Asyera: Perbedaan antara revisi

[[FileBerkas:Hecht Museum, Israel – figurines 004-crop.JPG|thumbjmpl|rightka|Asherah]]

'''Asyera''' ({{IPAc-en|icon|ˈ|æ|ʃ|ə|r|ə}}; [[Ugaritic language|Ugaritic]]: 𐎀𐎘𐎗𐎚 : ''''ṯrt'''; {{lang-he|אֲשֵׁרָה}}; {{lang-en|Asherah}}) adalah nama dewi penduduk asli tanah [[Kanaan]] yang menjamin kesuburan. Lambangnya ialah pohon yang rimbun atau suatu "tiang berhala" yang oleh para nabi [[Israel]] ditentang keras ({{Ayat|buku=Ulangan|pasal=16|ayat=21}}, {{Ayat|buku=2 Raja-raja|pasal=23|ayat=4|sampaiayat=6}}). Dalam mitologi [[Semitik]] merupakan "dewi ibu" (''mother goddess''), yang muncul dalam sejumlah sumber kuno termasuk tulisan [[bahasa Akkadia]] dengan nama '''Ashratum''' atau '''Ashratu''' dan dalam budaya Het atau Hitit sebagai '''Asherdu(s)''', '''Ashertu(s)''', '''Aserdu(s)''' atau '''Asertu(s)'''. Asyera juga dianggap sama dengan dewi [[Ugarit]] '''Athirat''' (lebih tepatnya ditulis '''{{Unicode|ʼAṯirat}}''').

Dipuja sebagai istri [[Baal]]. Selain itu juga diidentifikasi sebagai istri atau ratu dari dewa [[Sumeria]], [[Anu]], atau dewa Ugarit, "[[El]]", dewa tertua di kumpulan dewa-dewa mereka.{{sfn|OCWM|2000|pp=32}}<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=kQFtlva3HaYC&lpg=PA32&dq=Athirat%20wife%20of%20Anu&pg=PA32#v=onepage&q=Athirat%20wife%20of%20Anu&f=false ''Oxford Companion to World Mythology'', p.32]</ref> Peran ini memberi Asyera kedudukan tinggi di kalangan para dewa Ugarit.<ref>{{harvnb|Binger|1997|p=74}}</ref> Nama [[Allat]] (Elat, Ilat) dalam [[Sanchuniathon]] jelas berkaitan dengan Asyera, karena julukan yang sama "dewi paling gemilang" (''the goddess par excellence''), yang diberikan kepadanya.<ref>{{citation | last=Olyan | first=Saul M. | year=1988 | title=Asherah and the cult of Yahweh in Israel | publisher=Scholars Press | isbn=9781555402549 |page=79}}</ref> [[Kitab Yeremia]] yang ditulis sekitar tahun 628 SM nampaknyatampaknya mengacu kepada Asyera ketika menggunakan julukan "Ratu Surga" ("''Queen of Heaven''", {{lang-he|לִמְלֶכֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם}}) dalam {{Alkitab|Yeremia 7:18}} dan {{Alkitab|Yeremia 44:17–19, 25}}.<ref>{{citation | editor1-last=Stavrakopoulou | editor1-first=Francesca | year=2010 | title=Religious Diversity in Ancient Israel and Judah | editor2-last=Barton | editor2-first=John | edition=reprint | publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn=9780567032164 | chapter=Personal piety |first=Albertz |last=Rainer | pages=135–146 (at 143)}}</ref>

== Di Ugarit ==

Dalam teks Ugarit (sebelum [[1200 SM]]) Athirat hampir selalu diikuti oleh gelar penuhnya ''rbt {{Unicode|ʼaṯrt}} ym'', ''rabat {{Unicode|ʼAṯirat}} yammi'', 'Dewi Athirat dari Laut' atau diterjemahkan lebih lengkap 'Wanita yang menenun di atas laut', (Ugaritic : 𐎗𐎁𐎚 𐎀𐎘𐎗𐎚 𐎊𐎎 ) Nama ini muncul 12 kali di Epik [[Ba'al]] saja.<ref name=autogenerated1971>{{citation |last=Gibson |first=J C L |year=1978 |title=Canaanite myths and legends |last2=Driver |first2=G R |publisher=T. & T. Clark |isbn=9780567023513}}</ref> Diyakini bahwa nama ini berasal dari akar kata Ugarit ''{{Unicode|ʼaṯr}}'' 'perselisihan' yang seiring dengan akar kata Ibrani ''{{Unicode|ʼšr}}'' dengan makna yang sama.

