The Bible sexuality and marriage......

Social conservatives who object to marriage licenses for gay couples claim to defend “Christian marriage,” meaning one man paired with one woman for life, which they say is prescribed by God in the Bible.

But in fact, Bible writers give the divine thumbs-up to many kinds of sexual union or marriage. They also use several literary devices to signal God’s approval for one or another sexual liaison: The law or a prophet might prescribe it, Jesus might endorse it, or God might reward it with the greatest of all blessings: boy babies who go on to become powerful men.
While the approved list does include one man coupled with one woman, the Bible explicitly endorses polygamy and sexual slavery, providing detailed regulations for each; and at times it also rewards rape and incest.

Polygamy. Polygamy is the norm in the Old Testament. Biblicalpolygamy.com contains pages dedicated to 40 biblical figures, each of whom had multiple wives.
Sex slaves. The Bible provides instructions on how to acquire several types of sex slaves. For example, if a man buys a Hebrew girl and “she please not her master” he can’t sell her to a foreigner; and he must allow her to go free if he doesn’t provide for her (Exodus 21:8).
War booty. Virgin females are counted, literally, among the booty of war. In the book of Numbers (31:18) God’s servant commands the Israelites to kill all of the used Midianite women along with all boy children, but to keep the virgin girls for themselves. The Law of Moses spells out a ritual to purify a captive virgin before sex. (Deuteronomy 21:10-14).

Read more

 

 

Incest. Incest is mostly forbidden in the Bible, but God makes exceptions. Abraham and Sarah, much favoured by God, are said to be half-siblings. Lot’s daughters get him drunk and mount him, and God rewards them with male babies who become patriarchs of great nations (Genesis 19).
Brother’s widow. If a brother dies with no children, it becomes a man’s duty to impregnate the brother’s widow. Onan is struck dead by God because he prefers to spill his seed on the ground rather than providing offspring for his brother (Genesis 38:8-10). A New Testament story (Matthew 22:24-28) shows that the tradition has survived.
Wife’s handmaid. After seven childless decades, Abraham’s frustrated wife Sarah says, “Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”  Her slave, Hagar, becomes pregnant. Two generations later, the sister-wives of Jacob repeatedly send their slaves to him, each trying to produce more sons than the other (Genesis 30:1-22).
Other slaves. A man should not have sex with a slave if she is betrothed to another man - but if they do, she is to be scourged (beaten) and he must sacrifice a sheep (Leviticus 19:20-22, KJV).
Rape victim. A Hebrew girl who is raped can be sold to her rapist for 50 shekels, or about $580 (Deuteronomy 22:28-29). He must then keep her “because she has been “humbled”.
Note: Apart from forcible rape, female consent is simply irrelevant in the Bible, from the time that Eve gets made from Adam’s rib onward (Genesis 2: 18-22).


New Testament endorses Old Testament
Lest someone claim that the Old Testament doesn’t apply to modern Bible believers, please note that none of these norms or rules—is reversed or condemned by Jesus. Quite the contrary:
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke or a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. (Matthew 5:17-18)

Bible believers or simply change-averse?
For centuries, Christian leaders disagreed about concubines and polygamy, just as they disagreed about slavery more broadly. The nuclear family so prized by America’s fundamentalists emerged from the interplay between Christianity and European cultures, including the monogamous tradition of Rome.
As humanity’s moral consciousness has evolved, coerced sex and marriage have become less acceptable. Today even devout Bible believers oppose sexual slavery. Marriage, increasingly, is a commitment of love, freely given.

Gay marriage is a part of this broader conversation, and opposition by conservative Christians has little to do with biblical monogamy. Many who call themselves Bible believers are simply change-resistant. What really concerns them is protecting the status quo, an ancient hierarchy with privileged majority-culture straight males at the top.
Freedom to marry will expand, as will other rights related to sexuality, reproduction, and family formation; and some conservative Bible believers will adapt to these changes as they have others: reluctantly and with angry protests, but in the end accepting the new normal, and perhaps even insisting that it was God’s will all along.

Valerie Tarico is a psychologist and writer in Seattle, Washington.  She completed her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Iowa and postdoctoral studies at the University of Washington. valerietarico.com

Christian groups have today come under fire for failing to sufficiently condemn the fanatical Christian terrorist

Christian groups have today come under fire for failing to sufficiently condemn the fanatical Christian terrorist who killed three people in yesterday.
Robert Lewis shot nine people and killed three others after he was compelled to do so by a strict interpretation of the Christian holy book ‘The Bible’.
Terrorism expert Simon Williams told us, “Robert Lewis Dear will have attended these so-called

‘Churches’, where fanatical groups will have preyed on the vulnerable and feeble-minded, looking to recruit him into their brand of extremism.

