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Jewish answer:
Asherah was part of the Canaanite idolatry (Deuteronomy ch.12), forbidden to the Israelites (ibid). There were some Israelites who strayed after it (1 Kings 16:33), while others strove to prevent this (Judges ch.6, 1 Kings ch.18, 2 Kings ch.18 and ch.23).
What else can I help you with?
What happened to the Asherah prophets that were also mentioned in 1 kings 18?
A:1 Kings chapter 18 does not mention prophets of Asherah, but rather those of Baal. According to this passage, Elijah tricked them into a contest he would win, then murdered all of them. One would expect from this that worship of the god Baal would have ceased forever in Israel, but archaeologists find evidence that he continued to be worshipped throughout Israelite history, up until the final destruction of Israel in 722 BCE. Asherah was the Hebrew fertility goddess and very different from Baal and the other Israelite gods. Thousands of figurines associated with the goddess have been found throughout Israel and Judah prior to the Babylonian Exile, but none from that time onwards. It seems that the Babylonian Exile brought an end to her worship.
What god did Amalekites worship?
The Amalekites likely worshiped a variety of Canaanite deities, such as Baal and Asherah, along with other gods of the region. Their religion would have included rituals and practices common to the ancient Near East.
In which indigenous religion is the supreme being female?
Some polytheistic religions have both gods and goddesses, although the principal god is usually male. The ancient Greek religion had Athene, the goddess of wisdom and cunning, as well as many other goddesses. In the ancient Egyptian religion, Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris. Biblical and archaeolocal evidence shows that the Hebrew people worshipped Asherah, apparently as the consort of God, prior to the Babylonian Exile. After the return from Babylon, Asherah seems no longer to have been worshipped, but a new spirit or goddess called Lady Wisdom had taken her place and did not disappear from Judaism until the first century CE.
What was the difference between Yahweh and Baal worship?
A:At different times over the centuries, Baal and Yahweh seem almost to have been the same God to the Hebrew people. Keel and Uehlinger (Gods, Goddesses and Images of God in Ancient Israel) say that Yahweh was worshipped also as Baal in Israel during Iron Age IIB, the period from approximately 925 to 722 BCE and the end of the Israelite kingdom. Both began as storm gods and took on characteristics of a solar deity during the eighth century BCE. One very clear difference is that there is no archaeological evidence that Baal and Asherah were ever linked romantically, but writings discovered at Kuntillet 'Ajrud, Khirbet el-Qom and elsewhere suggest that Asherah was actually the partner of Yahweh. The subsequent deuteronomistic references that pair Baal and Asherah in the Bible do so in a pejorative sense, possibly to relegate Asherah.Baal was specifically the High God of the Phoenicians, while Yahweh was the High God of the Israelites and Judahites.
What god and goddess did Ahab and Jezebel worship?
Ahab and Jezebel worshiped the Canaanite god Baal and the goddess Asherah, as well as other deities from the region. They promoted these polytheistic beliefs in Israel, leading to conflicts with the prophet Elijah and a decline in the worship of the Israelite God Yahweh.
What is an asherah pole?
An Asherah pole is a sacred object associated with the worship of the Canaanite goddess Asherah, often depicted as a tree or a wooden pole. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, these poles were typically erected in high places as part of rituals to honor Asherah, symbolizing fertility and femininity. In the context of the Hebrew Bible, Asherah poles are frequently mentioned in relation to idolatry, and their presence was condemned by the Israelite prophets as a violation of the worship of Yahweh.
Is a Christmas tree considered an Asherah pole?
No, a Christmas tree is not considered an Asherah pole. The Asherah pole was a sacred symbol in ancient Canaanite and Israelite religions, while the Christmas tree is a modern symbol associated with the Christian holiday of Christmas.
Does Yahweh the Creator have a female consort?
AnswerYes, God once had a female consort, the goddess Asherah. Archeological evidence of this is in inscriptions found in ancient Israel and Judah during the Hebrew period, as well as the presence of numerous figurines of Asherah found in the same areas. The worship of Asherah seems to have ceased during the Babylonian Exile, when the veneration of Lady Wisdom (Sophia) seems to have begun. One two storage jars found at Kuntillet Ajrud contains a dedicatory inscription that reads, in part, "I bless you by Yahweh, our guardian, and by his Asherah." A second jar at the same site also contains a script that includes, "Amaryau says: Say to my lord X: I bless you by Yahweh [our guardian], and by his Asherah." Another artefact associated with the Makkedah site says, "Blessed be Uriyahu by Yahweh and by his asherah; from his enemies he saved him!" or possibly, "May Uriyahu be blessed by Yahweh my guardian and by his Asherah. Save him."
