Deuteronomy 16:21-22

An asherah (Deuteronomy 16:21) was perhaps a sacred tree or group of trees or wooden pole that the Canaanites used in the worship of their female fertility goddess, Asherah. Asherah was evidently both the name of a Canaanite goddess as well as a cult object used in her worship. The pagans usually made their sacred pillars (Deuteronomy 16:22) of stone or wood and used them in the worship of Baal, the male Canaanite god of fertility, and Asherah.

"In Canaan the ’asherah (’trees,’ ’pillars,’ or ’groves’) were associated with oracular verdicts by their gods and goddesses." [Note: Schultz, p. 61. See Andre Lemaire, "Who or What Was Yahweh’s Asherah?" Biblical Archaeology Review 10:6 (November-December 1984):42-51; and especially John Day, "Asherah in the Hebrew Bible and Northwest Semitic Literature," Journal of Biblical Literature 105:3 (September 1986):385-408.]

The judges were not to tolerate the planting (Deuteronomy 16:21) of these trees or poles that were so common in Canaan that the people regarded them as a prominent part of the native culture. Judges customarily dispensed justice in the open space near the main gate of the towns. This area was the main congregating place of the community (cf. Ruth 4:1-12).