“Their holy book has passages that can be used to justify such violence, and in fact makes it sound like it’s your duty as a Christian – this is how they do it.
“I guarantee that Lewis Dear will have believed he was doing the ‘right thing’.
“We see this a lot with religious terrorists, they all feel like they’re driven by a higher power that is
 ultimately on their side.”

Others have called on all Christian groups to condemn the terrorist attack.
As one resident explained, “If you don’t publicly condemn him and his actions, then you’re basically a terrorist yourself. That’s how it works, right?
“If you stay silent, or don’t go in front of the world’s media to criticise him publicly where I can see it, then you are to blame for this fanatical religious terrorism.
“Wait, you’re saying you have sympathy for his religious views on those places that conduct abortions, just not his violent actions?
“Look, if The Sun happens to call you as part of a survey, I would suggest hanging up, as they could turn that sentiment into a very unsavoury headline.”

No pasaran Trump

No pasaran Trump..The plague spreads...the toxicity of TRUMP leaks out. Ann Coulter the vile apologist for the far right began it all. The plague spreads rapidly now..Trump has clearly abandoned even the vile lie of equivalence of left and right. His racist inner cote spills out and reveals his true self. On Port Talbot debate and argue a man with a Polish surname rails against the snowflakes who condemn a TRUMP visit to the UK. Another says Trump says it how it is . The plague spreads further..Trump becomes the recruiting sergeant for the Far Right..when a man with 40 million followers promotes Britain First the group grows..already on social media Britain First has more likeds that the conventional political parties then post modern fascism comes into it's own. These post modern fascists wear suits ..the skinheads have gone yet the ideology remains. The route to the has chambers is always there. You could place a Nazi uniform on Coulter and you would have a perfect blonde Aryan. TRUMP has the brutal tinge of an American Mussolini...the Dutch authorities clearly state the film is fake yet Coulters voice rises Goebbels like. These are dark times..the ignorance the hate . This is the genesis of fascism in the USA..behind the toddler with a large ego and a thin skin, behind the ignorance lurks the alt right, the KkK; the Nazis, the anti Semites, the scum of the far right creep out from under the TRUMP rock.the stench is overwhelming..the murderer of Jo Cox shouted out Britain First as he butchered her..Trump has legitimized this discourse he will not pass here..and will not come to the UK.. .no pasaran..you shall not pass..

The Maypie and the Kitchen of Brexit

The Maypie and the Kitchen of Brexit

The T6 has made it to Ystradgtnlais over the Brecon Beacons. I collect my thoughts and the images and words begin to flow..

The Brexiteers rave and scream at the price to get out. The government reminds of witnessing a magpie seeking to escape from my kitchen. It sees the outside it sees the kitchen..yet there is glass in the way. It bears itself again and again against the glass.. injuring itself in the process.. it can't see the glass.. it can't comprehend it's existence or nature...its does comprehend reality. The glass is the globalised economy it's the myth of sovereignty, it's the lie in the existence of the nation state.. .the Magpie cannot understand that it can check out but understands that in leaving they will destroy both their party and their administration. The curse of the Corn laws of the 19th Century is enveloping the Tory Party . Soon they will be out of power for a generation. Soon the toxicity of corner shop conservatism, lower middle class prejudice and the unthinking racism and chavanism of the bluekippers will be all that's left.
.
The Maypie loses feathers, it creates wounds and fissures within itself. Parts of its body politics hate other parts and as it dashes itself the drama goes on and on. Like a person suffering from an obsessive co.mpulsion it can think of nothing else. All else is forgotten as the Magpie destroys itself and all else is ignored as the world implodes and inequality and poverty are magnified and enhanced.. yep you can check out any time Maypie.. BUT. Brexit could never be as the leavers said..abd as it becomes clear the Tory government begins to understand that it will cost their political life and rule..Brexit is both the poisoned chalice and the one ring ..it rots all it touches and turns those who desire it into a Gollum like hulk.

The Right walkers sing of Royal love

The Right walkers sing of Royal love..As Brexit unravels, as poverty levels rise, as the Irish border hardens , as for the first time in 800 years Ireland wields power over the British state an idea strikes the ruling class let's have another Royal Wedding.The Express and the Mail sing of Royal love to keep the masses quiet. When all fails a good little Royal wedding takes our minds away from the real issues, the unpleasant facts and the brutality of the international global economy. 

