Asherah poles were wooden objects used in the worship of the goddess Asherah, who was associated with fertility, motherhood, and the nurturing aspects of nature.
Both snakes and Asherah poles are connected to fertility, life, and healing.
While Asherah poles symbolized fertility and the nurturing aspects of nature, snakes were often seen as symbols of regeneration and healing.
Both the worship of Asherah (with the Asherah poles) and the veneration of the bronze serpent took place within the broader religious landscape of the ancient Near East, where symbols of fertility, life, and healing were prevalent.
While there is no direct, explicit connection between snakes and Asherah poles in the biblical texts, both symbols played significant roles in the religious practices and symbolism of the ancient Near East.
King Josiah of Judah undertook significant religious reforms aimed at centralizing worship exclusively around YHWH and eliminating the worship of other deities, including Asherah.
Josiah sought to centralize worship in the Jerusalem Temple and eliminate local high places and other sites where different gods, including Asherah, were worshipped.
Destruction of Asherah-related Objects:
The Bible explicitly mentions Josiah’s actions against Asherah worship.
In 2 Kings 23:4-7, it describes how Josiah removed and destroyed the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and other deities:
"The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the YHWH Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts.
He took the Asherah pole from the temple of YHWH Lord to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem and burned it there.
He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes that were in the temple of the YHWH Lord, the quarters where women did weaving for Asherah."
King Josiah's actions against the worship of Asherah, as described in the Bible, were part of his broader efforts to centralize and purify the worship of YHWH.
By destroying the objects associated with Asherah and other deities, Josiah aimed to eliminate polytheistic practices and reinforce the exclusive worship of YHWH in Judah.
King Josiah's reforms, as detailed in the Hebrew Bible, aimed to eliminate the worship of several other deities besides Asherah.
Josiah tore down the quarters of male shrine prostitutes and the structures where women wove hangings for Asherah (2 Kings 23:7).
Queen of Heaven
Mother of the Gods
Athirat, especially in Ugaritic texts
Ashtaroth (plural)
Yes, the Jerusalem Guard really will break the altars of the other Jewish temples, tear down their standing stones, confiscate and break off the heads of their clay figurines, in a desperate attempt to erase the memory of the Elat / The Lion Lady / Hathor / Anat / Astarte / Asherah.
Ultimately, they will fail because the memory of Asherah in all her incarnations is simply too pervasive throughout Judea, as well as in countries beyond, such as Syria, Cyprus and Phoenicia.
Asherah is a prominent goddess in the ancient Canaanite religion, where she is often considered the consort of the chief god, El.
She is sometimes called Athirat, especially in Ugaritic texts, where she is portrayed as the wife of El and the mother of seventy gods.
Asherah was represented by wooden poles or trees, known as Asherah poles (Hebrew: אשרה), which were often placed near altars.
These names often occur in the plural (Ashtaroth, Baalim), probably as indicating either different statues or different modifications of the deities.
It was called the "queen of heaven" ( Jeremiah 44:25 ).
Ashtaroth (also spelled Ashtoreth in Oahspe) is explicitly named as one of the major false gods/goddesses operating in the lower heavens (atmospherea) during this exact period.
The Hebrew Bible mentions Asherah several times, often in a negative context.
Asherah poles are frequently mentioned as objects to be destroyed in efforts to purify Israelite worship (e.g., Exodus 34:13, Deuteronomy 16:21, Judges 3:7).
"Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles."
"Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the Lord your God."
"The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs."
King Solomon is said to have built high places for Asherah and other deities due to the influence of his foreign wives (1 Kings 11:5).
He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused the Lord’s anger by making Asherah poles."
"Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him."
And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table."
Also, the Asherah pole remained standing in Samaria."
"He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.
"The king 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 took the Asherah pole from the temple of the Lord to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem and burned it there.
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."
"The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven.
Asherah may have been considered a consort of Yahweh in early Israelite religion, based on archaeological findings and ancient inscriptions.
Inscriptions from Kuntillet Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom (8th century BCE) mention "Yahweh and his Asherah," suggesting that she might have been venerated alongside Yahweh.
The presence of Asherah in Israelite worship reflects the syncretism that occurred as Israelite religion evolved, influenced by surrounding Canaanite and other Near Eastern cultures.
Prophets such as Jeremiah and Hosea condemned the worship of Asherah and other deities, calling for a return to the exclusive worship of Yahweh.
Numerous artifacts, such as figurines, inscriptions, and temple remains, provide evidence of Asherah's worship in ancient Israel and Judah.
By contrast, as the people’s devotional practices reveal, the mainstream Jewish memory of Asherah was positive.
Son of Asherah, the mother goddess
In general, the god Baal was seen as the son of the sky god El, and his mother was therefore Athirat.
Ashtaroth/Asherah (Baal's consort)
Examples include Judges 2:11–13, where they serve the Baals and Ashtaroth (Baal's consort), leading to oppression by enemies.
In these texts, Baal is depicted as the son of El, the chief god, and Asherah, the mother goddess.
Iron Age inscriptions such as Kuntillet Ajrud name Yahweh of Samaria and Yahweh of Teman, sometimes beside Asherah.
Francesca Stavrakopoulou, in the scholarly layer I keep on this page, describes a Levantine pantheon under El, with Athirat and seventy children.
Baal traits and Asherah appear in the historical books.
The Book of the Laws of YHWH included undisguised narratives of elohim, Elyon the Captain, Shaddai the Destroyer, CH-CH the Dragon, Asherah, Baal, Dagon, the moloch child-sacrifices, and the whole kaleidoscopic memory of the seba hassamayim.
Familiar spirits then push “Lord God” language to please Baal and Ashtaroth worshippers:
But in the three hundred and ninety-seventh year (397), the Gods Baal and Ashtaroth triumphed, through their familiar spirits, and caused the Israelites to anoint a king to rule over them.
The familiar spirits now inspired Saul to change the words of the commandments to the LORD YOUR GOD, as a conciliatory stratagem to please the nations and tribes of people who worshiped Baal, Dagon, Ashtaroth, Haughak, and other Gods and Lords of the lower heavens.