Do goddesses belong in the Bible?

Answer 1

A:

According to modern Jewish and Christian belief, goddesses should not be mentioned in The Bible, except perhaps in reference to foreign, 'false' beliefs. However, scholars do find references to goddesses in the Bible, because the Israelites were once polytheistic and did worship goddesses. The most well-known Hebrew goddess was Asherah who, according to two sets of inscriptions found by archaeologists, seems to have been the consort of God in early Israelite belief. There are many references in the Bible to Asherah and her 'groves'.

Jeremiah, who was a monotheist (or monolatrist) and blamed all the troubles of the Jews on the worship of other gods, was incensed when he arrived in Egypt to find the Jews worshipping a 'Queen of Heaven'. These diaspora Jews had been living in relative isolation for centuries, unaware of the religious changes that had occurred in Judah during their absence. The ancient Israelites had worshipped several goddesses, each of which could be the goddess in question here. When scholars learnt that Asherah had probably been the chief goddess of the Hebrew people, she was thought to be the most likely 'Queen of Heaven'. A more recent view is that the Queen of Heaven in the Book of Jeremiah may refer either to Astarte, the only West Semitic goddess bearing this title during the Iron Age, or to Ishtar (or possibly some combination of the two).

The Book of Proverbs refers to Lady Wisdom, a spirit/goddess of the post-Exilic period, who some believe may have been the pre-Exilic Jewish goddess of wisdom.