We know Baals, we’ve heard about Molech, but what do we know about the Asherahs?
Up until this point in the Bible, we know absolutely nothing. Apart from a few instances of its derivative “Asherim,” the term isn’t used at all until Deuteronomy 16:21; even then, Moses doesn’t elaborate on it. Moses simply tells the people that they can’t have any Asherahs. And that’s final.
But even that’s not entirely accurate. Technically, Moses says that they are not to “plant” any Asherahs that come from “any kind of tree” in Israel.
So does that mean an Asherah is a plant of sorts?
Sort of. Depending on your translation, you might have noticed that the word “pole” appears next to “Asherah” in Deuteronomy 16:21, which implies that it was an object that stood near a place of worship. If that’s the case, someone would “plant” it simply by burrowing down a few feet and placing its base under the ground.
Of course, there’s also the thought that it could just be a literal tree. Tamarisk trees were used by Abraham as a place of worship (Genesis 21:33); it’s not unreasonable to assume other Canaanites followed his lead with their own gods. But where Abraham used the location to call on Jehovah, other nations used it to call on their own idols.
Possibly confusing the matter even more, Asherah was also a fertility goddess located in Canaan. She was mostly identified by sacred trees; if that’s the case, then when Moses says not to plant an Asherah, he means to literally not plant a god.
Regardless of whether Moses means the pole or a tree, Israel would’ve known what Moses meant here. There were to be no other gods, no other sacred pillars, anywhere inside Israel. And certainly not beside the altar of God.