---
title: Asherah
author: April Lynn Downey
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/Asherah/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 1970-01-01
---
# Asherah
_Authored by [April Lynn Downey](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/april.lynn.downey/)_
Asherah is a Hebrew word for what was either a goddess or a cultic object or perhaps both. Although many see evidence for Asherah being an individual goddess known to the Israelites, some scholars believe that the context of the word primarily denotes it as a cultic object, as [Mark](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Mark/) Smith suggests in *The Early History of [God](https://www.worldhistory.org/God/): [Yahweh](https://www.worldhistory.org/Yahweh/) and the Other Deities in Ancient [Israel](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Israel/), 2nd Edition.* The [Bible](https://www.worldhistory.org/bible/) frequently addresses *asherah* (singular) and *asherim* (plural) as cult symbols from the time of the Israelite judges until right before the destruction of Judah in the early 6th century BCE. On the other hand, some passages in the Bible clearly reference Asherah as being a goddess. In the Bible, the [Iron Age](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Iron_Age/) text of 1 Kings 18:19 states that Asherah had prophets in [Tyre](https://www.worldhistory.org/Tyre/) just as the Canaanite god [Baal](https://www.worldhistory.org/baal/) had prophets. Additionally, 2 Kings 23:6 declares that the priests of [Solomon](https://www.worldhistory.org/solomon/)'s [Temple](https://www.worldhistory.org/temple/) brought out “all the objects made for Baal and Asherah and all the host of heaven”. This verse also seems to indicate that Asherah was at least sometimes considered to be a deity.
### Asherah & Other Deities
Asherah had not been found in any Iron Age Tyrian or Phoenician texts and so 1 Kings 18:19 might possibly hint that the Israelites associated Asherah with the Iron Age Phoenician goddess [Astarte](https://www.worldhistory.org/astarte/). In the [Bronze Age](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Bronze_Age/), the Canaanite Asherah, known as Athirat, the wife of El and mother of the gods, was a principal deity in Tyre, and the connection of Asherah to the maternal goddess Astarte has been a long-standing theory among scholars. However, the specific name of Astarte is also found in the Bible, such as in Judges 2 and 1 [Samuel](https://www.worldhistory.org/samuel/) 7; therefore, if there is a connection between Asherah and Astarte, they were also sometimes differentiated for reasons unknown.
Divine name changes and intercultural correlations are common in many ancient mythologies. Similarly, Asherah is often interlaced with various other deities of different names and is believed to have a diverse iconography. Her [mythology](https://www.worldhistory.org/mythology/) is hard to determine because, in addition to Astarte, she often took on attributes of Anat and [Ishtar](https://www.worldhistory.org/ishtar/)-[Inanna](https://www.worldhistory.org/Inanna/) as well. In the Canaanite metropolis of [Ugarit](https://www.worldhistory.org/ugarit/), she was known as Athirat, the wife of El and a mother goddess as the mother of the gods. Some scholars believe she was seen as early as the 2nd millennium BCE as a popular female deity in the [Hittite](https://www.worldhistory.org/hittite/) [culture](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/culture/). She may have also been associated with the goddess Elat. The Babylonian goddess Ashratu appears to be a version of Asherah, and she was known for her eroticism. The Babylonians learned of her through the Amorites who saw her as the consort of the god Amurru. In [Babylon](https://www.worldhistory.org/babylon/), she was thought to be the daughter-in-[law](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/law/) of [Anu](https://www.worldhistory.org/Anu/) and was known as the “lady of the steppes”. Her association with mountains in Babylon may be a hint to her Canaanite origins.
From Canaanite mythology, El's traditions and epithets were absorbed into the construct of the Israelite Yahweh, the God of the Hebrew Bible, and therefore it is likely that they acclimated Athirat/Asherah as well. Archaeological evidence for this can be found in the 8th-century BCE Kuntillet Ajrud inscriptions, found in the northeast part of the Sinai Peninsula. These inscriptions are written in Hebrew and translate as 'Yahweh and his Asherah'. Asherah is also associated with Yahweh in a similar possessive sentence in the 8th-century BCE Khirbet el-Qom inscriptions, found in the West Bank.
### Goddess or Cultic Object
There is a debate as to whether these inscriptions refer to Asherah the goddess or an *asherah* as cultic object. One reason for the debate is that in the Kuntillet Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom inscriptions pronominal suffixes show Yahweh having possession of the noun “*asherah*”, implying that this was an object. Ancient Hebrew did not use pronominal suffixes on proper nouns such as people or deities; however, other Semitic languages closely related to Hebrew did use such suffixes. Later in Israelite Deuteronomic tradition, Asherah and all deities other than Yahweh were strictly prohibited. Condemnations of Asherah appear to have been written in the 8th century BCE or later, cropping up at the same time as the Kuntillet Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom inscriptions.
