Easton's Bible Dictionary: M. G. Easton, M.A., D.D.
And pl. Asherim in Revised Version, instead of "grove" and "groves" of the Authorized Version. This was the name of a sensual Canaanitish goddess Astarte, the feminine of the Assyrian Ishtar. Its symbol was the stem of a tree deprived of its boughs, and rudely shaped into an image, and planted in the ground. Such religious symbols ("groves") are frequently alluded to in Scripture (Ex. 34:13; Judg. 6:25; 2 Ki. 23:6; 1 Ki. 16:33, etc.). These images were also sometimes made of silver or of carved stone (2 Ki. 21:7; "the graven image of Asherah," R.V.).