In the House of Commons defence spending is discussed. And the media predict the worst winter for 7 years. Yep the real issues the Royal Wedding and the coming of Winter are used to obscure and keep quiet the masses as a new exilir of opiates is poured into the water of the media. The right walkers swear over the walk to make us undead slaves of the corporations and captains of industry..

Introducing Ian Darby,,Massage Therapist at Asclepius......

Hi I'm Ian. I'm a Sports and Thai qualified massage therapist. I'm starting working in the Asclepius in December so I'm running a competition for two lucky people to win a Thai or Sports massage in December. All you have to do is like and share this post then write a sentence to say why you think you deserve to win. Simple as that. Winners names will be posted on here after December 5th. If you want to find out more about treatments feel free to contact me on 07519847470.

Asherah Goddess of motherhood and fertility Lady of the Sea

Asherah






Asherah אֲשֵׁרָה‎
Goddess of motherhood and fertility Lady of the Sea
Major cult center	Middle-East Formerly Jerusalem
Symbol	Asherah pole
Consort	El (Ugaritic religion) Elkunirsa (Hittite religion) Yahweh (ancient Israelite religion)
Offspring	70 sons (Ugaritic religion) 77 or 88 sons (Hittite religion)

Deities of the ancient Near East
Ancient Egyptian[hide] Amun Apis Atum Buchis Geb Horus Isis Montu Nephthys Nut Osiris Ptah Ra Set Shu Tefnut Thoth
Arabian[hide] Abgal Aglibol Allah al-Lat al-Qaum al-‘Uzzá Atarsamain Athtar Baalshamin Bēl Dhul Khalasa Dushara Hubal Malakbel Manaf Manāt Nasr Nuha Orotalt Ruda Suwa' Theandrios Wadd Ya'uq Yaghūth Yarhibol Yatha
Levantine (Canaanite)[hide] Adonis Anat Asherah Ashima Astarte Atargatis Attar Baal Berith Chemosh Dagon El Elyon Eshmun Gad Hadad Kothar-wa-Khasis Melqart Moloch Mot Nikkal Qetesh Resheph Shadrafa Shahar Shalim Shapash Yam Yarikh
Elamite[hide] Inshushinak Jabru Khumban Kiririsha Lahurati Nahundi Napir Ninsusinak Pinikir
Mesopotamian[hide] Abzu/Apsu Adad Amurru An/Anu Anshar Ashur Enki/Ea Enlil Ereshkigal Inanna/Ishtar/Ishtarat Kingu Kishar Lahamu Lahmu Marduk Mummu Nabu Nammu Nanna/Sin Nergal Ningishzida Ninhursag Ninlil Tiamat Utu/Shamash
Religions of the ancient Near East
v t e

Asherah (/ˈæʃərə/; Ugaritic: 𐎀𐎘𐎗𐎚 : 'ṯrt; Hebrew: אֲשֵׁרָה‎), in ancient Semitic religion, is a mother goddess who appears in a number of ancient sources. She appears in Akkadian writings by the name of Ašratu(m), and in Hittite as Aserdu(s) or Asertu(s). Asherah is generally considered identical with the Ugaritic goddess ʼAṯirat.
Asherah is identified as the queen consort of the Sumerian god Anu, and Ugaritic El,^[1] the oldest deities of their respective pantheons,^[2][3] as well as Yahweh, the god of Israel and Judah.^[4] This role gave her a similarly high rank in the Ugaritic pantheon.^[5] Despite her association with Yahweh in extra-biblical sources, Yahweh in the Bible commands the destruction of her shrines so as to maintain purity of worship to Yahweh Himself.^[6] The name Dione, which like 'Elat means "Goddess", is clearly associated with Asherah in the Phoenician History of Sanchuniathon, because the same common epithet ('Elat) of "the Goddess par excellence" was used to describe her at Ugarit.^[7] The Book of Jeremiah, written circa 628 BC, possibly refers to Asherah when it uses the title "Queen of Heaven" (Hebrew: מְלֶכֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם‎) in Jeremiah 7:16-18^[8] and Jeremiah 44:17-19, 25.^[9]


Contents

• 1 In Ugarit
• 2 In Egypt
• 3 In Israel and Judah
• 4 Ashira in Arabia
• 5 See also
• 6 Notes
• 7 References
• 8 External links

