God's commandments.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

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. Judg 2:3; 6:25; 1Kin 18:19 Ashtoreth being, perhaps, the proper name of the goddess, whilst Asherah is the name of her image or symbol, which was of wood. See (Judges 6:25-30; 2 Kings 23:14)

Easton's Bible Dictionary

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, " R.V.). (see GROVE .).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ASHERAH

a-she'-ra, ash'-er-im ('asherah; alsos, mistranslated "grove" in the King James Version, after the Septuagint and Vulgate):

1. References to the Goddess

2. Assyrian Origin of the Goddess

3. Her Symbol

4. The Attributes of the Goddess

Was the name of a goddess whose worship was widely spread throughout Syria and Canaan; plural Asherim.

1. References to the Goddess:

Her "image" is mentioned in the Old Testament (1 Kings 15:13 2 Kings 21:7 2 Chronicles 15:16), as well as her "prophets" (1 Kings 18:19) and the vessels used in her service (2 Kings 23:4). In Assyria the name appears under the two forms of Asratu and Asirtu; it was to Asratu that a monument found near Diarbekir was dedicated on behalf of Khammu-rabi (Amraphel) "king of the Amorites," and the Amorite king of whom we hear so much in Tell el-Amarna Letters bears the name indifferently of EbedAsrati and Ebed-Asirti.

2. Assyrian Origin of the Goddess:

Like so much else in Canaanite religion, the name and worship of Asherah were borrowed from Assyria. She was the wife of the war-god Asir whose name was identified with that of the city of. Assur with the result that he became the national god of Assyria. Since Asirtu was merely the feminine form of Asir, "the superintendent" or "leader," it is probable that it was originally an epithet of Ishtar (Ashtoreth) of Nineveh. In the West, however, Asherah and Ashtoreth came to be distinguished from one another, Asherah being exclusively the goddess of fertility, whereas Ashtoreth passed into a moon-goddess.

3. Her Symbol:

In Assyrian asirtu, which appears also under the forms asratu, esreti (plural) and asru, had the further signification of "sanctuary." Originally Asirtu, the wife of Asir, and asirtu, "sanctuary," seem to have had no connection with one another, but the identity in the pronunciation of the two words caused them to be identified in signification, and as the tree-trunk or cone of stone which symbolized Asherah was regarded as a Beth-el or "house of the deity," wherein the goddess was immanent, the word Asirtu, Asherah, came to denote the symbol of the goddess. The trunk of the tree was often provided with branches, and assumed the form of the tree of life. It was as a trunk, however, that it was forbidden to be erected by the side of "the altar of Yahweh" (Deuteronomy 16:21; see Judges 6:25, 28, 30 2 Kings 23:6). Accordingly the symbol made for Asherah by his mother was "cut down" by Asa (1 Kings 15:13). So, too, we hear of Asherim or symbols of the goddess being set up on the high places under the shade of a green tree (Jeremiah 17:2; see 2 Kings 17:10). Manasseh introduced one into the temple at Jerusalem (2 Kings 21:3, 7).

4. The Attributes of the Goddess:

Asherah was the goddess of fertility, and thus represented the Babylonian Ishtar in her character as goddess of love and not of war. In one of the cuneiform tablets found at Taanach by Dr. Sellin, and written by one Canaanite sheikh to another shortly before the Israelite invasion of Palestine, reference is made to "the finger of Asherah" from which oracles were derived. The "finger" seems to signify the symbol of the goddess; at any rate it revealed the future by means of a "sign and oracle." The practice is probably alluded to in Hosea 4:12. The existence of numerous symbols in each of which the goddess was believed to be immanent led to the creation of numerous forms of the goddess herself, which, after the analogy of the Ashtaroth, were described collectively as the Asherim.

A. H. Sayce

Strong's Hebrew

842. Asherah -- a Phoenician goddess, also an image of the same
... 841, 842. Asherah. 843 . a Phoenician goddess, also an image of the same.
Transliteration: Asherah Phonetic Spelling: (ash-ay-raw') Short Definition: Asherim ...
/hebrew/842.htm - 6k

Library

The Story of Gideon and his Three Hundred Soldiers
... Then the Lord told Gideon that before setting his people free from the Midianites,
he must first set them free from the service of Baal and Asherah, the two ...
/.../marshall/the wonder book of bible stories/the story of gideon and.htm

Canaan
... Ebed-Asherah and his son Aziru governed the Amorites in the north, and the prefect
of Phoenicia sends bitter complaints to the Egyptian court of their ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter ii canaan.htm

The Bible in the Life of To-Day
... Another instance is that of an Old Testament word, Asherah, which was translated
always "grove," and was used to describe the object of worship of the early ...
/.../mcafee/study of the king james bible/lecture vi the bible in.htm

