Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Jack Kilmon" <jkilmon AT historian.net>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>
To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2004 4:02 AM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Explain translation of "Asherah" as "grove" in
2Kings 23.7?


> Dear Peter,
>
> >>
> >>Asherah was the wife of Yahweh. ...
> >>
> >
> >Not in the Bible, where such a thought would be just as repugnant
> >and detestable as temple prostitution. As I understand it, this idea
> >is based on a disputable interpretation of a single inscription from
> >outside the land of Israel. Some people had strange religious ideas
> >then, as now, but you should quote as unqualified fact neither
> >everything you read on the Internet nor everything you read on
> >one-off ancient inscriptions.
>
> HH: I think there are a couple of such inscriptions, and Kitchen
> seemed fairly confident that such was the interpretation. But he
> agreed with Peter that this was the sort of aberrant Yahwism that a
> king like Josiah was bent on stamping out.


You are referring to the Kuntillet Ajrud and Khirbet el Qom inscriptions.

http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/MSmith_BiblicalMonotheism.htm

http://www.bibleorigins.net/KuntilletAjrudArticle.html

Jack