In Ugarit

In the Ugaritic texts (before 1200 BC) Athirat is almost always given her full title rabat ʾAṯirat yammi, "Lady Athirat of the Sea" or as more fully translated "she who treads on the sea" (Ugaritic 𐎗𐎁𐎚 𐎀𐎘𐎗𐎚 𐎊𐎎, rbt ʾaṯrt ym). This occurs 12 times in the Baʿal Epic alone.^[10] The name is understood by various translators and commentators to be from the Ugaritic root ʾaṯr "stride", cognate with the Hebrew root ʾšr, of the same meaning. There she appears to champion Yam, god of the sea, in his struggle with Ba'al.
Her other main divine epithet was qaniyatu ʾilhm (Ugaritic 𐎖𐎐𐎊𐎚 𐎛𐎍𐎎, qnyt ʾlm) which may be translated as "the creatrix of the Gods (Elohim)".^[10] In those texts, Athirat is the consort of the god El; there is one reference to the 70 sons of Athirat, presumably the same as the 70 sons of El. She is clearly distinguished from ʿAshtart in the Ugaritic documents although in non-Ugaritic sources from later periods the distinction between the two goddesses can be blurred; either as a result of scribal error or through possible syncretism. In any case, the two names begin with different consonants in the Semitic languages; Athirat or Asherah (Ugaritic: 𐎀𐎘𐎗𐎚, ʾaṯrt) with an aleph or glottal stop consonant (א) versus ʿAshtart or ʿAshtoreth (Ugaritic 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚, ʿṯtrt) with an ʿayin or voiced pharyngeal consonant (ע), indicating the lack of any plausible etymological connection between the names.
She is also called Elat (Ugaritic 𐎛𐎍𐎚, ilt), "Goddess", the feminine form of El (compare Allat) and Qodesh, "holiness" (Ugaritic 𐎖𐎄𐎌, qdš). Athirat in Akkadian texts appears as Ashratum (or, Antu), the wife of Anu, the God of Heaven. In contrast, ʿAshtart is believed to be linked to the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar who is sometimes portrayed as the daughter of Anu while in Ugaritic myth, ʿAshtart is one of the daughters of El, the West Semitic counterpart of Anu.
Among the Hittites this goddess appears as Asherdu(s) or Asertu(s), the consort of Elkunirsa ("El the Creator of Earth") and mother of either 77 or 88 sons. Among the Amarna letters a King of the Amorites is named Abdi-Ashirta, "Servant of Asherah".^[11]


In Egypt

In Egypt, beginning in the Eighteenth Dynasty, a Semitic goddess named Qudshu "Holiness" begins to appear prominently, equated with the native Egyptian goddess Hathor. Some think this is Athirat/Ashratu under her Ugaritic name. This Qudshu seems not to be either ʿAshtart or ʿAnat as both those goddesses appear under their own names and with quite different iconography and appear in at least one pictorial representation along with Qudshu.
But in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman periods in Egypt there was a strong tendency towards syncretism of goddesses and Athirat/Ashratum then seems to have disappeared, at least as a prominent goddess under a recognizable name.


In Israel and Judah



Image on pithos sherd found at Kuntillet Ajrud below the inscription "Yahweh and his Asherah"
Between the 10th century BC and the beginning of their exile in 586 BC, polytheism was normal throughout Israel;^[12] it was only after the exile that worship of Yahweh alone became established, and possibly only as late as the time of the Maccabees (2nd century BC) that monotheism became universal among the Jews.^[13][14] Some biblical scholars believe that Asherah at one time was worshipped as the consort of Yahweh, the national God of Israel.^[13][15][16] There are references to the worship of numerous gods throughout Kings: Solomon builds temples to many gods and Josiah is reported as cutting down the statues of Asherah in the temple Solomon built for Yahweh (2 Kings 23:14). Josiah's grandfather Manasseh had erected one such statue (2 Kings 21:7^[17]).
Further evidence includes, for example, an 8th-century combination of iconography and inscriptions discovered at Kuntillet Ajrud in the northern Sinai desert^[18] where a storage jar shows three anthropomorphic figures and several inscriptions.^[19][20] The inscriptions found refer not only to Yahweh but to El and Baal, and two include the phrases "Yahweh of Samaria and his Asherah" and "Yahweh of Teman and his Asherah."^[21] The references to Samaria (capital of the kingdom of Israel) and Teman (in Edom) suggest that Yahweh had a temple in Samaria, while raising questions about the relationship between Yahweh and Kaus, the national god of Edom.^[22] The "Asherah" is most likely a cultic object, although the relationship of this object (a stylised tree perhaps) to Yahweh and to the goddess Asherah, consort of El, is unclear.^[23] It has been suggested that the Israelites might have considered Asherah as a consort of Baal due to the anti-Asherah ideology which was influenced by the Deuteronomistic History at the later period of Monarchy.^[24] In another inscription called "Yahweh and his Asherah", there appears a cow feeding its calf.^[25]:163 If Asherah is to be associated with Hathor/Qudshu, it can then be assumed that the cow is what's being referred to as Asherah.
William Dever's book Did God Have a Wife? adduces further archaeological evidence—for instance, the many female figurines unearthed in ancient Israel, (known as Pillar-Base Figurines)—as supporting the view that in Israelite folk religion of the monarchal period, Asherah functioned as a goddess and consort of Yahweh and was worshiped as the Queen of Heaven, for whose festival the Hebrews baked small cakes.
The word Asherah is translated in Greek as alsos, grove, or alse, groves, or occasionally by dendra, trees; Vulgate in Latin provided lucus or nemus, a grove or a wood (thus KJV Bible uses grove or groves with the consequent loss of Asherah's name and knowledge of her existence to English language readers of the Bible over some 400 years).^[26] The association of Asherah with trees in the Hebrew Bible is very strong. For example, she is found under trees (1K 14:23; 2K 17:10) and is made of wood by human beings (1K 14:15, 2K 16:3-4). Trees described as being an asherah or part of an asherah include grapevines, pomegranates, walnuts, myrtles, and willows (Danby:1933:90,176).
Some scholars have found an early link between Asherah and Eve, based upon the coincidence of their common title as "the mother of all living" in Genesis 3:20^[27][28] through the identification with the Hurrian mother goddess Hebat.^[29][30] Asherah was also given the title Chawat from which the name Hawwah in Aramaic and the biblical name Eve are derived.^[31]
Asherah poles, which were sacred trees or poles, are mentioned many times in the Hebrew Bible.


