The Septuagint, Vulgate, and KJV translation show it as "groves" (i.e. Mishnah). The literal meaning was "wooden symbols of the female deity" (BDB 81). This was a carved wooden pole or a live tree which was planted beside the raised stone pillar of Ba'al, the male fertility god. Asherah or Astartes was the female consort (i.e. originally of El but later Ba'al, cf. Deut. 7:5; 12:3; 16:21; Jdgs. 3:7; 6:25,26; 1 Kgs. 14:23; 2 Kgs. 17:10; 18:4; 2 Chr. 31:1) and was represented by this wooden pole. This was meant to represent "the tree of life," which was common in ANE literature.
For more historical information, see The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 1, pp. 483-487.
SPECIAL TOPIC: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANE
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