Heb. ’asheroth, or in the singular, ’asherah. The meaning is not conveyed by the translation “groves” (see 2 Kings 23:6). A “grove” could hardly be carried out of the house of the Lord. These ’asheroth (frequently ’asherim) apparently were wooden poles or tree trunks, one of which was generally set up beside heathen altars and venerated as an object of worship. Perhaps it was regarded as the dwelling place of the deity (see Deut. 16:21; 2 Kings 17:10). Such images were common in Canaanite sanctuaries and gradually came to be used in connection with Hebrew worship. We read of one by the altar of Baal in Gideon’s home town (Judges 6:25), of others located in Samaria, Jerusalem, and Bethel (2 Kings 13:6; 23:6, 15). They seemed to have derived their name from a famous goddess of the Canaanites by the name of Asherah, who, in the Ras Shamra tablets, is described as the mother of the gods and frequently called the Lady of the Sea. It is not known how a tree trunk or wooden pole became her symbol.