The Asherah,the Menorah and the Sacred Tree

Abstract

Asherim were the cultic representations of the goddess Asherah found in association with mass ^ebôt at Canaanite high places. They are usually thought to have been wooden objects. However, new evidence may indicate that asherim were in fact living trees, cut and pruned into a particular cultic form. They were therefore both natural and artificial, both planted and made. If asherim were living trees they would have been fitting symbols for a goddess who personified the life principle. The shape of the Temple menorah, which appeared like a cut and pruned almond tree, may have been based on the form of an asherah, perhaps one associated in particular with Bethel.