Ashira in Arabia

A stele, now at the Louvre, discovered by Charles Huber in 1883 in the ancient oasis of Tema (modern Tayma – Arabic: تيماء‎), northwestern Arabia, and believed to date to the time of Nabonidus's retirement there in 549 BC, bears an inscription in Aramaic which mentions Ṣalm of Maḥram, Shingala, and Ashira as the gods of Tema.
This Ashira might be Athirat/Asherah. Since Aramaic has no way to indicate Arabic th,^[vague] corresponding to the Ugaritic th (transliterated as ṯ), if this is the same deity, it is not clear whether the name would be an Arabian reflex of the Ugaritic Athirat or a later borrowing of the Hebrew/Canaanite Asherah.^[32]
The Arabic root ʼṯr is similar in meaning to the Hebrew indicating "to tread" used as a basis to explain the name of Ashira as "lady of the sea", specially that the Arabic root ymm also means "sea".^[33] It has also been recently suggested that the goddess name Athirat might be derived from the passive participle form, referring to "one followed by (the gods)", that is, "pro-genitress or originatress", corresponding with Asherah's image as 'the mother of the gods' in Ugaritic literature.^[34]


See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Asherah.

• Mythology portal
• Ancient Near East portal
• The Hebrew Goddess
• Heavenly Mother (Mormonism)
• Shekhinah
• Khirbet el-Qom
• Asherah Pole
• List of fertility deities
• List of Canaanite deities
• Semitic neopaganism

Notes

1. 
   
• "Asherah" in The New Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, pp. 623-4.
• 
  
• OCWM 2000, pp. 32.
• 
  
• Oxford Companion to World Mythology, p.32
• 
  
• Niehr, Herbert (1995). The Rise of YHWH in the Judahite and Israelite Religion in The Triumph of the Elohim: From Yahwisms to Judaisms. Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA: Eerdmans. pp. 54, 57. ISBN 0-8028-4161-9.
• 
  
• Binger 1997, p. 74
• 
  
• Deuteronomy 12: 3-4
• 
  
• Olyan, Saul M. (1988), Asherah and the cult of Yahweh in Israel, Scholars Press, p. 79, ISBN 9781555402549
• 
  
• ". . . pray thou not for this people . . . The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead [their] dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger." (King James Version)
• 
  
• Rainer, Albertz (2010), "Personal piety", in Stavrakopoulou, Francesca; Barton, John, Religious Diversity in Ancient Israel and Judah (reprint ed.), Continuum International Publishing Group, pp. 135–146(at 143), ISBN 9780567032164
• 
  
• Gibson, J. C. L.; Driver, G. R. (1978), Canaanite myths and legends, T. & T. Clark, ISBN 9780567023513
• 
  
• Noted by Raphael Patai, "The Goddess Asherah", Journal of Near Eastern Studies 24.1/2 (1965: 37–52), p. 39.
• 
  
• Finkelstein, Israel, and Silberman, Neil Asher, The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts, Simon & Schuster, 2002, pp. 241–42.
• 
  
• "BBC Two - Bible's Buried Secrets, Did God Have a Wife?". BBC. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
• 
  