Where was Asherah worshiped?
A:Asherah was worshipped in and around Palestine, from Bronze Age times down until the Babylonian Exile. Israelite inscriptions at Kuntillet 'Ajrud and elsewhere indicate that she may have been the consort of Yahweh (God), at least during part of the Iron Age II period. As the fertility goddess, Asherah was typically associated with a stylised tree, called an 'asherah' in the Bible, and the Bible indicates there was an asherah in the Jerusalem Temple for most of the monarchical period.
How do you pronounce Asherah?
Emphasize the second syllable: Ash-ER-ah.
What is the historical connection between the Asherah pole and the modern-day Christmas tree?
The historical connection between the Asherah pole and the modern-day Christmas tree is that both have been used as symbols in religious and cultural practices. The Asherah pole was a sacred symbol in ancient Canaanite and Israelite religions, representing the goddess Asherah. Over time, the tradition of decorating trees for various celebrations evolved, eventually leading to the modern-day Christmas tree, which is a symbol of the Christian holiday of Christmas.
What is the asherah pole mentioned in the Old Testament?
Until the Ugaritic tablets were deciphered from the 1930s onwards, most scholars did not even imagine that the biblical "asherahs" might symbolise a goddess. They interpreted "the asherahs" as either wooden poles, cult objects from Baal worship, or groves of trees. Very few linked "the asherahs" to a goddess found in passages such as I Kings 18, in which "prophets of Asherah" served Queen Jezebel. The first detailed study of Asherah in the Hebrew Bible after the Ugaritic discoveries concluded that "the asherah" represented both a wooden cult object and a goddess. It is now evident that Asherah was the Hebrew fertility goddess. Numerous small statuettes of an erotically pregnant female have been found all over Israel and identified with Asherah. Inscriptions have even been found at two different sites, describing Asherah as the consort of Yahweh (God). The "asherahs" were usually upright wooden objects, often standing beside altars, and in at least eight instances they are described as carved. So it seems they were not merely wooden poles, but probably quite large carved images. According to the Bible, an image of Asherah stood in the Temple in Jerusalem for about two-thirds of its existence.
What does an asherah pole look like?
An Asherah pole was a sacred wooden pole or tree trunk that was often carved or decorated and used in the worship of the ancient Canaanite goddess Asherah. It was typically erected near altars or in sacred groves as a symbol of fertility and divine presence. The exact appearance of an Asherah pole varied, but it was generally tall and slender, resembling a stylized tree or totem.
Does God have a wife?
A pithos or storage jar found at Kuntillet Ajrud s this question. On it, was inscribed "I bless you by Yahweh, our guardian, and by his Asherah". A second pithos at Kuntillet Ajrud reads: "Amaryau says: Say to my lord X: I bless you by Yahweh [our guardian] and by his Asherah". Again, on the base wall of a tomb dated to between 750-700 BCE: "Blessed be Uriyahu by Yahweh and by his Asherah; from his enemies he saved him!"Archaelogists see these as saying that Asherah was the wife of Yahweh.So, if God had a wife she would be the goddess Asherah.
Did God the Father have a best friend?
Two quite separate archaeological finds from the period of the early monarchy refer to the goddess Asherah, who is also quite frequently mentioned in the Old Testament. In those archaeological finds, Asherah appears to be the consort of God.
Solomon built a temple to which goddess?
Unfortunately we still know very little about the beliefs of the early Hebrews, at the time attributed to Solomon or even centuries afterwards. It is known that many deities were worshipped in theJerusalem Temple that was believed to have been built by Solomon, and that one of these was the goddess Asherah but possibly not the only goddess worshipped there.According to the Bible, a statue of Asherah stood in the Solomonic temple in Jerusalem for much of its existence. That Asherah was at least the most important Hebrew goddess is shown by two large pithoi or storage jars discovered at Kuntillet Ajrud during the 1970s . One reads, in part: "I bless you byYahweh [God], our guardian, and by his Asherah." The other similarly reads, "Amaryau says: Say to my lord X: I bless you by Yahweh (our guardian), and by his Asherah." Andanother inscription found on the base wall of a tomb dated to between 750-700 BCE has been translated by the French epigraphist André Lemaire as, in part: 'Blessed be Uriyahu by Yahweh and by his asherah; from his enemies he saved him!'
What is the Statue of two gods?
There are many - one is Jehovah and his Astarte (Yahweh and his Asherah) 7th C BCE.