[  Drawing of a Jar Found in Kuntillet Ajrud Amplifysound (Public Domain) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/12813/drawing-of-a-jar-found-in-kuntillet-ajrud/ "Drawing of a Jar Found in Kuntillet Ajrud")When not implying a goddess, the terms *asherah*/*asherim* in the Bible refer to cultic objects which were wooden poles, images, or trees associated with pagan worship and were supposed to have been destroyed by the Israelites. The verbs connected with *asherah/asherim* in the Bible are words often associated with wood, such as “fell”, “smash”, and “burn by fire.” It is possible that the *asherim* were originally living trees from which the wooden pole developed as a symbol of *asherah* to be placed beside an altar. In extra-biblical contexts as well, the goddess Asherah was often represented as a stylized sacred tree.
In the Bible, there appears to be a functional difference in the singular and plural forms of the word, with the singular being set up by altars and the plural in association with trees in high places. The following two verses demonstrate the distinction. Deuteronomy 16:21 commands:
> You shall not plant any tree as a sacred pole \[asherah\] beside the altar that you make for the Lord your God…
And 1 Kings 14:23 states:
> For they also built for themselves high places, pillars, and sacred poles \[asherim\] on every high hill and under every green tree…
These are just two examples out of several which consistently relate separate locations for the singular and plural forms. One theory proposed by J. R. Engle is that the plural *asherim* were associated with [Judean pillar figurines](https://www.worldhistory.org/Judean_Pillar_Figurines/) while the singular *asherah* was a wooden pole. Although it is an interesting and often accepted theory, there is nothing in the biblical text that implies the *asherim* were clay figures. However, along with the disappearance of the Judean pillar figurines from the archaeological record, so did the Asherah cult disappear from Judean sites after the Babylonian Exile.
### Conclusion
As possible evidence for Asherah being primarily a symbol rather than a goddess, there are no personal names found in stories or genealogies associated with Asherah, unlike names associated with El, Yahweh, and Baal. Due to the lack of evidence in the Bible and in [archaeology](https://www.worldhistory.org/Archaeology/) for Asherah being a goddess in Israel (not just a symbol), it seems that perhaps the stylized tree and wooden pole representations remained after the original belief in the supernatural entity behind them faded, possibly as symbols of fertility. Some scholars, including G. Boström, H. Ringgren, and W.F. Albright, believed that the female representation for wisdom and the tree of life in biblical Wisdom [literature](https://www.worldhistory.org/literature/) may have sprouted from the remnants of an Asherah tradition.
#### Editorial Review
This human-authored definition has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our [editorial policy](https://www.worldhistory.org/static/editorial-policy/).
## Bibliography
- [Bienkowski, Piotr & Millard, Alan. *Dictionary of the Ancient Near East.* University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/081222115X/)
- [Coogan, Michael D. & Brettler, Marc Z. & Newsom, Carol & Perkins, Pheme. *The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha.* Oxford University Press, 2010.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0195289579/)
- [Coogan, Michael D. & Smith, Mark S. *Stories from Ancient Canaan, Second Edition.* Westminster John Knox Press, 2012.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0664232426/)
- Kletter, Raz. *The Judean Pillar-Figurines and the Archaeology of Asherah.* Oxford, England: Tempus Reparatum, 1996
- [Mark S. Smith & Patrick D. Miller. *The Early History of God.* Eerdmans, 2002.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/080283972X/)
- [Marsman, Hennie J. *Women in Ugarit and Israelën, Old Testament Studies).* Brill, 2003.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/9004117326/)
- [Nakhai, Beth Alpert. *Archaeology and the Religions of Canaan and Israel.* American Schools of Oriental Research, 2001.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/089757057X/)
- Schmidt, Brian B. *Israel’s Beneficent Dead.* Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1996
- [Smith, Mark S. *The Origins of Biblical Monotheism.* Oxford University Press, 2003.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0195167686/)
## About the Author
April Lynn Downey is an independent researcher and writer and has a BA in Religion and MA in Ancient Biblical Civilizations She offers research, writing, and historical consultation services in the areas of history and religion.
- [Facebook Profile](https://www.facebook.com/journaloftales)
- [Linkedin Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/april-downey-986374152/)
## Cite This Work
### APA
Downey, A. L. (2020, September 29). Asherah. *World History Encyclopedia*.
### Chicago
Downey, April Lynn. "Asherah." *World History Encyclopedia*, September 29, 2020. .
### MLA
Downey, April Lynn. "Asherah." *World History Encyclopedia*, 29 Sep 2020, .
## License & Copyright
Submitted by [April Lynn Downey](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/april.lynn.downey/ "User Page: April Lynn Downey"), published on 29 September 2020. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.