Topical Bible: Asherim

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Topical Encyclopedia

The term "Asherim" refers to sacred objects or symbols associated with the worship of the Canaanite goddess Asherah. In the Old Testament, Asherim are often mentioned in the context of idolatry and the Israelites' repeated lapses into pagan worship practices. The Asherim were typically wooden poles or trees set up near altars or high places, serving as cultic symbols of fertility and nature worship.

Biblical References:

The Asherim are frequently condemned in the Hebrew Scriptures as objects of false worship that led the Israelites away from the exclusive worship of Yahweh. In the Book of Exodus, God commands the Israelites to destroy the Asherim: "Rather, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and chop down their Asherah poles" (Exodus 34:13). This directive underscores the importance of maintaining purity in worship and avoiding syncretism with Canaanite religious practices.

In the Book of Deuteronomy, the prohibition against Asherim is reiterated: "Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build for the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy 16:21). This command highlights the incompatibility of Asherah worship with the worship of Yahweh, emphasizing the need for the Israelites to remain distinct from the surrounding nations.

The presence of Asherim in Israelite society is often linked to periods of spiritual decline. For instance, during the reign of King Manasseh, the Bible records that he "set up an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done" (2 Kings 21:3). This act is part of a broader narrative of apostasy and idolatry that characterized Manasseh's reign, leading to divine judgment.

Conversely, the removal of Asherim is associated with religious reform and a return to covenant faithfulness. King Josiah, known for his religious reforms, "broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images" (2 Chronicles 34:4). Josiah's actions reflect a commitment to purging the land of idolatry and restoring proper worship.

Theological Significance:

The Asherim serve as a symbol of the constant struggle between faithfulness to Yahweh and the temptation to adopt the religious practices of surrounding cultures. The biblical narrative consistently portrays the Asherim as a threat to the covenant relationship between God and His people. The repeated commands to destroy these symbols underscore the importance of exclusive devotion to Yahweh and the rejection of idolatry.

The presence of Asherim in the biblical text also highlights the broader theme of spiritual warfare, where the people of God are called to resist the influences of paganism and remain steadfast in their worship of the one true God. The struggle against the Asherim is emblematic of the ongoing battle against idolatry and the call to holiness that permeates the biblical narrative.

In summary, the Asherim represent a significant aspect of the Israelites' religious history, serving as a reminder of the dangers of idolatry and the necessity of maintaining fidelity to God's commandments. The biblical injunctions against Asherim reflect a broader theological emphasis on the purity of worship and the exclusive devotion required by the covenant relationship with Yahweh.

Strong's Hebrew

842. Asherah -- a Phoenician goddess, also an image of the same
... 841, 842. Asherah. 843 . a Phoenician goddess, also an image of the same.
Transliteration: Asherah Phonetic Spelling: (ash-ay-raw') Short Definition: Asherim ...
/hebrew/842.htm - 6k

Library

Jehoshaphat's Reform
... up. The 'high places and Asherim' had to be taken out of Judah before the
true worship could be established there. So it is still. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/jehoshaphats reform.htm

Philadelphia
... it out. In 2 Chronicles 31:1, Hezekiah "brake in pieces the pillars (marg.
obelisks), and hewed down the Asherim" (RV). His two ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bullinger/commentary on revelation/philadelphia.htm

Asa's Reformation, and Consequent Peace and victory
... dedicated to other gods; 'high places,'"that is, where illegal sacrifice to Jehovah
was offered; 'pillars,'"that is, stone columns; and 'Asherim,'"that is ...
/.../expositions of holy scripture g/asas reformation and consequent peace.htm

A Kingdom's Epitaph
... Images and Asherim deformed every hill-top and stood under every spreading tree.
Everywhere incense loaded the heavy air with its foul fragrance. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/a kingdoms epitaph.htm

Footnotes
... expansion. 441 Hebrew adds when their children remember their altars and
Asherim rightly taken by Duhm and Cornill as a gloss. 442 ...
//christianbookshelf.org/smith/jeremiah/footnotes.htm

The Medes and the Second Chaldaean Empire
History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8. <. ...
/.../chapter iiithe medes and the.htm

Thesaurus

Asherim (20 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Asherim (20 Occurrences). Exodus 34:13 but you
shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their ...
/a/asherim.htm - 13k

Ashe'rim (19 Occurrences)
... Asherim, Ashe'rim. Asherite . ... Exodus 34:13 But ye shall break down their altars,
and dash in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their Asherim. ...
/a/ashe'rim.htm - 12k

