Asherah

[[File:Hecht_Museum,_Israel_–_figurines_004-crop.JPG|thumb|"''I'll get you, my little pretty! And your little 
God
 dog, too.''"|165px]]
{{biblenav}}
'''Asherah''' is a Semitic Mother [[Goddess]], wife or consort of the Ugaritic ''El''. Many modern scholars of ancient Israelite mythology suggest, in part based on [[Jeremiah]]'s claim that she is the ''Queen of Heaven'', she was the wife or consort to the warrior god/sky god, [[Yahweh]]: in other words, Mrs. God. Assuming this is true, this makes her the victim of a horrible editing job by later [[Monotheism|monotheists]] and [[Sexism|chauvinists]].

==Early history==
The religious beliefs of the earliest [[Hebrew|ancient Israelites]] were fundamentally the same as that of other local cultures in that area of [[Canaan]]. The supreme god of all creation was El, and under him were the gods of particular domains or tribes, such as [[Baal]], [[Moloch]], and of course Yahweh. Asherah was a fertility goddess, and in some traditions was considered to be the wife of El and the mother of most other gods.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=kQFtlva3HaYC&lpg=PA32&dq=Athirat%20wife%20of%20Anu&pg=PA32#v=onepage&q=Athirat%20wife%20of%20Anu&f=false Oxford Companion to World Mythology]</ref> In this function she was also called Elat, which, if El is God-with-a-capital-G, would mean Goddess. Like her counterparts in other pantheons, such as Isis, Hera, and [[Frigg]], Asherah was the Queen of Heaven and in her case it was considered that she lived with her husband in a tent located in a mountain, from where all the fresh waters of the world originated.<ref>[https://books.google.com/?id=1yM3AuBh4AsC&pg=PA28&dq=%22Iron+I+Israel+was+largely+Canaanite%22#v=onepage&q=%22Iron%20I%20Israel%20was%20largely%20Canaanite%22&f=false The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/?id=G49SJI183IkC Stories from Ancient Canaan (2nd Edition)]</ref> This title was eventually stolen by that goddess wannabe [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]].

Eventually, the distinction between supreme god El and the tribal god Yahweh was muddied in the religion of the Hebrews, and Asherah found herself married to someone who was previously [[Psychoanalysis#The Oedipus complex|her son]]. There is copious [[archaeological]] [[evidence]] of Asherah worship in Hebrew territory, including explicit mentions of Asherah and Yahweh together. She was typically venerated by the construction of a wooden pole or statue, or by dedicating living trees in her honor.<ref>{{bible|Deuteronomy|16|21}} states that Yahweh hates these poles</ref> "An Asherah" as a noun in an ancient text is understood to mean one of these [[idol]]s. They are mentioned a few dozen times in the [[Bible]].

==Her fall from fame==
In later times, [[polytheism]] became unfashionable, and worship of Asherah became ''in contrast'' to Yahweh instead of ''in addition'' to him. (Seems even gods get divorced sometimes; what're you gonna do?) The [[prophet]] Jeremiah was particularly unhappy with [[Jewish]] women who worshiped the Queen of Heaven.<ref group=notes>Hmm. Worshiping the Queen of Heaven. While frowned upon by Jewish and [[Christian]] clergy, it sounds… {{wpl|Veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church|vaguely familiar|.}}</ref> A large portion of the [[Old Testament]] as we know it was written by the source known as the [[Documentary hypothesis|Deuteronomists]], who were unambiguously anti-Asherah (and ''transparently'' anti-Baal). Thus, in the Deutoronomist {{bible|Judges|6|27}}, the character Gideon performs a literal hatchet job on his local Asherah trees, while Josiah had a similar itchy axe hand in {{bible|2 Kings|23|14}}.

Judaism underwent substantial revision from the time of King Josiah onwards, destined to become true monotheism. Asherah was essentially forgotten, leaving only indirect references scattered throughout heavily edited biblical texts. Modern translations often render her name as "a pole" or "a grove," which fails to convey to most readers that it is in fact the idol of a particular goddess.

It has also been argued the concept of the {{wpl|Shekhinah}} (the presence of God), present in rabbinic Judaism but not before and that is considered to be feminine as well as related to the way the [[Holy Spirit]] is seen in such religion, has its origins in Asherah. Archaeologist and historian Joan Taylor has also argued for a connection between Asherah's sacred tree and the menorah.

==Today (sort of)==
Leaving aside scholars or, for example, some characters named after her as [http://fireemblemwiki.org/wiki/Ashera as] [https://www.xenoserieswiki.org/wiki/Ashera happens] in the ''Fire Emblem'' and ''Xenoblade'' franchises, [https://youtube.com/watch?v=mRc3ShDzNGI a rock song] by Lana Lane, or a {{wpl|Savannah cat|serval-domestic cat hybrid|,}} Asherah is still remembered today by some [[Neopaganism|neopagans]] who worship her (or at least a version of said deity), as well as [[fundies]] who identify the traditional [[Christmas]] trees with [[pagan survivals|worshipping her]]<ref>http://www.ltradio.org/articles/?admin=linkto&link=18</ref> even if similar traditions were developed independently in several other cultures or consider her along Baal and other deities, Semitic or not, a [[demon]], ignoring what she actually was.

==See also==
*[[Goddess religion]]

==External links==
*{{wpa|Asherah}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=notes}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{biblebox}}

[[Category:Ancient history]]
[[Category:Biblical figures]]
[[Category:Christian mythology]]
[[Category:Deities]]
[[Category:Mythology]]
[[Category:Old Testament]]

Categories: Ancient history, Biblical figures, Christian mythology, Deities, Mythology, Old Testament