Ever heard about the "goddess" the ancient hebrews worshipped? Asherah? Funny, how the jews were'nt supposed to have other gods or graven images, but there it is, right there in exedous , I believe, the Israelites were wandering around in the desert & started to get bit by snakes. So god sez "Build a pole w/ a copper serpent and have everybody "look" at it, & they will be healed. Well, folks, that there snake on a pole was a sacred pole called an Asherah, the representation of a local goddess. Weird. Did'nt this one in My book of bible studies make ya think just a teensy bit? No golden calf, no idols, allowed. And yet there it is, & a snake, no less. They managed to yank almost all references to a hebrew goddess, but not quite. They REALLY effed up on this one! Can anyone else explain this? Maybe sword of jah? (I'm not holding my breath, folks)
Did God make the ancient israelites also worship a goddess?
by avishai 21 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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metatron
In fairness, Hezekiah destroyed the 'snare' of the serpent god.
On the other hand, you might want to check old copies of Biblical Archaeology and research "Asherah"
The ancient Jewish colony of Elephantine in Egypt may have recognized a "consort" for Yahweh
metatron
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peacefulpete
Very ancient cultures typically worshipped female deities as the mother and life giver. Women were highly regarded as elements of divinty. In time man's role in making babies was better understood and women were demoted to mere vessels for the male seed. An accompanying demotion of the godess followed. In many cases the goddesss was simply changed into male and the customs continued as before but with a phallus rather than a vulva as the cult object. In other cases a male King of the gods was invented to assume ascendancy over the popular goddess and she became a consort or subordinate. The OT stories about a tolerance followed by outrage about ashtoreth worship reflect old traditions clashing with newer. It is also in part due to the editing of the 5th and later centuries (by which time goddess worship was taboo for most Jews).
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Cicatrix
Yes. I read about it while doing some research for my mythology class.
I found this at www.angelfire.com/la2/bahumuth/Sumerians.doc I had to click on the archived copy to get in with my puter.
It's very extensive, but says in part "It is written in Sumerian texts that Inanna's name is derived from Nin-anna (Lady of Heaven), but it also seems that the name is at least partially derived from her father. She is the first in a long line of love goddess incarnations that spread throughout the Near East and Western world. Her Semitic (Akkadian) name was Ishtar, the whore of Babylon. She was Aphrodite to the Greeks and Venus to the Romans. In the Old Testament she's referred to as Ashtoreth (Lady of Shame), which was a derivation of her Canaanite name Asherah. Inscriptions from archeological finds have shown that Asherah was popularly worshipped as the consort of Yahweh in both Israel and Judah..."
It goes on to describe the pole, etc. The source cited for the archeological information was "The Bible Undearthed" by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silverman, The Free Press, New York, 2001.
According to this site, Asherah was also known as Hathor, Eostre, Ostara, Artemis, and Diana.
I've read this in another source, but I can't remember how I accessed it. If I recall right, the text I read said the the name Asherah or Ashtoreth (can't remember which) was included on a doorpost with the name Yahweh.
I'll keep searching to see if I can find that source.
Hope this helps.
Cicatrix
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Cicatrix
And I forgot to add that the account is found at Numbers 21:4-8
Cicatrix
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Cicatrix
I found the site I was thinking of.
Take a look at www.amaranthine.freeserve.co.uk/pages/goddess_writings/goddess_in_judaism.htm
It's very interesting.
If you can't get to that site, try Kuntillet Ajrud excavations 1975 and 1976 or Ze'ev Meshel in search
The site above is easier to navigate and understand than the first one I gave you.
Regards,
Cicatrix
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Mr. Kim
To answer the question as posted; NO! GOD did NOT "make" the ancient Israelites also worship a Goddess.
As a matter of fact, GOD still gives "freedom of choice" for all of Mankind.
The decision is up to EACH person as to WHAT to do!
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avishai
To answer the question as posted; NO! GOD did NOT "make" the ancient Israelites also worship a Goddess.
Wow, uhh semantics. O.k, how about, "did god suggest they worship a goddess to save their lives? -
demar
In order to understand why God told Moses to put a snake on the pole and the people to look at it to be healed,you have to read some other chapters of the Old and New Testaments. In Deuteronomy it say "cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree." The bible says in Galatians that Jesus took away the curse of sin by being made a curse for us. That serpent(which is a cursed symbol) on that pole was symbolic of Jesus being crucified on the cross. By looking toward that curse and believing, the Israelites would be healed from the curse of sin just as we are today when we look to Christ believingly and trust in his sacrifice. All of this stuff about a goddess is pure made up fiction.
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avishai
demar, with all due respect, b.s. Where did you come to that conclusion? Where does it equate that in the bible? Are you a JW? Sounds like their usual tenuous-at-best method of connecting one event thousands of years apart to another one. Oh, while we're at it, krishna was also hanged on a tree, afew hundred years before jesus. So was mithras. Was this scripture referring to them, since they obviously pre-date Jesus? Crucifiction is an ancient form of torture. The poles that moses & aaron carried were also called asherahs, & turned into snakes at at least one time. More symbols that the other locals also used. The canaanites also used sacred poles w/ snakes wrapped around them, & worshipped them as a representation of the goddess around the same time period. I suppose this was also a foreshadowing of jesus. Or do you ignore all archaelogical evidence as "pure made up fiction?"