The Historical Mystery of Asherah – Fictional Goddess or Wife of Yahweh
According to Dictionary.com, Asherah is an “ancient Semitic goddess, sometimes identified with Ashtoreth and Astarte, worshiped by the Phoenicians and Canaanites.” Merriam-Webster dictionary refers to Asherah as a “sacred wooden post, pole, or pillar that stood near the altar in various Canaanite high places that symbolizes the goddess Asherah”. She was a Canaanite fertility goddess. So, who exactly is this goddess Asherah? Asherah seems to have been the most major goddess in the time of Ancient Israel. She was the “mother of gods and humans…. She is also the mistress of the sea and land, and protector of all living things (Scham).” According to the Holy Bible, Asherah (sometimes referred to as Ashtoreth), was the name
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of the female goddess that was worshiped in ancient Syria, Phoenicia, and Canaan. The people of Phoenicia referred to her as Astarte, while the people of Syria referred to her as Ishtar, and the people of Canaan referred to her as Asherah. In 1 Samuel 31:10 (NIV), it states that the Philistines had a temple of Asherah. She is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible forty times (White). What could be her importance to such a monotheistic religion? Asherah is first mentioned in the Holy Bible in Exodus 34:13. In Exodus 34:4, God had just remade the Ten Commandment tablets. In Exodus 34:8, Moses asked God to forgive the Israelites for worshiping the golden calf. In Exodus 34:10, God decides to make a covenant if the Israelites obey him. He tells them that he will drive out the tribes living in Canaan in agreement that they must cut down their Asherah poles. This command is repeated in Deuteronomy 7:5, 12:3, and 16:21. Then, in Judges 3:7, it says, “The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.” In Exodus 34:13 God says, “Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.” What was it about Asherah that made the Lord feel so betrayed? What made him forbid the worship of Asherah? Francesca Stavrakopoulou, an Oxford scholar and Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion at the University of Exeter, believes Asherah has a bigger part than what most people think. She claims that Asherah is actually Yahweh’s wife. In an article to Dailymail.com, she backs up these claims by “her own research into the subject.” In the same article she describes herself as “an atheist with huge respect for religion.” She has also been quoted on the show Bibles Buried Secrets, as believing major bible characters are simply fabrications. According to an article from Discovery News, Raphael Patai actually brought up the same theory in 1967. He believed that the ancient Israelites worshipped both Yahweh and Asherah. His theory has recently gained more attention since Stavrakopoulou began backing it up. Stavrakopoulou believes that even though the Bible condemns the worship of other gods and goddesses, such as Asherah, she must have some sort of relationship to Yahweh considering there was a statue of her in Yahweh’s temple in Jerusalem (Dailymail.com). She, Stavrakopoulou, believes that Asherah was, in a sense, edited out by the mail authors of the bible (Viegas). However, these theories are just that – theories.
Evidence from the Holy Bible does not indicate that Asherah was anything more than a fictional goddess or cult symbol. Out of the forty times Asherah is named in The Bible, most of these terms are named in conjunction with the definite article “the” (White). In Hebrew, “the” is used similarly to that in English. Personal names do not take an article. For example, I am Kelsie, not the Kelsie. Some inscriptions say “Yahweh and his Asherah (Scham).” This leads some people, such as Stavrakopoulou to believe that Yahweh and Asherah were husband and wife. The belief that she was the wife of Yahweh could easily be misinterpreted, though. Using the word “his” before Asherah could essentially mean that it is not a personal name at all. It would be more reasonable to believe that it was simply a reference to a cult symbol. In other Semitic languages, not Hebrew, Asherah means “a cella or chapel (White).” That makes it pretty evident that the term of Asherah in The Holy Bible is not a personal name. It could, however, be a reference to a type of goddess. That would lead to the question, “Who is Asherah?” or even “What exactly is an
asherah?” Anyone who has read the Old Testament knows that the ancient Israelites worshiped may different gods. However, when God revealed himself to His people, he told them that he was the one and only true God. This is also when he told them to cut down all of their Asherah poles in Exodus 34. Because the Israelites were surrounded by other nations that worshiped many gods, they sometimes fell back into idolatry. When this happened, the Israelites did not just come right out and deny God. Instead, they would begin worshipping other gods/goddesses, such as Asherah, alongside of God. Sometimes they would even worship God in ways that he had already told them were forbidden. In the Old Testament, it is stated numerous times that the worship of pagan gods, such as Asherah, were forbidden. If this were Yahweh’s wife, wouldn’t he want her to be worshipped in the same way he was? After all, in Colossians 3:19 it states, “Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.” If Asherah were Yahweh’s wife, would he not follow the same? Forbidding his people to worship her and demanding they tear down their Asherah poles seems pretty harsh. 2 Kings 23:7 states, “He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes that were in the temple of the Lord, the quarters where women did weaving for Asherah.” So, the women that were with the male prostitutes were praising Asherah. Nowhere in The Bible does it reference Yahweh being worshipped in such a sin-filled environment. Sinners worship Yahweh, yes, but to do so in such an environment would be considered blasphemous and a slap in the face to the Lord. It would be shocking if his wife were. Worshiping Asherah was highly encouraged by Jezebel. Jezebel was the Phoenician wife of Ahab (1 Kings 18:19). She has quite the legacy. Meriam-Webster dictionary refers to jezebel as “an impudent, shameless, or morally unrestrained woman.” This could be a reason why worshipping Asherah could get you deported (2 Kings 17:10-16). Died out of the bible and out of daily life. 464
The two views of these to two men, David and Daud expressed different beliefs. One (David), is a Jewish Israeli. The other man, Daud, is a very upset Palestinian Arab. Throughout the discussion they both are bringing up each of the countries faults and seeing if any of these points can maybe be resolved. It seems however as though, for right now they failed. I personally have to side with the Israeli man David. His point is very clear for me to see and it seems that all the Jewish people are there to help each other and to have their own place to call home.
