The name Asherah (Hebrew: ’Asherah) refers to a major female deity in the Canaanite pantheon. She was often viewed as the mother goddess, the consort of the chief god El, and sometimes associated with Baal in later Canaanite culture. Her worship was a constant source of apostasy and spiritual corruption in Israel and Judah.
In the King James Version, the Hebrew word ’Asherah is translated variously, usually as “grove” or “groves,” because her worship involved the erection of sacred wooden poles, trees, or pillars.
1. The Pagan Deity and Her Symbols
Asherah was the focus of a powerful fertility cult. Her worship was associated with:
- Sacred Trees/Poles: The primary symbol of Asherah was a stylized wooden pole, pillar, or carved image, often planted near an altar. The KJV frequently uses the term “groves” to refer to these items.”And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves [Asherahs].” (Judges 3:7, KJV, emphasis added).
- Fertility Worship: As a goddess of fertility, her rites often involved ritual prostitution and other practices that were explicitly forbidden under the Mosaic Law. Her cult offered the promise of abundant harvests and children, a lure that proved dangerously appealing to the Israelites.
2. The Great Challenge to the LORD’s Worship
The worship of Asherah was so persistent that it remained a challenge to the Israelite faith from the time of the Judges through the period of the Kings, requiring repeated, drastic reforms.
- Gideon’s Action: Early in the period of the Judges, God commanded Gideon to destroy the Asherah that belonged to his own father, demonstrating the deity’s infiltration even into the homes of Israelite leaders:”And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove [Asherah] that is by it:” (Judges 6:25, KJV, emphasis added).
- Ahab and Jezebel: The worship of Asherah reached its peak in the Northern Kingdom of Israel under King Ahab and his Phoenician wife, Jezebel. She brought 400 prophets of the Asherah into the royal court, alongside the prophets of Baal, creating a government-sanctioned apostasy:”Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves [Asherah] four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.” (1 Kings 18:19, KJV, emphasis added).
3. The Object of Reformation
The biblical record of the Kings often judges a monarch by his willingness to destroy the symbols of Asherah worship. The righteous kings were those who actively purged the land:
- King Asa: He deposed his own mother for her idolatry: “And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove [Asherah]; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.” (1 Kings 15:13, KJV).
- King Josiah: Josiah’s radical reform included systematically tearing down and destroying every remnant of the cult, ensuring the total physical elimination of the worship centers across Judah and Israel:”And he brought out the grove [Asherah] from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.” (2 Kings 23:6, KJV, emphasis added).
In conclusion, Asherah is not a person but a Canaanite goddess whose cult was the most persistent and pervasive rival to the worship of the LORD God of Israel. Her presence in the biblical narrative serves as a constant and solemn warning against spiritual syncretism and the inevitable judgment that follows the mixing of true worship with the deceptive allure of pagan fertility rites.