Description and usage
The Asherah was a wooden pole used to worship the goddess Asherah.
Translation
Asherah was worshiped as the consort (wife) of the head of the gods. She was considered the mother of the gods, a symbol of fertility.
In the Old Testament the Hebrew word ’asherah sometimes refers to the goddess Asherah and sometimes to the wooden cult-object that was her symbol. In the former category are JDG 3:7; 1KI 15:13; 1KI 18:19; 2KI 21:7; 2KI 23:4; 2KI 23:7; 2CH 15:16. In 1KI 15:13GNT expands “Asherah” to “the fertility goddess Asherah.” When the word ’asherah refers to the wooden pole used for worshiping Asherah, it may be expanded to “image/idol of the goddess Asherah.” Another good model of expansion is CEV “sacred poles for worshiping the goddess Asherah” in 1KI 14:15. CEV also adds the following note: “sacred poles: Or “trees,” used as symbols of Asherah, the goddess of fertility.” Scholars now believe that the Asherah was not exactly an image or statue of the goddess but rather a special wooden pole that symbolized her. For this reason GNT often says “symbol[s] of the goddess Asherah” (see EXO 34:13; DEU 16:21).