Judean Pillar Figurines
Thousands of little clay women from Judah's homes — Asherah, prayer aids or charms?
Found 1900 — Recovered at nearly every Judean excavation since the early 20th century; large groups from Jerusalem (Kenyon, Shiloh, Avigad), Lachish, Beersheba and Tell Beit Mirsim
Where Throughout Judah; largest numbers from Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) (Israel)
Dates from c. 800–586 BCE (peak 8th–7th century) · Iron Age IIB–C · From Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah) to the fall of Jerusalem
Now at Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Rockefeller Museum; Hecht Museum, Haifa; many others
How Judean Pillar Figurines was found
Found broken in houses, pits and refuse, rarely in shrines. Jerusalem alone has yielded several hundred; the type disappears after 586 BCE.
What it is
Hand-made terracotta figurines about 10–15 cm tall: a solid pillar base, exaggerated breasts supported by the hands, and either a mould-made head or a pinched 'bird' face. About a thousand are known. They are almost always found broken.
Why it matters for the Bible
The Bible says Manasseh set up an Asherah in the Temple and Josiah burned it (2 Kings 21:7; 23:6), and Jeremiah 7:18 describes families baking cakes for 'the queen of heaven'. Many scholars see the figurines as household images of Asherah or a mother-goddess, showing how widespread the practice was. Others (Erin Darby and colleagues) argue they were protective or healing charms with no specific goddess in mind. Their disappearance after the exile matches the Bible's picture of a purified post-exilic faith.
The Hebrew word: ah-sheh-RAH
אֲשֵׁרָה
אֲשֵׁרָה is pronounced ah-sheh-RAH and means Asherah (goddess) or her sacred pole (Strong's H842).
People this discovery connects to
- Manasseh — מְנַשֶּׁה (me-nah-SHEH) — causing to forget
- Josiah — יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ (yoh-shee-YAH-hoo) — YHVH supports
Places
- Judah — יְהוּדָה (ye-hoo-DAH) — praise
Events
Household religion in late Judah · Reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah
Judean Pillar Figurines in Scripture
Exodus 34:13 First mention of Asherah (grove) in Scripture.
2 Kings 23:6 Josiah removes the Asherah from the Temple and burns it — the figurines may be the household version of that cult.
Jeremiah 7:18 Families bake cakes for the queen of heaven — domestic worship of a goddess, which the figurines may reflect.
Questions people ask
What is Judean Pillar Figurines?
Hand-made terracotta figurines about 10–15 cm tall: a solid pillar base, exaggerated breasts supported by the hands, and either a mould-made head or a pinched 'bird' face. About a thousand are known. They are almost always found broken.
When was Judean Pillar Figurines discovered?
It was found in 1900 by Recovered at nearly every Judean excavation since the early 20th century; large groups from Jerusalem (Kenyon, Shiloh, Avigad), Lachish, Beersheba and Tell Beit Mirsim, at Throughout Judah; largest numbers from Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).
Where is Judean Pillar Figurines today?
Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Rockefeller Museum; Hecht Museum, Haifa; many others.
Which Bible verses does Judean Pillar Figurines relate to?
Exodus 34:13, 2 Kings 23:6, Jeremiah 7:18.
Is Judean Pillar Figurines authentic?
The objects are undisputed; their meaning (Asherah image vs. generic fertility or protective charm) is actively debated.
Related discoveries
- תֹּפֶתThe Valley of Hinnom and the Tophet QuestionJeremiah's valley of child sacrifice: what archaeology has and has not found
- אַרְמוֹןArmon Hanatziv Royal EstateA 7th-century BCE palace outside the walls with miniature proto-Aeolic capitals and carved window balustrades
- עֵין גֶּדִיEn-Gedi (Tel Goren) Stratum VA royal perfume village by the Dead Sea, burned in the Babylonian conquest
- בֶּגֶדMesad Hashavyahu Ostracon (Yavne-Yam Letter)A field worker's plea for his confiscated cloak — Torah law in a soldier's petition
- פַּרְעֹה נְכֹהMegiddo Area X: Necho's Army and the Death of JosiahA layer of Egyptian and Greek pottery from the time Pharaoh Necho killed King Yoshiyahu (2025)
- מְגִדּוֹMegiddo Stratum II and the Death of JosiahThe fortress where Pharaoh Necho II killed Judah's reforming king on his way to the Euphrates
Sources
- Kletter, The Judean Pillar-Figurines and the Archaeology of Asherah (1996)
- Darby, Interpreting Judean Pillar Figurines (2014)
- Wikipedia, 'Judean pillar figure'