Thyatira
... See Revised Version, where the special significance of this abomination is conveyed
and contained in the word "Asherah." To particularise on this form of ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bullinger/commentary on revelation/thyatira.htm

Philadelphia
... As Ahab, king of Israel, was the first to introduce and establish the Asherah worship,
so the reference here, in the Epistle to the assembly of Philadelphia ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bullinger/commentary on revelation/philadelphia.htm

The Trial by Fire
... cowed in his presence, and he had meekly done the prophet's bidding in summoning
'all Israel' and the eight hundred and fifty Baal and Asherah prophets, for an ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/the trial by fire.htm

Nature of the Renderings
... In regard of other terms, of which the old rendering was certainly wrong, as in
the case of the Hebrew term Asherah (probably the wooden symbol of a goddess ...
/.../addresses on the revised version of holy scripture/address iv nature of the.htm

The Kingdom of Judah.
... (2) 400 prophets with a lying spirit, 1:K.22:6-8.22-23. (3) 450 prophets of Baal,
1:K.18:19, 22, 40. (4) 400 prophets of Asherah.1 K.18:19. ...
/.../tidwell/the bible period by period/chapter xiv the kingdom of.htm

Chapter xxx
... To be consistent, Procksch invents the idea that "Asher" must be the name of a
Canaanite-Aramaean divinity, masculine to the feminine "Asherah.". 14, 15. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xxx.htm

Tiglath-Pileser iii. And the Organisation of the Assyrian Empire ...
... their high places, as they had done in the time before David; there, the devout
prostrated themselves before the sacred stones and before the Asherah, or went ...
/.../chapter iitiglath-pileser iii and the.htm

Thesaurus

Asherah (40 Occurrences)
... These images were also sometimes made of silver or of carved stone (2 Kings 21:7;
"the graven image of Asherah, " RV). (see GROVE .). Int. ...ASHERAH. ...
/a/asherah.htm - 24k

Ashe'rah (18 Occurrences)
Ashe'rah. Asherah, Ashe'rah. Asherahs . Multi-Version Concordance
Ashe'rah (18 Occurrences). Deuteronomy 16:21 Thou shalt not plant ...
/a/ashe'rah.htm - 12k

Pole (21 Occurrences)
... Deuteronomy 16:21 You shall not plant for yourselves an Asherah of any kind of tree
beside the altar of Yahweh your God, which you shall make for yourselves. ...
/p/pole.htm - 15k

Grove (23 Occurrences)
... (1.) Hebrews `asherah, properly a wooden image ... The LXX. have rendered asherah in
2 Chronicles 15:16 by "Astarte." The Vulgate has done this also in Judges 3:7. ...
/g/grove.htm - 16k

Kidron (11 Occurrences)
... This locality was again used in the reforms of Josiah when the king "brought out
the Asherah from the house of Yahweh, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron ...
/k/kidron.htm - 17k

Ba'al (55 Occurrences)
... send, and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and four hundred fifty of the
prophets of Baal, and four hundred of the prophets of the Asherah, who eat at ...
/b/ba'al.htm - 22k

Pulled (84 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 21:3 He put up again the high places which had been pulled down by Hezekiah
his father; he made altars for Baal, and an Asherah, as Ahab, king of Israel ...
/p/pulled.htm - 33k

Stars (64 Occurrences)
... 16 And turning their backs on all the orders which the Lord had given them, they
made for themselves images of metal, and the image of Asherah, worshipping all ...
/s/stars.htm - 29k

Grandmother (3 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 15:13 Also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had
made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and ...
/g/grandmother.htm - 7k

Repulsive (7 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 15:13 Also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had
made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and ...
/r/repulsive.htm - 8k

Resources

Who was Asherah / Ashtoreth? | GotQuestions.org

What is an Asherah pole? | GotQuestions.org

Why was the worship of Baal and Asherah a constant struggle for the Israelites? | GotQuestions.org

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Asherah (40 Occurrences)

Exodus 34:13
but ye shall demolish their altars, shatter their statues, and hew down their Asherahs.
(Root in DBY NIV)

Deuteronomy 7:5
But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall break down their altars, and shatter their statues, and hew down their Asherahs, and burn their graven images with fire.
(Root in DBY NIV)

Deuteronomy 12:3
and ye shall break down their altars, and shatter their statues, and burn their Asherahs with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and ye shall destroy the names of them out of that place.
(Root in DBY NIV)

Deuteronomy 16:21
You shall not plant for yourselves an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of Yahweh your God, which you shall make for yourselves.
(WEB JPS ASV DBY NAS NIV)

Judges 6:25
It happened the same night, that Yahweh said to him, "Take your father's bull, even the second bull seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is by it;
(WEB JPS ASV NAS NIV)

Judges 6:26
and build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold, in the orderly manner, and take the second bull, and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down."
(WEB JPS ASV NAS NIV)

