ellauri171.html on line 809: 'Deity' is like god emeritus. A great number of deities in a four-tier hierarchy headed by El and Asherah were worshiped by the followers of the Canaanite religion; this is a detailed listing:
ellauri171.html on line 821: Asherah, queen consort of El (Ugaritic religion), Elkunirsa (Hittite religion), Yahweh (Israelite religion), Amurru (Amorite religion), Anu (Akkadian religion) and 'Amm (Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia) Symbolized by an Asherah pole in the Hebrew Bible.
ellauri171.html on line 891: Qadeshtu, lit. "Holy One", putative goddess of love, desire and lust. Also a title of Asherah.
ellauri171.html on line 949: The union of El Elyon and his consort Asherah would be representation of primordial Cronos and Rhea in Greek mythology or Roman Saturnus and Ops.
ellauri171.html on line 961: Canaanite deities such as Baal were represented by figures which were placed in shrines, often on hilltops, or 'high places' surrounded by groves of trees, such as is condemned in the Hebrew Bible, in Hosea (v 13a) which would probably hold the Asherah pole, and standing stones or pillars.
ellauri171.html on line 975: When Jezebel comes to Israel, she brings her own gods and goddesses—especially Baal and his consort Asherah (Canaanite Astarte, often translated in the Bible as “sacred post”)—with her.
ellauri171.html on line 999: Idolatry (other religious conviction) was Jezebel’s most grievous sin. She would fatten the prophets of Baal and Asherah, thus vexing God and arousing His ire.
ellauri171.html on line 1002: Jezebel’s support of Tyros' national God Baal led her to persecute Jewish bigots who overtly rejected idolatry, beginning with the prophets. Scripture tells us that she had these ideological adversaries executed, and in turn promoted 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of god Asherah.
ellauri171.html on line 1018: It is not incomprehensible that, whereas Ahab devoted himself to military and foreign affairs, Jezebel acted as his deputy for internal affairs: the Naboth report comes back to her, as if the king’s seal was hers; she has her own “table,” that is her own economic establishment and budget; she has her own “prophets,” probably a religious establishment that she controls. All these point toward an official or semiofficial position that Jezebel held by virtue of her character, her royal origin and connections, her husband’s and later her children’s esteem, and her religious affiliation to the Baal (possibly also Asherah) cult.
ellauri171.html on line 1019: Perhaps she had the status of gebira “queen mother”, or of “co-regent”. At any rate, there is no doubt that the biblical and later accounts distort her portrait for several reasons, among which we can list her monarchic power, deemed unfit in a woman; her reported devotion to the Baal and Asherah cult and her objection to Elijah and other prophets of God; her education and legal know-how (shown in the Naboth affair); and her foreign origin Ultimately, the same passages that disclaim Jezebel as evil, “whoring,” and immoral are witness to her power and the need to curb it.
ellauri300.html on line 843: Now order all the people of Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel. Bring along the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the goddess Asherah who are supported by Queen Jezebel.”
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