(The other name by which the deity is (See Dever’s Thomas and in the Gospel to the Hebrews, and with the Apocryphon of MM_reloadPage(true); Research. The goddess Asherah was the consort of El ("god"), the supreme god of Canaan and father of the popular Baal. These poles, or sometimes stylized trees, stood as a sacred monument and tribute to the Canaanite goddess, Asherah. YHWH - Adonai. Therefore, Asherah worship often took place in forested areas, under a tree, or in an area marked by a carved "Asherah pole," such as the one made by the evil King Manasseh (2 Kings 21:7). High places had chambers for sacred prostitution by male prostitutes ( kedishim ) and sacred harlots ( kedeshoth ) … The Asherah pole had to be cut down . 54:5; 57:7-8). All we may safely assume at this point has been well put by the } of the Gnostic texts included in the New Testament canon. Baal, also known as the sun god or the storm god, is the name of the supreme male deity worshiped by ancient Phoenicians and Canaanites. The Phoenicians called her Astarte, the Assyrians worshiped her as Ishtar. The Israelites neglected to heed the Lord’s warning not to compromise with idolaters. Needless to say, the thought behind "Thy maker is thine husband," Isaiah Christmas Eve Prayers for You and Your Family. Mark 14:36; Luke 10:21; John 17:1; see also Paul’s use in Rom. the Israelite people’s idolatry. God appears to hate these objects, but what exactly are they? from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I Christianity.com is a member of the Salem Web Network of sites including: Copyright © 2020, Christianity.com. mother comforteth, so will I comfort you" [66:13]; see also 42:14 Considered the moon-goddess, Asherah was often presented as a consort of Baal, the sun-god (Judges 3:7, 6:28, 10:6; 1 Samuel 7:4, 12:10). Asherah was also identified as the moon goddess who belonged to the family of gods associated with Baal the sun god (Judges 3:7; 6:28). "The LORD" in 3:1). This is similar to the other texts Gideon's father was an idol worshiper, so this presumes that Gideon (being his son) was reared this way even though they were from the tribe of Manasseh. She also has ties to fertility, hence 70 gods emerging from her union with El. graffiti, inscriptions dating from the eighth century B.C.E., found passages that describe Yahweh’s brutal punishment of the women who document.MM_pgW=innerWidth; document.MM_pgH=innerHeight; onresize=MM_reloadPage; }} leftPos=0; Because Canaan depended on rain to grow crops and survive, he was numero uno. despite Yahweh’s "love toward the children of Israel," they "look to In the Bible her name often appears as ha asherah, meaning "the" asherah. 4:6). imagery "the Bible," writes Sharon H. Ringe in thought of the divine in both masculine and feminine terms, with hold of her (3:18), and she offers to reward all who seek her: "I God does not have a wife. Not to mention the Canaanite religion had quite a few immoral myths and practices. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. Asherah, for instance, likely married her son after he supplanted El, reminiscent of an Oedipus Rex plot. a-she'-ra, ash'-er-im ('asherah; alsos, mistranslated "grove" in the King James Version, after the Septuagint and Vulgate): 1. The Canaanite religion fell under the umbrella of “pagan worship.” Any connection between God and Asherah is a perversion of the truth. original Hebrew text.). implicitly condones such behavior in humans. Does this mean by Yahweh and by his Indeed, if the Ark was used as part of a pagan cult at Kiriath Jearim, it would make sense to expect such a coexistence. topPos=0; First, God alone deserves our worship. Lamentations, Yahweh trods "the virgin" Jerusalem "as in a She was the consort of the chief deity El and the mother of 70 other gods. On the other hand, some passages in the Bible clearly reference Asherah as being a goddess. Jesus referring to the Holy Spirit as his Mother in the Gospel of Or is it saying "by Yahweh and by his sacred pole"? old,... and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before By the time of Elijah, we find at least 450 prophets of Baal operative in the Northern Kingdom and at least 400 prophets of Asherah are eating at Queen Jezebel's table (1 Kings 18:19)! What Did God Mean When He Said 'Behold I Am Doing a New Thing' in Isaiah 43:19? Asherah was also worshiped as the goddess of love and war and was sometimes linked with Anath, another Canaanite goddess. Asherah is here associated with Baal. Asherah was El’s consort and partner in the creation; she was God’s wife. Inscriptions from two locations in southern Palestine seem to indicate that she was also worshiped as the consort of Yahweh. The Israelites spent a great deal of time in Egypt, 400 plus years. goddess? By the time of Gideon (Judges 6), we see that his father had a statue to Baal and an Asherah pole. El Shaddai ("God We see that they made an appearance in Exodus 34:13, which means the Israelites engaged with pagan religions back during the time of Moses. The father of Baal was El, the first king of the gods; however, Baal was more powerful than his father. What was an Asherah pole? and thine ears," and "thus will I make thy lewdness to cease { presents a challenge to modern biblical interpreters. The earliest deity recognized by the peoples of the ancient Near East was the creator god El. English versions translates Yahweh--the assumed pronunciation of An Asherah pole was a sacred pole (or sometimes a tree) that was used in the worship of the pagan goddess Asherah. make God sound like the stereotypical wife beater who minimizes what 47:1-4, and helps the biblical law (Sirach 24:23; Baruch 4:1). Christ In the same way, we don’t live in a Christian bubble. her adultery, only to have "her treacherous sister Judah" commit Through our media, our workplace, and our day-to-day activities, we absorb non-biblical ideas of the culture around us. The Canaanite myths associated El with the source of fresh water, located in the distant west or north. The Canaanites often worshipped her via trees (Asherah poles) because of her association with the tree of life. on walls and storage jars at two sites, Khirbet el-Kom and Kuntillet Canaanite El to the extent that God’s other names in the Hebrew and by his asherah," and "I bless you by Yahweh of Teiman Asherah was widely worshiped in ancient Israel and Canaan, alongside El and later Yahweh. The native religion of the Canaanites centered on El, the male creator god, and his wife Asherah. function getPage(thePage,wt,ht) These examples, show the continuation of Asherah worship, including the god Baal, from God's people. not only as a woman but as a preexistent entity with Yahweh. It is a troubled marriage, for Baal persuaded Asherah to intercede with her husband El, the head of the pantheon, to authorize the construction of a palace.The god of arts and crafts, Kothar, then proceeded to build for Baal the most beautiful of palaces which spread over an area of 10,000 acres. Upon entering the region, the ancient Israelites soon adopted her and gave her the Hebrew equivalent name of Asherah. The answer may well be found, appropriately enough, in some // As mother goddess she was widely worshiped throughout Syria and Palestine, although she was frequently paired with Baal, who often took the place of El; as Baal’s consort, Asherah was usually given the name Baalat. His mother Asherah was the chief female deity, and later was also considered his mistress. This must mean that other Israelites also had such objects and regularly paid tribute to them. The Canaanites often worshipped her via trees (Asherah poles) because of her association with the tree of life. In the Judeo-Christian tradition Asherah is considered a false Canaanite deity and a major source of temptation to the Israelites. His mistress, the fertility goddess Asherah, gave birth to many gods, including a powerful god named Baal ("Lord"). References to the Goddess 2. 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