An inscription of six lines of Hebrew script was discovered on part of a pillar in a burial cave near Khirbet el-Qom. Directly beneath the inscription is a carving of a downward pointing hand, chiseled into the stone. Based on the form of the letters, lexicographers date this inscription to about 750 BC, the time of the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah, during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah.
The Ashera Inscription
The inscription mentions that the author’s name is Uriyahu (which means “my light is Yahweh”). This name occurs several times in the Hebrew Bible, and is known to have been popular from the 11th to 5th centuries BC. The inscription attests that Uriyahu has been blessed by Yahweh, adding that “by [God’s] Asherah he has saved him.”
Some scholars have argued that this inscription is evidence for worship of a goddess named Asherah. Others contend that “Ashera” was an attempt to introduce a female deity as a companion, wife, or consort to Yahweh. However, most scholars who have studied ancient Hebrew inscriptions say that the reference to Asherah, combined with information found in passages from the Old Testament that refer to the Asherah make it clear that Uriyahu’s “Ashera” was a wooden object, such as a pole or sacred tree, that at times was used as a forbidden and idolatrous representation of Yahweh, not a divine wife or consort of Yahweh.
Other artifacts have been found that refer to “Yahweh and his Asherah,” a practice well documented in the books of Kings and Chronicles from the 9th through the 7th centuries BC. These were among the objects that kings such as Asa, Hezekiah, and Josiah cut down and burned.
The Hand Icon
The meaning of the downward-facing hand is uncertain. Some hypotheses include:
- the symbol may have had a spiritual significance, perhaps representing blessing or selection;
- the symbol might represent the “magic hand,” which is similar to religious iconography found in the Middle East and Carthage; or
- it may have been connected to the metaphorical phrase “hand of Yahweh,” which was commonly used in ancient Israel and is found in several books of the Bible.
Summary
Although the exact meaning of the image is currently unknown, the text and iconography provide clear evidence that during the period of the Divided Kingdom, the people of Israel and Judah were worshipping Yahweh, but that many of them also adopted and integrated pagan religious practices into their beliefs.
