Asherah pole



An Asherah pole is a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the goddess Asherah. The relation of the literary references to an asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate.

The asherim were also cult objects related to the worship of Asherah, the consort of either Ba'al or, as inscriptions from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom attest, Yahweh, and thus objects of contention among competing cults. Most English translations of the Hebrew Bible translate the Hebrew words asherim ( ’ăšērīm) or asheroth ( ’ăšērōṯ) to "Asherah poles".

References from the Hebrew Bible
Asherim are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, Judges, the Books of Kings, the second Book of Chronicles, and the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah. The term often appears as merely, (Asherah) referred to as "groves" in the King James Version, which follows the Septuagint rendering as ἄλσος (alsos), pl. ἄλση (alsē) and the Vulgate lucus, and "poles" in the New Revised Standard Version; no word that may be translated as "poles" appears in the text. Scholars have indicated, however, that the plural use of the term (English "Asherahs", translating Hebrew Asherim or Asherot) provides ample evidence that reference is being made to objects of worship rather than a transcendent figure.

The Hebrew Bible suggests that the poles were made of wood. In the sixth chapter of the Book of Judges, God is recorded as instructing the Israelite judge Gideon to cut down an Asherah pole that was next to an altar to Baal. The wood was to be used for a burnt offering.

Deuteronomy 16:21 states that YHWH (rendered as "the ") hated Asherim whether rendered as poles: "Do not set up any [wooden] Asherah [pole] beside the altar you build to the your God" or as living trees: "You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God which you shall make". That Asherahs were not always living trees is shown in 1 Kings 14:23: "their asherim, beside every luxuriant tree". However, the record indicates that the Jewish people often departed from this ideal. For example, King Manasseh placed an Asherah pole in the Holy Temple (2 Kings 21:7). King Josiah's reforms in the late 7th century BC included the destruction of many Asherah poles (2 Kings 23:14).

Exodus 34:13 states: "Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherim [Asherah poles]."

Asherah poles in biblical archaeology
Biblical archaeologists have suggested that until the 6th century BC the Israelite peoples had household shrines, or at least figurines, of Asherah, which are strikingly common in the archaeological remains. Thus, the pro-Yahwist prophets and priests were the "innovators" whilst Asherah worshippers were the "traditionalists".

Joan E. Taylor suggests the temple menorah’s iconography can be traced to representations of a sacred tree, possibly “based on the form of an asherah, perhaps one associated in particular with Bethel.” However, Rachel Hachlili finds this hypothesis unlikely.

Raphael Patai identified the pillar figurines with Asherah in The Hebrew Goddess.

Purpose
So far, the purpose of Asherah poles are unknown.

Due to its role in Iron Age Yahwism, some suggest they were embodiments of Yahweh himself. Evidence for the latter includes pro-Yahwist kings like Jehu not destroying Asherah poles, despite violently suppressing non-Yahwist cults. In addition, the Yahwist inscription of Kuntillet ʿAjrud in the Sinai Peninsula pairs Yahweh with Asherah. Scholars believe Asherah is merely a cultic object or temple but others argue that it is a generic name for any consort of Yahweh.

Ronald Hendel argues a middle ground is possible, where the Asherah pole is a symbol of the eponymous goddess but is believed to be the mediator between the worshipper and Yahweh, where she becomes the "effective bestower of blessing".

Stéphanie Anthonioz says that early references to Asherah poles in the Hebrew Bible (i.e. ) were built on the awareness that Yahweh had a consort, from the perspective of many Israelites. With the exception of Deuteronomists, many Near Easterners believed symbols and cult images, like the Asherah pole, were reflections of the divine and the divine themselves in their anthropomorphized forms.