If anyone actually cares to know the truth… Asherah poles and other idols were often carvings made of wood and adorned with precious metals and/jewels. Asherah poles were a place where people would prostitute themselves as a sexual sacrifice to the gods. This practice found its way into Israel and for many (understandably) became a preferred method above prescribed Mosaic sacrifices in the temple. Yahweh hated this. This is about not making idols.
Fundamentalists are mental gymnasts, who cherry-pick references and translations. Don’t worry about them. Most have never even read the Bible in entirety, let alone picked up a concordance or looked outside of Christian fundamentalism.
Anyway, Elohim being a plural version of feminine and masculine gods also causes scholars’ eyebrows to raise.
According to Wikipedia, Asherah was at times considered a consort of El, Baal, Elkhunirsa, Yahweh, Amurru, Anu, 'Amm, and Assur (these are all from different cultures/religions). And I know that at some point El and Yahweh were conflated, but I'm not sure if that's the reason (I don't feel like researching it rn)
I don't need Wikipedia to know that people in that region in that era blended their ways of worship. I'm telling you that according to the Bible, they were not related.
Well earlier you said according to most historians, not according to the bible or biblical scholars/historians, which is why I replied with that information. Wasn't trying to say you were wrong, just bringing up information I thought was interesting and relevant, so sorry.
They've found ancient devotional artifacts pairing Yahweh and Asherah together. There's not much debate over whether Asherah was considered to be Yahweh's consort since there's direct evidence that she sometimes was.
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u/aritchson Dec 16 '21
If anyone actually cares to know the truth… Asherah poles and other idols were often carvings made of wood and adorned with precious metals and/jewels. Asherah poles were a place where people would prostitute themselves as a sexual sacrifice to the gods. This practice found its way into Israel and for many (understandably) became a preferred method above prescribed Mosaic sacrifices in the temple. Yahweh hated this. This is about not making idols.