Her other main divine epithet was "qaniyatu ʾilhm" (Ugaritic : 𐎖𐎐𐎊𐎚 𐎛𐎍𐎎 : qnyt ʾlm) which may be translated as "the creatrix of the gods (Elohim)".<ref name=autogenerated1971/>

In those texts, Athirat is the consort of the god [[El (god)|El]]; there is one reference to the 70 sons of Athirat, presumably the same as the 70 sons of El. She is clearly distinguished from [[Ashtart|{{Unicode|ʿAshtart}}]] (better known in English as Astarte or Ashtoreth in the Bible) in the Ugaritic documents although in non-Ugaritic sources from later periods the distinction between the two goddesses can be blurred; either as a result of scribal error or through possible [[syncretism]]. In any case, the two names begin with different consonants in the Semitic languages; Athirat/Asherah (Ugaritic : 𐎀𐎘𐎗𐎚 : aṯrt) with an ''aleph'' or [[glottal stop]] consonant א and `Ashtart/`Ashtoreth (Ugaritic : 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚 : ʿṯtrt) with an ''`ayin'' or voiced [[pharyngeal consonant|pharyngeal]] consonant ע), indicating the lack of any plausible etymological connection between the names.

She is also called '''Elat''' (Ugaritic : 𐎛𐎍𐎚 : ilt) ("Goddess", the feminine form of El; compare Allat) and '''Qodesh''' 'Holiness' (Ugaritic : 𐎖𐎄𐎌 : qdš). Athirat in Akkadian texts appears as Ashratum (Antu), the wife of Anu, the god of heaven. In contrast, Ashtart is believed to be linked to the [[Mesopotamian religion|Mesopotamian]] Goddess [[Ishtar]] who is sometimes portrayed as the daughter of Anu while in Ugaritic myth, Ashtart is one of the daughters of El, the West Semitic counterpart of Anu.

Among the Hittites this goddess appears as Asherdu(s) or Asertu(s), the consort of Elkunirsa (from the Ugaritic title, El-qan-arsha : "El the Creator of Earth") and mother of either 77 or 88 sons.

Ada pakar yang berpendapat bahwa nama Asyera dihilangkan dari Alkitab dan bahwa banyak orang Israel menyembah banyak dewa, termasuk Asyera, sebelum tahun [[586 SM]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Viegas|first=Jennifer|title=God's Wife Edited Out of the Bible -- Almost|url=http://news.discovery.com/history/god-wife-yahweh-asherah-110318.html|publisher=Discovery, LLC|accessdate=8/21/2012|archive-date=2012-11-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118051927/http://news.discovery.com/history/god-wife-yahweh-asherah-110318.html|dead-url=yes}}</ref> Professor Herbert Niehr dari [[Tübingen University]] berpendapat bahwa politheisme perlahan-lahan digantikan ooleh monotheisme antara tahun 586 SM dan abad ke-2 SM.<ref name=BBC/><ref>Quote from .the BBC documentary: "Between the 10th century and the beginning of their exile in 586 there was polytheism as normal religion all throughout Israel; only afterwards things begin to change and very slowly they begin to change. I would say it [the sentence "Jews were monotheists" - n.n.] is only correct for the last centuries, maybe only from the period of the Maccabees, that means the second century BC, so in the time of Jesus of Nazareth it is true, but for the time before it, it is not true."</ref> Banyak pakar kitab suci percaya bahwa Asyera pada suatu ketika disembah sebagai pasangan [[YHWH|Yahweh (YHWH)]], yaitu Allah bangsa IsraelBa'al.<ref name=BBC>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zw3fl |title=BBC Two - Bible's Buried Secrets, Did God Have a Wife? |publisher=BBC |date=2011-12-21 |accessdate=2012-07-04}}</ref> Bukti yang dipakai misalnya adalah penemuan dari abad ke-8 SM dalam bentuk kombinasi ikonografi dan tulisan di [[Kuntillet Ajrud]], bagian utara gurun Sinai,<ref>Ze’ev Meshel, [http://www.penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/PDFs/20-4/Meshel.pdf Kuntillet ‘Ajrud: An Israelite Religious Center in Northern Sinai], ''Expedition'' '''20''' (Summer 1978), pp. 50–55</ref> pada bejana penyimpanan yang menunjukkan tiga oknum b''anthropomorphic'' (berbentuk manusia) dengan kata-kata "YahwehBa'al … dan Asyera-Nya".<ref name=dever>{{harvnb|Dever|2005}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hadley|2000|pp=122–136}}</ref> Bukti lain termasuk banyak patung wanita yang digali di Israel kuno, mmendukung pandangan bahwa Asyera berfungsi sebagai dewi dan pasangan YahwehBa'al serta dipuja sebagai "Ratu Surga".<ref name=dever />

