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# אֲשֵׁרָה

Biblical Hebrew · Strong's H842

**grove. Compare** — used 40 times in the Hebrew Bible. Below: its meanings with their sources, MACULA's glosses, and 2 verses word for word and in JPS 1917.

## Meaning

### OpenScriptures lexical index

grove. Compare [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/842/#m1)

### Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906

אֲשֵׁרָה: n.pr.f. Ashera [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/842/#m2)

**The whole BDB entry:** 2 K 17:16 n.pr.f. Ashera (Assyrian n.pr.f. Aš-ra-tu, c. sign for deity, in Canaanitish n.pr. Abad-Ašratum, servant of A. SchrZA 1888, 363, cf. Wkl & AbelThontafelfund v. El Amarna ii. No. 77, 1. 9, & SayceRP2. ii. 67, iii. 71; on deriv. cf. Assyrian aširat, adj. fem. gracious, COTGloss) see now also GFMEB Asherah Dr Dt 16:21 AllenDB Asherah, all doubtful as to Can. goddess Asherah; question left open by ZimKAT3. 436 ff. (on Sem. goddess Aširtu-Ašratu Id. ib. 432 ff.); but v. JeremAT1 im Licht d. Alten Orients 207 (name of goddess Aširat in letter found at Taanach by Sellin (1902–3) and Id. ib. 37. 237) (Oppenheim’s find at Ras el-’Ain in Mesop., stone shaft with veiled head as top, supposed to identify post with goddess; if 2 K 23:7 refers to draped Asherim \[v. on text Benz Bur\], this even more plausible), Id. ib. 23, 208 f., 286. On pictorial representations of Asherah-symbol v. WHWardAJSL xix. 1 (Oct. 1902).:—usually with the art.: prob. a Canaanitish goddess of fortune & happiness; having prophets 1 K 18:19, an image 15:13 = 2 Ch 15:16 2 K 21:7, sacred vessels 2 K 23:4, houses v 7. a symbol of this goddess, a sacred tree or pole set up near an altar 1 K 16:33 2 K 13:6; 17:16; 18:4; 21:3; 23:6, 15; prohibited Dt 16:21; burnt by Gideon Ju 6:25, 26, 28, 30. אֲשֵׁרוֹת the goddess Ju 3:7 (prob. error for עַשְׁתָּרֹת 𝔙). sacred trees or poles 2 Ch 19:3; 33:3; elsewhere אֲשֵׁרִים id. Is 27:9 + 12 times; sf. Mi 5:13 + 5 times;—Ex 34:13 (J) Dt 7:5; 12:3 Is 17:8; 27:9 Je 17:2 Mi 5:13 1 K 14:15, 23 2 K 17:10, 23:14 2 Ch 14:2; 17:6; 24:18; 31:1; 33:19; 34:3, 4, 7.—(Cf. also StaZAW 1881, 344 f. RSSem i. 171 f., 175n. WeH 235, who think א׳ only the sacred pole.)

Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 40 of its verses cited, 0 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (1 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 0 words shared with the BDB entry, 0 with the glosses (1 candidates)

## Glosses

MACULA's English glosses of the word in the text, with how often each is used: poles (15); pole (8); Asherah (4).

## In the verses

[Micah 5:13](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/MIC.5.13/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/MIC.5.13/#tree)

וְנָתַשְׁתִּ֥י אֲשֵׁירֶ֖יךָ מִקִּרְבֶּ֑ךָ וְהִשְׁמַדְתִּ֖י עָרֶֽיךָ׃

*Word for word:* and I.will.pluck.up poles your.Asherah from midst your and I.will.destroy cities your

*JPS 1917:* And I will pluck up thy Asherim out of the midst of thee; and I will destroy thine enemies.

[Deuteronomy 16:21](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/DEU.16.21/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/DEU.16.21/#tree)

לֹֽא־תִטַּ֥ע לְךָ֛ אֲשֵׁרָ֖ה כָּל־עֵ֑ץ אֵ֗צֶל מִזְבַּ֛ח יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר תַּעֲשֶׂה־לָּֽךְ׃ס

*Word for word:* not you.will.plant for yourself an.Asherah.pole any tree beside the.altar of.Yahweh God your which you.will.make for yourself

*JPS 1917:* Thou shalt not plant thee an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee.

## On Mova

- [This word in the Tanakh dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/842.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of its meanings](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/842/): every English meaning parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.

Sources. The words, their counts, glosses and the word-for-word renderings: MACULA Hebrew (the Westminster Leningrad Codex; Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0). Meanings: the OpenScriptures lexical index (CC BY 4.0), Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906 and Jastrow 1903 (public domain, via Sefaria); Targum Onkelos from Sefaria (public domain). Translation: JPS 1917 (public domain, from eBible.org).