• Quote from the BBC documentary: "Between the 10th century and the beginning of their exile in 586 there was polytheism as normal religion all throughout Israel; only afterwards things begin to change and very slowly they begin to change. I would say it [the sentence "Jews were monotheists" - n.n.] is only correct for the last centuries, maybe only from the period of the Maccabees, that means the second century BC, so in the time of Jesus of Nazareth it is true, but for the time before it, it is not true."
• 
  
• Wesler, Kit W. (2012). An Archaeology of Religion. University Press of America. p. 193. ISBN 978-0761858454. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
• 
  
• Mills, Watson, ed. (31 Dec 1999). Mercer Dictionary of the Bible (Reprint ed.). Mercer University Press. p. 494. ISBN 978-0865543737.
• 
  
• "Genesis Chapter 1 (NKJV)". Blue Letter Bible.
• 
  
• Ze'ev Meshel, Kuntillet ‘Ajrud: An Israelite Religious Center in Northern Sinai, Expedition 20 (Summer 1978), pp. 50–55
• 
  
• Dever 2005
• 
  
• Hadley 2000, pp. 122–136
• 
  
• Bonanno, Anthony (1986). Archaeology and Fertility Cult in the Ancient Mediterranean: Papers Presented at the First International Conference on Archaeology of the Ancient Mediterranean, University of Malta, 2–5 September 1985. John Benjamins Publishing. p. 238. ISBN 9789060322888. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
• 
  
• Keel, Othmar; Uehlinger, Christoph (1998). Gods, Goddesses, And Images of God. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 228. ISBN 9780567085917. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
• 
  
• Keel, Othmar; Uehlinger, Christoph (1998). Gods, Goddesses, And Images of God. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 232–233. ISBN 9780567085917. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
• 
  
• Sung Jin Park, "The Cultic Identity of Asherah in Deuteronomistic Ideology of Israel," Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 123/4 (2011): 553–564.
• 
  
• Professor William G. Dever, "Did God Have a Wife? Archaeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel", Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005 ISBN 978-0802863942
• 
  
• "Asherah". www.asphodel-long.com. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
• 
  
• Jenny Kein, (2000)"Reinstating the Divine Woman in Judaism" (Universal Publishers; 1 edition (January 15, 2000)
• 
  
• Tom Gruber "Eve and Asherah: what's the connection" http://eveandasherahwhatstheconnection.blogspot.com.au/ accessed 21/11/2016
• 
  
• Bach, Alice Women in the Hebrew Bible Routledge; 1 edition (3 Nov 1998) ISBN 978-0-415-91561-8 p.171
• 
  
• Donald B. Redford, Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times, Princeton University Press, 1992 p.270.
• 
  
• William G. Dever, Did God Have a Wife?, Eerdmans (2005). ISBN 0-8028-2852-3. – see reviews of this book by Patrick D. Miller, Yairah Amit Archived 2007-10-23 at the Wayback Machine..
• 
  
• Baruch Margalit, "The Meaning and Significance of Asherah," Vetus Testamentum 40 (July 1990): 264–97.
• 
  
• Lucy Goodison and Christine Morris, Ancient Goddesses: Myths and Evidence (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1998), 79.
• 
  
34. Sung Jin Park, "Short Notes on the Etymology of Asherah", Ugarit Forschungen 42 (2010): 527–534.

References

• Barker, Margaret (2012), The Mother of the Lord Volume 1: The Lady in the Temple, T & T Clark, ISBN 9780567528155
• Binger, Tilde (1997), Asherah: Goddesses in Ugarit, Israel and the Old Testament, Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN 9781850756378
• Dever, William G. (2005), Did God Have A Wife?: Archaeology And Folk Religion In Ancient Israel, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, ISBN 9780802828521
• Hadley, Judith M (2000), The cult of Asherah in ancient Israel and Judah : the evidence for a Hebrew goddess, University of Cambridge Oriental publications, 57, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521662352
• Kien, Jenny (2000), Reinstating the divine woman in Judaism, Universal Publishers, ISBN 9781581127638
• Long, Asphodel P. (1993), In a chariot drawn by lions: the search for the female in deity, Crossing Press, ISBN 9780895945754
• Myer, Allen C. (2000), "Asherah", Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, Amsterdam University Press
• Park, Sung Jin (2010). "Short Notes on the Etymology of Asherah". Ugarit Forschungen. 42: 527–534.
• Park, Sung Jin (2011). "The Cultic Identity of Asherah in Deuteronomistic Ideology of Israel". Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft. 123 (4): 553–564. doi:10.1515/zaw.2011.036.
• Patai, Raphael (1990), The Hebrew goddess, Jewish folklore and anthropology., Wayne State University Press, ISBN 9780814322710
• Reed, William Laforest (1949), The Asherah in the Old testament, Texas christian university press, OCLC 491761457
• Taylor, Joan E (1995), The Asherah, the Menorah and the Sacred Tree, Journal for the study of the Old Testament. no. 66: University of Sheffield, Dept. of Biblical Studies, pp. 29–54, ISSN 0309-0892, OCLC 88542166
• Wiggins, Steve A (1993), A reassessment of 'Asherah' : a study according to the textual sources of the first two millennia B.C.E, Alter Orient und Altes Testament, Bd. 235., Verlag Butzon & Bercker, ISBN 9783788714796