* {{citation | last=Binger | first=Tilde | year=1997 | title=Asherah: Goddesses in Ugarit, Israel and the Old Testament | publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn=9781850756378 | url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-xF8jqHEp_oC}}

* {{citation | last=Dever | first=William G. | year=2005 | title=Did God Have A Wife?: Archaeology And Folk Religion In Ancient Israel | publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing | isbn=9780802828521 | url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=IGR7-OSz7bUC}}

* {{citation |last=Hadley |first=Judith M |year=2000 |title=The cult of Asherah in ancient Israel and Judah : the evidence for a Hebrew goddess |publisher=Cambridge University Press |series=University of Cambridge Oriental publications, 57 |isbn=9780521662352 |url=http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item1161635/}}

* {{citation |last=Kien |first=Jenny |year=2000 |title=Reinstating the divine woman in Judaism |publisher=Universal Publishers |isbn=9781581127638 |url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/reinstating-the-divine-woman-in-judaism/oclc/45500083}}

* {{citation | last=Long | first=Asphodel P. | year=1993 | title=In a chariot drawn by lions: the search for the female in deity | publisher=Crossing Press | isbn=9780895945754}}

* {{citation | last=Myer | first=Allen C. | chapter=Asherah | year=2000 | title=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible | publisher=Amsterdam University Press | isbn=}}

* {{citation |last=Patai |first=Raphael |year=1990 |title=The Hebrew goddess |publisher=Wayne State University Press |series=Jewish folklore and anthropology. |isbn=9780814322710 |url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/hebrew-goddess/oclc/20692501}}

* {{citation |last=Reed |first=William Laforest |year=1949 |title=The Asherah in the Old testament |publisher=Texas christian university press |oclc=491761457}}

* {{citation |last=Taylor |first=Joan E |year=1995 |title=The Asherah, the Menorah and the Sacred Tree |publisher=University of Sheffield, Dept. of Biblical Studies |page=29–54 |location=Journal for the study of the Old Testament. no. 66 |issn=03090892 |oclc=88542166}}

* {{citation |last=Wiggins |first=Steve A |year=1993 |title=A reassessment of 'Asherah' : a study according to the textual sources of the first two millennia B.C.E |publisher=Verlag Butzon & Bercker |series=Alter Orient und Altes Testament, Bd. 235. |isbn=9783788714796}}

** [http://www.asphodel-long.com/html/goddess_in_judaism.html Asphodel P. Long, "The Goddess in Judaism – An Historical Perspective"]

** [http://www.asphodel-long.com/html/asherah.html "Asherah, the Tree of Life and the Menorah"]

** [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1942&letter=A&search=Asherah ''Jewish Encyclopedia'': Asherah]

** [http://www.zeek.net/spirit_0407.shtml Rabbi Jill Hammer "An Altar of Earth: Reflections on Jews, Goddesses and the Zohar"]

** [httphttps://web.archive.org/web/20060916100221/http://www.theology.bham.ac.uk/guest/Ancient+Israel/asherah.htm University of Birmingham: Deryn Guest: Asherah] at Archive.org

** [[El (god)#Ēl in Ugarit|El (god) in Ugarit]].

** [httphttps://web.archive.org/web/20091026224544/http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/2938/majdei.html Lilinah biti-Anat, ''Qadash Kinahnu Deity Temple'' "Room One, Major Canaanite Deities"]

* '''Kuntillet inscriptions'''

** [http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/berlinerblau5.htm Jacques Berlinerblau, "Official religion and popular religion in pre-Exilic ancient Israel"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204055821/http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/berlinerblau5.htm |date=2012-02-04 }} (Commentary on Yahweh's Asherah.)

** [http://www.ancientneareast.net/kuntillet_ajrud.html ANE: Kuntillet bibliography]

** [http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jwst/second.htm Jeffrey H. Tigay, "A Second Temple Parallel to the Blessings from Kuntillet Ajrud" (University of Pennsylvania)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716181225/http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jwst/second.htm |date=2012-07-16 }} (This equates Asherah with ''an'' asherah.)

* '''Israelite Religion'''

** [http://www.adath-shalom.ca/israelite_religion.htm David Steinberg, "Israelite Religion to Judaism: the Evolution of the Religion of Israel"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221125002/http://www.adath-shalom.ca/israelite_religion.htm |date=2015-02-21 }}

** [http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/nes275/studentproj/fall05/kmr38/index.html Asherah: Goddess of the Bible?] (Cornell University course project)