ASHERAH, ASHERIM
ASHERAH, ASHERIM
Asherah was the name of a Canaanite Baal goddess of fertility (1Ki 18:18-19; 2Ki 23:4; 2Ki 23:7). (The plural form of the word in Hebrew was Asherim.) The names Asherah and Asherim were used of the goddess herself, of images of the goddess, and of the sacred poles and trees that represented the goddess. These idolatrous symbols often stood beside the Baal altars on the sacred hilltop sites known as high places, and were important in Baal rituals (Jdg 6:25-26; 1Ki 14:23; 1Ki 15:13; Isa 27:9). For details see BAAL.