External links

• Asherah
  • Asphodel P. Long, The Goddess in Judaism – An Historical Perspective
  • Asherah, the Tree of Life and the Menorah
  • Jewish Encyclopedia: Asherah
  • Rabbi Jill Hammer, An Altar of Earth: Reflections on Jews, Goddesses and the Zohar
  • University of Birmingham: Deryn Guest: Asherah^{[dead link]} at Archive.org
  • Lilinah biti-Anat, Qadash Kinahnu Deity Temple "Room One, Major Canaanite Deities"
• Kuntillet inscriptions
  • Jacques Berlinerblau, "Official religion and popular religion in pre-Exilic ancient Israel" (Commentary on Yahweh's Asherah.)
  • ANE: Kuntillet bibliography
  • Jeffrey H. Tigay, "A Second Temple Parallel to the Blessings from Kuntillet Ajrud" (University of Pennsylvania) (This equates Asherah with an asherah.)

Asherah, known as the “Lady of the Sea”

Asherah, known as the “Lady of the Sea”

Asherah, the Shekinah, consort and beloved of Yahweh. God-the-Mother.  Her sacred pillars or poles once stood right beside Yahweh’s altar, embracing it.  Moses and Aaron both carried one of these Asherah “poles” as a sacred staff of power.  The Children of Israel were once dramatically healed simply by gazing at the staff with serpents suspended from it.    This symbol, the snakes and the staff, has become the modern universal symbol for doctors and healers.*  Asherah was also widely known in the Middle Eastern ancient world as a Goddess of Healing.  Then She was removed forcibly from the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures around 400 or 500 B.C.  Her priestesses & priests, known by the headbands they wore,  worshiped on hill-tops,

such as Zion, Mount of Olives, Har Megiddo and countless others. Daughter of Zion, a term found numerous times in the Old Testament, was perhaps a term for a priestess of Asherah. It later came to mean the “City of God,” or Jerusalem herself.  As the “official” state worship became increasingly male oriented, and the establishment became hostile toward all forms of Asherah worship, a time of conflict and bloodshed lasting over a hundred years began.  Those that still clung to Her worship paid the price with their lives at the hands of King Josiah and other rabid Yahwists. (Story in the 2nd Kings ).  But She could not be torn from the hearts and souls of Her people.

Here is an excerpt from one of our
Mystery School lessons:

Exercise 5: (Extra Credit) If you’re really brave, not worried about being called a “heretic Jezebel,” try making some Asherah cakes.  Add raisins if you can!  “Even as the LORD loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods and are fond of raisin cakes.” Hosea 3:1  The commentary for that verse says:  “Raisin cakes: offerings to the fertility goddess Ashera, the female counterpart of Baal; cf Jer 7:18; 44:19.”  The name Baal means simply Lord or husband.  In modern hebrew, the word for husband is baal, used by millions of Israel wives to refer to their hubbies.

*A word about snakes:  The Serpent, though a frightening symbol because of its ability to bring death, stood also for ancient wisdom and immortality.  (Note that it hung out in the Tree of Knowledge and preached a doctrine of immortality, “ye shall NOT surely die.”) Many early societies revered the snake and used it to symbolize different ideas.  

In much the same way, today we revere the Lion or other ferocious big-cats even though they’re dangerous.  An early American symbol used the snake as a statement of power, a warning, saying, “Don’t tread on me!”

Asherah from the Religion of the Canaanites

She was the wife of El in Ugaritic mythology, and is the goddess who is also called Athirau-Yammi: “She Who Walks on (or in) the Sea.” She was the chief goddess of Tyre in the 15th century BC, and bore the appellation qudshu, “holiness.” In the OT Asherah appears as a goddess by the side of Baal, whose consort she evidently became, at least among the Canaanites of the south. However, most biblical references to the name point obviously to some cult object of wood, which might be cut down and burned, possibly the goddesses’ image (1 Kings 15:13, 2 King 21:7). Her prophets are mentioned (1 Kings 18:19), and the vessels used in her service referred to (2 Kings 23:4). The existence of numerous symbols, in each of which the goddess was believed to be immanent, led to the creation of numerous forms of her person, which were described as Asherim. The cult object itself, whatever it was, was utterly detestible to faithful worshippers of Yahweh (1 Kings 15:13), and was set up on the high places beside the “altars of incense” (hammanim) and the “stone pillars” (masseboth). The translation of asherah by “grove” in some translations follows a singular tradition preserved in the LXX and the Vulgate which apparently connects the goddess’ image with the usual place of its adoration.