Judges 6:28
When the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bull was offered on the altar that was built.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS NIV)

Judges 6:30
Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it."
(WEB JPS ASV NAS NIV)

1 Kings 14:15
And Jehovah will smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he will root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their Asherahs, provoking Jehovah to anger.
(Root in DBY NIV)

1 Kings 14:23
And they also built for themselves high places, and columns, and Asherahs on every high hill and under every green tree;
(Root in DBY NIV)

1 Kings 15:13
Also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS NIV)

1 Kings 16:33
Ahab made the Asherah; and Ahab did yet more to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS NIV)

1 Kings 18:19
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and four hundred fifty of the prophets of Baal, and four hundred of the prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."
(WEB JPS ASV DBY NAS NIV)

2 Kings 10:26
And they took out the image of Asherah from the house of Baal, and had it burned.
(BBE)

2 Kings 13:6
Nevertheless they didn't depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin, but walked therein: and there remained the Asherah also in Samaria.)
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS NIV)

2 Kings 17:10
And they set them up columns and Asherahs on every high hill and under every green tree;
(Root in DBY NIV)

2 Kings 17:16
They forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served Baal.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS NIV)

2 Kings 18:4
He removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah: and he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for to those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it; and he called it Nehushtan.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS NIV)

2 Kings 21:3
For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS NIV)

2 Kings 21:7
He set the engraved image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which Yahweh said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever;
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS NIV)

2 Kings 23:4
The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring forth out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the army of the sky, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried the ashes of them to Bethel.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS NIV)

2 Kings 23:6
He brought out the Asherah from the house of Yahweh, outside of Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast its dust on the graves of the common people.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS NIV)

2 Kings 23:7
He broke down the houses of the sodomites, that were in the house of Yahweh, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS NIV)

2 Kings 23:14
And he broke in pieces the columns, and cut down the Asherahs, and filled their place with the bones of men.
(Root in DBY NIV)

2 Kings 23:15
Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and beat it to dust, and burned the Asherah.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS NIV)

2 Chronicles 14:3
and he took away the altars of the strange gods and the high places, and broke the columns, and cut down the Asherahs;
(Root in DBY NIV)

2 Chronicles 15:16
Also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS NIV)

2 Chronicles 17:6
And he took courage in the ways of Jehovah; moreover, he removed the high places and Asherahs out of Judah.
(Root in DBY NIV)

2 Chronicles 19:3
Nevertheless there are good things found in thee; for thou hast put away the Asherahs out of the land, and hast directed thy heart to seek God.
(Root in DBY NIV)

2 Chronicles 24:18
And they forsook the house of Jehovah the God of their fathers, and served the Asherahs and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.
(Root in DBY NIV)

2 Chronicles 31:1
And when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the columns, and hewed down the Asherahs, and demolished the high places and the altars in all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. And all the children of Israel returned every man to his possession, into their cities.
(Root in DBY NIV)

2 Chronicles 33:3
And he built again the high places that Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he reared up altars to the Baals, and made Asherahs, and worshipped all the host of heaven and served them.
(Root in DBY NIV)

2 Chronicles 33:19
And his prayer, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin and his unfaithfulness, and the places in which he built high places, and set up Asherahs and graven images, before he was humbled, behold, they are written among the words of Hozai.
(Root in DBY NIV)

2 Chronicles 34:3
And in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the Asherahs, and the graven images, and the molten images.
(Root in DBY NIV)

2 Chronicles 34:4
And they broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence; and the sun-pillars that were on high above them he cut down; and the Asherahs and the graven images and the molten images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and strewed it upon the graves of those that had sacrificed to them;
(Root in DBY NIV)

2 Chronicles 34:7
and he broke down the altars, and beat the Asherahs and the graven images into powder, and cut down all the sun-pillars throughout the land of Israel, and returned to Jerusalem.
(Root in DBY NIV)

Isaiah 17:8
And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, nor have regard to what his fingers have made, neither the Asherahs nor the sun-images.
(Root in DBY NIV)

Isaiah 27:9
By this, therefore, shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit of the taking away of his sin: when he shall make all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are crumbled in pieces, the Asherahs and the sun-images shall not stand.
(Root in DBY NIV)

Jeremiah 17:2
whilst their children remember their altars and their Asherahs, by the green trees, upon the high hills.
(Root in DBY NIV)

Micah 5:14
I will have your Asherahs pulled up from among you: and I will send destruction on your images.
(Root in BBE DBY NIV)

Subtopics

Asherah

Related Terms

Ba'al (55 Occurrences)

Asherahs (23 Occurrences)

Jo'ash (44 Occurrences)

Pulled (84 Occurrences)

Asherah (40 Occurrences)

Due (93 Occurrences)

Asher: Son of Jacob, by Zilpah: Descendants of