Puzzling Finds from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud
A drawing of God labeled “Yahweh and his Asherah” or the Egyptian god Bes?
“Yahweh and his Asherah” is written across the top of this eighth-century B.C. drawing on a ceramic pithos, or storage jar, from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud in the eastern Sinai. Some scholars have theorized that these figures resembling the Egyptian god Bes (on the left in the photo above) are in fact a drawing of God and his consort. Others, however, have interpreted both figures as male. The recently published Kuntillet ‘Ajrud excavation report sheds some light on this enigmatic fragment, but many questions remain. Photo courtesy Dr. Ze’ev Meshel and Avraham Hai/Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology.
Everything about it has been difficult. Located in the Sinai desert about 10 miles west of the ancient Gaza Road (Darb Ghazza, in Arabic) as it passes through Bedouin territory separating the Negev from Egypt, Kuntillet ‘Ajrud is remote and isolated from any other settlement. In 1975, Tel Aviv University archaeologist Ze’ev Meshel and a band of nine volunteers, mostly from kibbutzim and a few colleagues as staff, decided to excavate at the site.
The finds from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud were fantastic. The zingers were two large pithoi, or storage jars, that weighed about 30 pounds each. The now-reconstructed pithoi are painted with deities, humans, animals and symbols, and feature a number of inscriptions, including three that refer to Yahweh and his asherah or Asherah, depending on your interpretation. Asherah is a pagan goddess. Was she God’s wife?
Below an inscription on one of the pithoi (referring to Yahweh and his asherah) are drawings of two figures easily and unquestionably identifiable as the Egyptian god Bes, in fact a collective name for a group of dwarf deities. Is this meant to be a drawing of God (i.e., Yahweh) with his consort Asherah? The scholar who published the chapter about the drawings doesn’t think so. She interprets it as two male deities—probably just the Egyptian god Bes—and not as a drawing of God and his goddess wife. Other scholars disagree, but this much is clear: The drawing was added to the pithos after the inscription was written, so the two may be completely unrelated.
Why has it taken nearly four decades to publish this final report? One reason is that everything about Kuntillet ‘Ajrud and its finds is so darn difficult to interpret—or even to see. The recently published report is a superb volume, and the discussion and interpretation will surely continue far beyond its pages.
Subscribers: Learn more about the site and finds at Kuntillet ‘Ajrud, including the fragment with the two figures of the Egyptian god Bes that may be a drawing of God labeled “Yahweh and his Asherah,” by reading BAR editor Hershel Shanks’s review article “The Persisting Uncertainties of Kuntillet ‘Ajrud” in the November/December 2012 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.
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This Bible History Daily feature was originally published in October 2012.
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The word Hebrew word translated as ‘Almighty’ (God of Abraham) is the identical Hebrew word as ‘breast’
.
Genesis 49:25
Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
Abraham worshipped a female deity much like Inanna. After all Sarah was his master and made him act against his will. Depending on the language used she could be Isis, Aphrodite, Venus, Artemis, Wromwood or Diana (the many breasted one).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Statue_of_Artemis_Ephesus.jpg
Abraham was most likely the first Pharaoh of the Hyksos named Maaibre Sheshi.
Maaibre being aaibreM.
He was followed by the Pharaoh Yaqub-Har
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheshi
peace,
Rose
@Joel, I think you’re missing the point here. You don’t use the Bible as proof. To archaeologists, the Bible is just another archaeological artifact, like arrowheads, tomb inscriptions or the Qumran scrolls.
You don’t just say “This is wrong because the Bible says so”; putting things into perspective, it could be just as well “The Bible is wrong because this artifact says so”. There’s no place for dogma in scholarly archaeology.
This archaelogical find reveals that Yahweh was also associated with geographical areas; Shomron (Samaria) and Teman. In the current issue of BAR, (p.34) the notion that Yahweh had various local manifestations gave rise to the recitation of the Shema; “Hear O Israel, the Lord (Yahweh) our God, the Lord (Yahweh) is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4, Mark 12:29).Perhaps at some point “Yahweh of Shomron” lost its significance and was replaced in the priestly blessing of Numbers 6:24 with the word “protect” which in hebrew is similar to “Shomron”. Though Yahweh differed from place to place it is clear that at one time He was associated with the name of the goddess Asherah in unity. I’m reminded of passage from “The Second Treatise of the Great Seth”, a Cristian Gnostic work. It speaks of a wedding of truth in paragraph 67, “But this is not, nor will it happen among us in any region or place in division and breach of peace, but (in) union and a mixture of love, all of which are perfected in the one who is”.
Paul @11 in Numbers 6:24 it says yevarekcha adonai we-yishmerekcha, and it is clearly a note of blessing thus translatable: may adonai bless you and keep you. Remember that the kcha at the end of the verb shamar is a pronoun. I read with pleasure the things you write but on this question you might not be all that right.
Thank you Francis .In my rush to impress people that I know something (though I don’t know hebrew) I neglected to explain that it is the root of the word “Shomron”; shamar, which means “keep, watch, preserve”.
Rick@10.
“You don’t use the Bible as proof. ”
If this was NAT GEO, I would agree with you. But this is BIBLE History Daily by the BIBLE archaeological Society. Thus, shouldn’t we take the biblical perspective on these things? Either what’s dug up validates the bible, shedding more light on the scriptures, or it doesn’t, conflicting with the scriptures.
jeremy you said it exactly!!!! its whats this is all about….. the BIBLE… keep on track people keep on track
Note on the Shechinah and Asherah: The former can only be properly alluded to tangential terms e.g. The oaks of Mamre or “the place where Yahweh appeared to Abraham” (Gen 18:1). On the other hand Deut. 16:21 states that Yahweh hated Asherim whether rendered as poles (“Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the Lord your God”) or as living trees (“You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God which you shall make”). In fact the Israelites often departed from this ideal. For example, King Manasseh placed an Asherah pole in the Holy Temple (2 Kings 21:7). King Josiah’s reforms in the late 7th century BC included the destruction of many Asherah poles (2 Kings 23).
why is an inscription on an object of antiquity automatically assumed to be the truth? God is spirit, and as such has no need or desire for man’s physical realities.
Could the passage from the Bible, Isaiah 11:12, be a reference to the structure found at Kuntillet ‘Ajrud?
Isaiah 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.