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  • From: "Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Explain translation of Asherah as grove in 2Kings23.7?
  • Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 04:13:11 -0500

Dear Dora,

Actually, Peter, the text "to YHWH and his Asherah" has been found in
several iscriptions, in Sinai and in Israel. But you're right that a. the
reading is debated, and b. that we have no way of really knowing how
widespread the idea of YHWH having a consort was. It's certainly contrary
to any of the biblical authors.

HH: What seems especially debated about the interpretation is a final H on the word Asherah. Is it functioning as a 3ms pronominal suffix "his" referring back to Yahweh, or is it a final element in the spelling of the word Asherah itself. Kitchen favored the latter because he said that one god did not refer to another god as his when using the name of the god. One might say that a god was one's wife, but not that it was "his Ishtar," or "his Bastet," or something like that. Without the idea of "his," the consort interpretation is weakened.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard




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