A Hebrew inscription on a broken storage jar, found in Kuntillet ‘Ajrud in north-eastern Sinai and dated from the beginning of the eighth century BCE has three primitive figures: a standing male figure in the foreground; a female figure just behind him; and a seated musician in the background. The Hebrew inscription above the drawing reads: ‘I bless you by Yhwh of Samaria and his Asherah’ (Dever, 1984; King, 1989). Furthermore, a tomb inscription from el-Qom in Judea, dated to the eighth century BCE too, concludes with the words: ‘to Yhwh and his Asherah’ (Margalit, 1989, 1990 and further references there).

Asherah, like Anat, is a well-documented goddess of the northwest Semitic pantheon. We remember that, according to the Bible itself, in the ninth century BCE Asherah was officially worshipped in Israel; her cult was matronized by Jezebel who, supposedly, imported it from her native Phoenician homeland. Other traces in the Bible either angrily acknowledge her worship as goddess (2 Kings 14.13, for instance, where another royal lady is involved), or else demote her from goddess to a sacred tree or pole set up near an altar (2 Kings 13.6, 17.16; Deuteronomy 16.21 and more). The apparent need for the hostile and widely distributed polemics against her worship constitutes evidence for its continued popularity. Linguistically, Margalit claims (1989), ‘Asherah’ signifies ‘[she] who walks behind’, displaying a prototypic if divine attitude that befits a wife (and is reflected in the Kuntillet Ajrud drawing). Thus both the partially suppressed and distorted biblical evidence and the archaeological evidence combine to suggest one conclusion. The cult of a goddess, considered the spouse of Yhwh, was celebrated throughout the First Temple era in the land, and beyond this period at the Jewish settlement in Elephantine (in Egypt).

Above two paragraphs are an excerpt from longer
Article by a Hebrew professor.  NOTE:  “She who walks behind” is not considered the usual way to translate Asherah.  Encyclopedia Mythica’s
Asherah
entry states: Etymology: She who walks in the Sea.

If you are researching Her, searching for Her in
the Bible, in the Torah, in Kabbala, there is one book you gotta
read…

The Hebrew Goddess, by Raphael Patai

Was the Hebrew God also a Woman?

The Bible gives the impression that all ancient Jews shared a common belief system … with only an occasional group straying from the fold. But the evidence paints a different picture. As Dr. Patai states, “… it would be strange if the Hebrew-Jewish religion, which flourished for centuries in a region of intensive goddess cults, had remained immune to them.” Archaeologists have uncovered Hebrew settlements where the goddesses Asherah and Astarte-Anath were routinely worshipped. And in fact, we find that for about 3,000 years, the Hebrews worshipped female deities which were later eradicated only by extreme pressure of the male-dominated priesthood.

And then there’s the matter of the Cherubim that sat atop the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. Fashioned by Phoenician craftsmen for Solomon and Ahab, an ivory tablet shows two winged females facing each other. And one tablet shows male and female members of the Cherubim embracing in an explicitly sexual position that embarrassed later Jewish historians … and even the pagans were shocked when they saw it for the first time.  [The Star of David, two triangles “embracing” became the coded symbol for God & Goddess locked in a “creating” posture….!]

This cult of the feminine goddess, though often repressed,
remained a part of the faith of the Jewish people. Goddesses answered the
need for mother, lover, queen, intercessor … and even today, lingers
cryptically in the traditional Hebrew Sabbath invocation. [Written for Amazon.com
by “Utnapishtim”: May 18, 1998, St. Mary’s County, Maryland]

Click here to read more about the book
The Hebrew Goddess

Also see this website that sings the Hail Mary in Hebrew to different melodies.

Here is a translation of the Hail Mary into Hebrew. Update: The document ‘Mysteries of the Rosary – Razay Ha Moshiach’ has been deleted from Scribd.com. If you find it, send us the link and we will add it back here — and you will get one month’s free Mystery School dues!

If you made it this far after reading the whole page, you will enjoy sitting back and watching our God Has a Wife! audio slideshow Questions/Comments/Complaints for the
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