Why Was Asherah Edited Out Of The Bible?

Why Was Asherah Edited Out Of The Bible?

There is no strong evidence as to why was Asherah edited out of the Bible? But the response is straightforward: She never was. Of course, Israel’s religious beliefs indeed progressed from Canaanite polytheism through a phase of monotheism, at least in the post-exile era, to monotheism; It is true that in the old ‘mother and father’ religion, El/Yahweh was the head of a deity, with Asherah being his spouse as well as many divine children such as Baal.

Nonetheless, the transition from polytheism to monolatry is quite old, perhaps dating back to the beginning to the moment Hebrew culture initially became distinct from various other Canaanite cultures, 1200 BCE. Although I maintain that it was never a clean and clear transition, it has operated over the centuries with attributes of other deities that sometimes merged with Jehovah (such as Baal as the storm god) of nature). It is still much earlier than the scriptures.

The extremely earliest biblical message is possibly Amos ca. 750 BCE, and also the 5 publications of the Torah are much later on still, dating to some time around the Babylonian expatriation (possibly during it, perhaps following) in the 6th century BCE.

In other words, although Asherah was initially worshiped as a goddess and wife of Jehovah, by the time the Holy Bible was written, the Hebrews did not think so and believed in it for half a millennium or so.

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Who Was Asherah/Ashtoreth In The Bible?

Asherah or Ashtoreth was the name of the principal female goddess worshiped in ancient Syria, Phoenicia, and Canaan. The Phoenicians worshiped it as Ashtoreth, the Assyrians worshiped it as Ishtar, and the Philistines had the Temple of Asherah (1 Samuel 31:10). Because of Canaan’s incomplete victory over Israel, Asherah worship came to life in Israel just as Joshua died, and Israel was filled with it (Judges 2:13).

A tree branch represented Ashera without any limbs planted in the ground. The branch usually had a figure engraved on it representing the sign of a goddess. Because of its association with carved trees, the place of worship of Asherah was commonly referred to as “lath.” The Hebrew word “ashera” (plural, “asherim”) can also refer to a goddess or lath. One of King Manasseh’s evil deeds is that he “set up the Asherah statue he dug up in that house” (2 Kings 21:7). Another translation of “the carved pillar of the Asherah” is “having images engraved on a log” (JV translation of English).

Asherah was known as the moon-goddess, often presented with her husband Baal, the sun-god (Judges 3:7, 6:28, 10:6; 1 Samuel 7:4, 12:10). ). Asherah was also worshiped in association with the goddess of love and war and a Canaanite goddess named Anath. Ashera worship was noted for its sexuality and included ritual prostitution. The male priests and female priests of Asherah also practiced pronouncing the future and the good giving fortune-telling.

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Why Asherah Did Not Exist In The Bible?

Yahweh and Asherah: Jehovah God forbade the worship of Asherah through Moses. The Law specifically states that the logs should not be near the altar of the Lord (Deuteronomy 16:21). Asherah worship was an ongoing problem in Israel, even after God’s clear instructions were given. When Solomon turned to idolatry, he brought into his kingdom Asherah, one of the pagan gods known as the “goddess of the Sidonians” (1 Kings 11:5, 33).

After this, Asherah worship had reached an even greater height at the time of Jezebel (1 Kings 18:19), who patronized the 400 Asherah prophets and made it more popular. At times, Israel experienced self-awakening and notable crusades against Asherah worship by Gideon (6:25-30), King Asa (1 Kings 15:13), and King Josiah (2 Kings 23:1). -7) were led by.

Where Is Asherah Mentioned In The Bible?

The name Asherah is present forty times in the Hebrew Scriptures, yet it is hardly ever located in English translations. The word râ is translated into Greek as (grove; plural: ), in every instance except Isaiah 17:8; 27:9 and also 2 Chronicles 15:16; 24:18, making use of α (tree) for the former and also, particularly, (Astarte) for the latter.

The Vulgate in Latin provided Lucus, a grove or a wood. From the Vulgate, the King James translation of the Holy bible utilizes the name of the grove or groves as opposed to Asherah. Non-scholarly English-language readers of the Scriptures will not have read his name after more than 400 years.

Asherah’s association with trees is extremely strong in the Hebrew Bible. For example, it is found under trees (1 Kings 14:23; 2 Kings 17:10) and made from timber by people (1 Kings 14:15, 2 Kings 16:3– 4). Trees called part of Asherah or Ashera consist of grapes, pomegranates, walnuts, myrtle, and willow.

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