Athena is the goddess of several different categories including wisdom, war, and crafts. She is one of the most well-known Olympian goddesses. Athena had a strange birth, followed by an odd life. Athena combines several personalities of different gods into one goddess with her traits of wisdom, power, and craftiness.
...n - (or ANU in the Babaylonian belief).He was the king of the Gods. Ishtar is Anu's second child, daughter of Anu and Antum. She is the goddess of love, procreation, and war. She is armed with a quiver and bow, and her sacred animal is the lion. Her temples have special prostitutes of both genders. The Eanna in Uruk is dedicated both to her and Anu. Even though Anu was a major god and Ishtar a minor goddess, they both were important were believed in heavily in order to build ziggurats for them.
McKeating, Henry. “Sanctions Against Adultery in Ancient Israelite Society with Some Reflection on Methodology in the Study of Old Testament Ethics.” Journal for the Study of the OldTestament. Vol. XVII (Mar. 1979).
Every detail within the story has some sort of meaning and is there for a
Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom who embodies power, victory and justice. She took part in battles that defended her country and helped her allies out greatly. Athena created many inventions that helped mankind. She created the bridle, the trumpet, the flute, and the ship. Athena was known for helping others with their quests. Athena improves heroes lives through guidance. A hero is somebody admired for their achievement and courage. The list is very long on who she helped. People she helped greatly in their journeys was Odysseus, Hercules, the Greeks and Perseus.
Hello my name is Daniel Quinn and today I will be talking to you about the parallels between the film Baraka and my novel Ishmael. To give you all some context before I start, I will explain the premises of both pieces of work. Baraka is a non-narrative documentary film that was released in 1992. Throughout the film there is no narration or dialogue, it is just a compilation of multiple events. Some of what is shown includes natural events, life, human activities and technological phenomenon. The film was shot in multiple locations that includes the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Ryoan temple in Kyoto, Lake Natron in Tanzania, burning oil fields in Kuwait, the smoldering precipice of an active volcano, a busy subway terminal, tribal celebrations, of the Masai in Kenya, and chanting monks in the Dip Tse Chok Ling monastery.
Genesis in the modern world is a highly criticised text, and frequently the most misunderstood, most people do not realise that it is composed of three separate books with two creation stories if we employ source division. (J.ROGERSON P63). Often these two texts are interpolated rendering our own distorted views. In there simplest form they tell a story of the creation of the world and the earliest history of humanity, they then go on to tell the destruction of the world from a flood then the story of Jacob and his ancestors who came to be named Israel. Modern archaeology has given us a different perspective of Genesis, for many science has proved it wrong, especially creation, John Calvin a great systematic protestant thinker said "Gen 1 did not reflect physics and astronomy. The account was solely for the benefit of ancient Hebrew observers whom had no understanding of science". This point was overlooked (j.rogerson),a century ago our understanding of Genesis was very different we did not have the knowledge concerning ancient times as we do now. Wiseman highlights four points which brought about critical theories 1) Theories conceived in an age of ignorance towards earlier civilisations. 2) Literary assumptions made when they knew nothing of earlier systematic writings. 3) Many scholars assumed the oral tradition was the only form of communication during the days of the Patriarchs. 4) Saturated speculative theories concerning "myth and legend" generally now abandoned but not ignored. Scientific discoveries such as Darwin’s theory of natural selection 1859-70 and geology in the 1820’s have challenged earlier perceptions of the creation accounts. A biblical reconstruction of chronology was made of genesis concluding a figure...
As you can see Athena was a very important figure in Greek mythology. She was very close to the same person in some cultures and completely different person in others. Her influence on the people varies widely depending on which stories you read and from what culture they are
To begin, Lilith is an enigma in many circles, with varying tales and legends ascribed to her. In certain aspects of Jewish folklore, Lilith is believed to have been the original wife of Adam who was exiled from Eden and replaced with the better known Eve because she refused to submit to Adam's male authority (Grolier "Lilith").
Athena was the virgin daughter of the great god Zeus and she was also one of the great
Athena was the goddess of wisdom and defense. She was the daughter of Zeus and mother is unclear. Athena invented the bridle. Athena was also Zeus’ favorite. She was the only child of Zeus to have access to use her father’s most prized
I have chosen to talk about the story of exodus from the bible, the exodus movie, and the contemporary poem “How it passes” by Leilani Hall. Naturally I was drawn to Greek mythology as my topic first but, since I learned much more about the biblical stories this semester I wanted to discuss this side of mythology instead. I personally feel like these stories affect people more in their day to day lives than the stories of Greek myth. Although Greek mythology remains influential, biblical mythology is considered a worshiped religion by a vast amount of people around the world. I was also very interested in the stories not having grown up in a religious home and only hearing or reading them out of curiosity growing up, and never had the pleasure of discussing the deeper meaning until this class.
How much of a real difference is there from a cult and a religion? Could it be the money, or maybe the amount of people who are in it? It might be possible the leader is what defines the the line between the two. The cult of Mithras, which comes from present-day Iran, and the religion of Christianity, from Israel, used to be large rivals, but maybe back then Mithraism was the religion while Christianity was the cult. While the two may have been rivals, they both seemed to share quite a few similarities among their differences.
Amphitrite was a sea nymph, a goddess of the sea. Her father was either Oceanus or Nereus depending on what version is referred to (Magnani, 1). She was often described as “the female personification of the sea: the loud-moaning mother of fish, seals and dolphins.” The name Amphitrite means the surrounding third which refers to the sea.