Did God have a wife?

There is an interesting article in Archaeology magazine this month about recent evacuation of sites in ancient Judea, where a lot of statues and inscriptions to the goddess Asherah were unearthed. Asherah is believed to have been the wife or consort of the Canaanite god Yahweh (Jehovah) in the iron age Palestinian civilization in which the Jewish nation evolved.

Asherah is mentioned 40 times in the Bible, always in a negative context. For instance, Josiah is praised by the authors of the Book of Kings for casting down offerings made to Asherah in the Temple at Jerusalem.

Nevertheless, according to archaeological evidence, Asherah continued to be worshiped up until the conquest of Judah in 586 B.C. and the subsequent Babylonian exile.

By the time Israel returned to the Holy Land in the time of Nehemiah, monotheism had gained sufficient strength that the Yahwist party was finally able to purge the country of the vestiges of other gods and goddesses. Since most of the Bible was written after the Babylonian exile, worship of Asherah and other Canaanite deities is reviled as abominable idolatry in the final version of the Holy Scriptures that has come down to us.

I thought that was pretty interesting.

Mathman

Very interesting. I'm far from being a biblical scholar, but didn't the Egyptians have the first concept of monotheism?

Joe

I am far from an expert. too. The Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten (older brother of King Tut) did elevate the sun god Aten to primacy and did his best to suppress the worship of other gods. This was supposedly right around the time of Moses, so there has been a lot of speculation about whether there is any connection between the monotheism promoted by Akhenaten and that of the people of Israel.

http://countrystudies.us/egypt/10.htm

I saw a TV show on Egypt that said that the birth of montheism originated in Egypt and that the Israelis took it up and left Egypt.

As I say I am no scholar but then it depends on what books one reads or in my case what shows I watch on TV.

Joe

I have been lurking around the Golden Skate for a while but I just have not really felt like posting. Anyway, I am back, (kind of.) Anyway, I would like to respond to this post. Did God have a wife? Asherah is a false god. The first commandment is, “I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not have false gods before Me.” Asherah was a fertility goddess. She was a pole that people prayed to. . I think that she is like totem pole. It is a phallic symbol. She is also called Ashtoreth. Another thing is that God is a spirit and He does not need a wife. In heaven, we will have no spouses, children siblings or any of the other connections that we have hear on earth. God is a spirit. How can a spirit procreate? God is the creator and does not need to reproduce. Anyway Asherah is a false God. I am not an excerpter on the Bible but I do read it every day, attend the Tridentine Latin Mass and pray the Rosary everyday amongst other things. .
Daniel and Little Lulu

In his own words
In order to live for God alone, you have been given the understanding to know Him, the memory to remember Him, the will to love Him, the imagination to picture His blessings, eyes to seize the marvels of His works, a tongue to praise Him. Such is a lively and attentive apprehension of the only presence of God. That God is in us and everywhere and that there is no place, no thing in this world where God is not present truly. So that like birds, always encountering the air, no matter where they fly, wherever we may go, wherever we may be, we find God present. Everyone knows this truth. But not everyone is attentive enough to grasp it. It is important to think that not only God is present where you are but that he in a special way is in your heart and in the depths of your spirit which he vivifies and animates with his divine presence. Being present there, as the heart of your heart and the spirit of your spirit.
St. Francis de Sales
From An Introduction to the Devout Life

PS
Mathman, I did not know that you are from Detroit. I grew up in Toldeo Ohio. Did you ever go rollerskating and the Northland Roller Rink on Nine Mile Road? I used to compete in rollerskating and we would have competitions held at the Northland Roller Rink.

D

Hi Daniel. Yes, I have been roller skating, years ago, at the Northland rink. It has since moved out of Northland to a new facility farther West on Eight Mile Road. Roller skating was huge here about 20 years ago, but does not seem to be nearly as popular among young people now.

As I understand the point that the archaeologists are making, they are advancing the theory that the modern idea of the one God, creator and sustainer of the universe, was not understood or accepted even by all the people of God's elect, all at once. Rather, there was a gradual progression out of superstition and idolitry that took place over many generations.

Mathman

Danny, I've almost emailed you lately wondering about you. Glad you're back.

arty: I just love emoticons.

Daniel, I too am glad you're back........we've missed your insight...... 42

Daniel glad to see a post from you How is little lulu?

:agree: Yay! Daniel's back! Yay! How are you and Little Lulu doing?

Joesitz said:

I saw a TV show on Egypt that said that the birth of montheism originated in Egypt and that the Israelis took it up and left Egypt.

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The question of the emergence of monotheism is a complex one. Akhenaten hardly practiced it. While it is common to call Amarna the first monotheist state, the sun god in that religion still lacked the omnipotence that we ascribe to G-d in monotheistic traditions today. I believe that perhaps Akhenaten was influenced by many of the same forces that pushed the Israelites into monotheism; perhaps the same currents influenced Zaraostrianism as well. However, the whole ethical and moral approach is just too great for me to conclude that one followed form the other. They weren't parent and child; rather they were perhaps second cousins.

Of course, if you read the Bible carefully, you see that its authors were not strictly monotheist either. For instance, in Exodus G-d tells Moses he has to show the Egyptians that their gods are inferior to Him. Clearly this assumes that there was a pantheon, and the fight was to establish the supriority of One over others. Perhaps the only part of the Torah that clearly assumes there is only one G-d is the first versem, which is coincidentally one of the best pieces of world literature.

Hi Daniell,

I've wondered where you've been hiding too. Glad you decided to come out of lurkerdom, even if only for awhile.

Hope Litttle Lulu is doing okay. Say hi to Kevin.

Unfortunately, Smokie has passed away. I miss her and I'm thinking of getting another cat. Cat, not kitten. The local pound seems to have at least a dozen or more cats over the age of ten. Someone's gotta give the old kitties a home, right?

Anyway, glad to see you're still around and hope to keep hearing from ya....

Granny, Show42, dlkksk8fan, RealtorGal, and Johio2, what a warm reception. I didn’t really think anyone would remember us. Jo we are very sorry to hear about Smokie. We hope he did not suffer. It’s really hard to loose a pet. After our Zarah died we decided to wait before getting another pet. We only lasted a month before we got our little monster/angel. She was a big comfort to us in our time of loss. Anyway, there are lots of Cats out there that sure would love for you to come and rescue them. Anyway, we are fine. There has just been a lot going on. Nothing bad. I turned 50 last July. I have been watching the skating this season like I could ever miss it. I just didn’t see anything that inspired me to comment on. I did like Kimmie Meisner. What I really plan on doing is next season, I am going to sit down and learn the new judging system. Anyway, I hope to post soon. Worlds will be here you know.
Pax
Daniel and Little Lulu

Mathman said:

Did God have a wife

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Hmm,, a bit off topic here. Thanks to Wotan, his wife, the rhine gold, the dwarf, ....and a mortal named Wagner, we have 20 hrs of drama. Depending on whether you are a fan or not, it can either be 20 hrs of sheer brilliant musical experience or 20 hrs of sheer torture.

I think I prefer to ponder over the question re: the Ring and all the gods associated wiht it, to Did God have a wife

My point exactly. Like all gods who are worth their salt, Wotan had a wife (Fricka), along with a few mistresses on the side, all of whom were deep into the ring.

For the musical score, scroll down to "Action," ff.

http://www.trell.org/wagner/rhinegold.html

Maybe she had a husband?