Poles (58 Occurrences)
... (WEB NAS RSV NIV). Exodus 34:13 but you shall break down their altars, and dash
in pieces their pillars, and you shall cut down their Asherim; (See NIV). ...
/p/poles.htm - 22k

Asherah (40 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary And pl. Asherim in Revised Version, instead of
"grove" and "groves" of the Authorized Version. This was ...
/a/asherah.htm - 24k

Altars (55 Occurrences)
... Exodus 34:13 but you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars,
and you shall cut down their Asherim; (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT ...
/a/altars.htm - 25k

Engraved (62 Occurrences)
... 7:5 But you shall deal with them like this: you shall break down their altars, and
dash their pillars in pieces, and cut down their Asherim, and burn their ...
/e/engraved.htm - 26k

Hewed (22 Occurrences)
... (KJV WBS). 2 Chronicles 14:3 for he took away the foreign altars, and the high places,
and brake down the pillars, and hewed down the Asherim, (ASV JPS RSV). ...
/h/hewed.htm - 14k

Leafy (22 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 14:23 For they also built them high places, and pillars, and Asherim,
on every high hill, and under every green tree; (See JPS). ...
/l/leafy.htm - 12k

Smashed (22 Occurrences)
... (See NAS NIV). 2 Kings 23:14 He broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherim,
and filled their places with the bones of men. (See NIV). ...
/s/smashed.htm - 13k

Smash (8 Occurrences)
... Smash (8 Occurrences). Exodus 34:13 but you shall break down their altars, and dash
in pieces their pillars, and you shall cut down their Asherim; (See NAS NIV) ...
/s/smash.htm - 8k

Resources

Who was Asherah / Ashtoreth? | GotQuestions.org

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Concordance

Asherim (20 Occurrences)

Exodus 34:13
but you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and you shall cut down their Asherim;
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

Deuteronomy 7:5
But you shall deal with them like this: you shall break down their altars, and dash their pillars in pieces, and cut down their Asherim, and burn their engraved images with fire.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

Deuteronomy 12:3
and you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and burn their Asherim with fire; and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods; and you shall destroy their name out of that place.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

1 Kings 14:15
For Yahweh will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and he will root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River, because they have made their Asherim, provoking Yahweh to anger.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

1 Kings 14:23
For they also built them high places, and pillars, and Asherim, on every high hill, and under every green tree;
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

2 Kings 17:10
and they set them up pillars and Asherim on every high hill, and under every green tree;
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

2 Kings 23:14
He broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and filled their places with the bones of men.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

2 Chronicles 14:3
for he took away the foreign altars, and the high places, and broke down the pillars, and cut down the Asherim,
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

2 Chronicles 17:6
His heart was lifted up in the ways of Yahweh: and furthermore he took away the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

2 Chronicles 24:18
They forsook the house of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols: and wrath came on Judah and Jerusalem for this their guiltiness.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

2 Chronicles 31:1
Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and broke down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

2 Chronicles 33:3
For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he reared up altars for the Baalim, and made Asheroth, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
(See NAS)

2 Chronicles 33:19
His prayer also, and how God was entreated of him, and all his sin and his trespass, and the places in which he built high places, and set up the Asherim and the engraved images, before he humbled himself: behold, they are written in the history of Hozai.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

2 Chronicles 34:3
For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the Asherim, and the engraved images, and the molten images.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

2 Chronicles 34:4
They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence; and the incense altars that were on high above them he cut down; and the Asherim, and the engraved images, and the molten images, he broke in pieces, and made dust of them, and strewed it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

2 Chronicles 34:7
He broke down the altars, and beat the Asherim and the engraved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, and returned to Jerusalem.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

Isaiah 17:8
They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands; neither shall they respect that which their fingers have made, either the Asherim, or the incense altars.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

Isaiah 27:9
Therefore, by this the iniquity of Jacob will be forgiven, and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: that he makes all the stones of the altar as chalk stones that are beaten in pieces, so that the Asherim and the incense altars shall rise no more.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

Jeremiah 17:2
while their children remember their altars and their Asherim by the green trees on the high hills.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

Micah 5:14
I will uproot your Asherim out of your midst; and I will destroy your cities.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS)

Subtopics

Asherim

Related Terms

Asherim (20 Occurrences)

Asherite (1 Occurrence)