Asherah:
Yahweh’s consort in the pantheon[1]
[1] This is an edited summary of Dijkstra, op cit, 113-120.
Archaeological discoveries in 1968 by the American archaeologist Paul Lapp at Kuntillet Ajrud suggest that YHWH had a consort – one who was also formerly the consort of the gods Baal and El. Here were discovered pithoi jars dating to the 8th century BC, containing faint drawings of some scenes and figures. Each pithos has an inscription referring to Yahweh and to “his” Asherah (or asherah). The inscriptions are in a mix of Phoenician and Hebrew script, and many are religious in nature, invoking Yahweh, El and Baal, and two include the phrases "Yahweh of Samaria and his Asherah" and "Yahweh of Teman and his Asherah.", most likely a cultic object.
The oldest (biblical) text in, which we meet the goddess Asherah is probably the ancient hymn in Deuteronomy, 33:2-3:
YHWH came from Sinai
and shone forth from his own Seir,
He showed himself from Mount Paran.
Yea, he came among the myriads of Qudhsu,
at his right hand his own Asherah, (my emphasis)
Indeed, he who loves the clans
and all his holy ones on his left.
The cult of Asherah continued to exist until the end of the Kingdom Period, but its days were numbered, for opposition to her cult and priesthood were increasing, as may be deduced from the cult-reforming measures by Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah and Josiah.[1] In this period Asherah was still known as Queen of Heaven[2], a title with a long history in the Ancient Near east for related goddesses such as Asherah, Astarte and Ishtar, and since assumed by Mary, the mother of Jesus. Though the cult of Asherah was rather violently and abruptly abolished from the Temple during the reforms of Josiah[3], this does not means that her cult disappeared everywhere in the city or the surrounding countryside.
[1] A chronology of the kings of Israel and Judah appears in a later Appendix.
[2] Jeremiah 7:16; 44. 15-19
[3] See 2 Kings 23:4 (New International Version): “The king (Josiah) ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel”.
The oldest (biblical) text in, which we meet the goddess Asherah is probably the ancient hymn in Deuteronomy, 33:2-3:
YHWH came from Sinai
and shone forth from his own Seir,
He showed himself from Mount Paran.
Yea, he came among the myriads of Qudhsu,
at his right hand his own Asherah, (my emphasis)
Indeed, he who loves the clans
and all his holy ones on his left.
The cult of Asherah continued to exist until the end of the Kingdom Period, but its days were numbered, for opposition to her cult and priesthood were increasing, as may be deduced from the cult-reforming measures by Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah and Josiah.[1] In this period Asherah was still known as Queen of Heaven[2], a title with a long history in the Ancient Near east for related goddesses such as Asherah, Astarte and Ishtar, and since assumed by Mary, the mother of Jesus. Though the cult of Asherah was rather violently and abruptly abolished from the Temple during the reforms of Josiah[3], this does not means that her cult disappeared everywhere in the city or the surrounding countryside.
[1] A chronology of the kings of Israel and Judah appears in a later Appendix.
[2] Jeremiah 7:16; 44. 15-19
[3] See 2 Kings 23:4 (New International Version): “The king (Josiah) ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel”.