Kuntilet Ajrud

Pithoi A “[  ] says: Say to [   ] and Yaush and to [   ] I bless you by YHWH of Samaria and by his Asherah”

Pithoi B “Amaryau: Say to my lord [   ] I bless you by YHWH of Teman and by his Asherah he will bless you and keep you and will be with my lord.”

One of the main options for the Asherah is that she is a goddess and the consort of YHWH (Freedman). She appears as the consort of the great god El in Ugarit, so it would be logical to assume the same here. If YHWH had “replaced” El, then we can expect Asherah to follow. Also, she is asked to bless someone, so that would assume something more than a tree or a temple, it would mean something that can give a blessing. There are also some Biblical references that support Asherah as a goddess. For example, 1 Kings 18:19 refers to 400 prophets of Asherah, which Freedman views as being inherited by YHWH after the defeat of Baal. Many fertility figurines have been found in Israel from this time period, and it is possible to identify them with Asherah. Further, there is a picture at Ajrud that might be Asherah.

The problem with this view is that third person suffix: his Asherah. Personal names in Hebrew do not appear with a suffix, so this strongly encourages the view that Asherah is not referring to the goddess. Freedman tries to get around this argument by quoting a section from Shakespeare about “her Romeo,” and while I understand what he is saying, it does not seem to be a likely interpretation of this particular text. The picture that supposedly refers to Asherah really shows one or two pictures of Bes and a woman playing the lyre, none of whom can be Asherah. While the Ugaritic texts can be helpful, there are several hundred years prior to our text here and in a different country. The Phoenician texts are closer in time, but do not have any mention of a Asherah with Baal. The Biblical evidence, while it might hint sometimes toward a goddess, usually goes against that view. For example, Asherah appears with the article, which does not appear with names.

The other main view of the Asherah (Lemaire, for example) is that it refers not to a goddess but to a concrete item that was used in a shrine. There is an Akkadian word “asirtu” which means a holy place. There are also cognates from Old Aramaic and Middle and Late Phoenician which have the same meaning. The Biblical evidence indicates that the Asherah was some kind of tree. For example, Deuteronomy 6:21 talks about planting a tree as an Asherah and Deuteronomy 16:21 speaks of one being planted, and Exodus 34:13 describes them as being cut. LXX reads Asherah as grove. The most likely meaning of Asherah is as a sacred tree that was used in various holy sites and sanctuaries.

These inscriptions help us understand a little bit about Israelite religion. While the Asherah (sacred trees) had been used for a long time apparently, they were on the verge of becoming personalized in these inscriptions, which is seen as a common pattern in the ANE (McCarter). They were not yet, but they appear to be on the way. This process could be why the strongly monotheistic prophets react so strongly against the Asherah. For example, Hosea 10:8 talks about the high places (of which the Asherah were apparently a key part) will be destroyed. The other aspect of Israelite religion that appears is the linking of YHWH with a locale. Apparently the people who wrote these inscriptions viewed YHWH as directly connected with local places and not just as a national god.

b. These inscriptions are blessing formulas. They are a request by the person writing them that the god would bless the author or the person they are requesting a blessing for. These are similar to dedicatory formulas, which have the same request for a blessing. Since these inscriptions are from a caravan site, perhaps they were a kind of “safety for travel” blessing, but we cannot be certain.

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