jamesworrad.blogspot.com

Monday 10 June 2013

Asherah

 
 
 
Ever wondered 'If the God of the bible had a wife what would she look like?' No? Well, anyway, here she is- Asherah. Back in the Hebrew day, Yahweh was but one of a pantheon of gods including El, Baal and his missus here. 
Then, in a moment that would define the future, some time after the Babylonian exile, the priests decreed Yahweh the one and only deity and Asherah got her divorce papers (A garbled reference survives in the bible about cutting down 'sacred tree poles', Asherah meaning 'sacred tree').
 
Two questions immediately arise. i)- what would the cultures, faith and art of Europe and Asia look like now, had Yahweh and Asherah remained an item and ii): How much would Hello magazine have paid for an exclusive photo spread at their new kitchen?

2 comments:

  1. My take--which I can't back up, of course--is that during the Babylonian captivity, the Jews encountered Zoroastrian monotheism, got insecure, and said, "Oh, yeah, we're bad, we're monotheists, too. All our gods? Uh, different names, same dude. Yeah. That's our story, and we're sticking to it."

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    Replies
    1. That makes an astonishing amount of sense, actually. I've been scratching my head as to what the significance of the Babylon exile on what was a very singular occurrence in the ancient world could have been. Been staring me in the face.

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