[Editor’s Note: This excerpt series is from Asherah: Roots of the Mother Tree ed by Claire Dorey, Janet Rudolph, Pat Daly, and Trista Hendren (Girl God Books, 2025).]
Goddess Asherah, Queen of Heaven, Creatress of Gods
Deanna Marie Riddick, Ph.D.
The ancient land of Cannan was home to a pantheon of gods and goddesses worshiped by the Israelites and the Canaanites. Among them stood Asherah, whose name was uttered in hymns and prayers within the walls of the Jerusalem temple and in the ancient city of Bethel (Ackerman 1993). Consort to the chief Canaanite god, El, later, Yahweh, Asherah held a prominent place in the hearts of the people. In the Bronze and Iron age, Asherah was worshipped as the primordial mother goddess or “creatress of the gods,” and revered as the mother of 70 gods (Martin-Gardner 2020). She was considered the matriarch (Creatress) and El was the Patriarch (Creator). Asherah’s historical importance as a powerful divine figure has been concealed, causing her influence and legacy to fade into obscurity over time.
While Hellenic and Celtic goddesses are receiving increasing recognition, Canaanite goddesses like Asherah are just beginning to regain popularity, allowing for her prominence to be restored as a deity in the modern world. Archaeological evidence recovered Ugaritic texts (before 1200 BCE), and the King James version of the Bible reveal that Asherah was widely regarded and worshiped.
Historical/Archaeological Evidence
In 1928, a farmer digging in his field in northwest Syria accidentally discovered an ancient tomb, which was part of a cemetery located in the area of the ancient city of Ugarit. French excavators discovered the remains of two libraries of ancient clay tablets written mainly in alphabetic Ugaritic. Ugarit, now known as Ras Sharma near modern day Cyprus, was a port at the entrance of the inland trade route to the Euphrates and Tigris lands. Several texts were discovered once the tomb was excavated and these include, the “Legend of Keret,” the “Aqhat Epic” (or “Legend of Danel”), the “Myth of Baal-Aliyan,” and the “Death of Baal” (Craige 1983; Schaeffer 2024). Among the Ugaritic texts is a tablet that names the Ugaritic pantheon with Babylonian equivalents; El, Asherah of the Sea, and Baal were the main deities.
Ras Shamra (Ugarit), Syria, c. 1300 BCE; in the Louvre, Paris.
In the Ugaritic texts, Asherah is known as the “creator of all the deities” (Stone 1976). She is further referenced as “ATRT” or “Athirat,” and “Ilit” which simply means goddess, and as the consort of the god, “El” (Kadmon 2017).
MS in Ugaritic on clay, Ras Shamra, Ugarit, Syria[1]
In 1975, discoveries at the site of Kuntillet Ajrud, occupied around 800 BCE, uncovered several devotional objects depicting Yahweh alongside the goddess Asherah (Burch 2019). Additional findings include a number of potsherds that contained the following inscriptions: “I bless you to Yahweh of Samaria and to his Asherah,” and “I bless you to Yahweh of Teman and to his Asherah.” This potentially indicates that she was partner to Yahweh. From another excavated site of Khirbet El-Qom, dating to the 700s BCE reveal similar inscriptions: “Uriyahu the rich wrote it. Blessed be Uriyahu by Yahweh. For from his enemies by his Asherah he has saved him.”
Further evidence of the goddess Asherah comes from the King James version of the Bible. In the books of Kings and 2 Chronicles of the Old Testament, Asherah is mentioned 40 times and a majority of these references assume our understanding of the symbolism of Asherah as a sacred tree or pole. The Bible mentions the erection of numerous Asherim (plural for Asherah) placed beside an altar of Yahweh. The Asherim, at times denoted as cultic objects, were “erected by the Israelites throughout most of their history” (Ackerman 2022). The sacred trees were located beside altars to Baal, “on every high hill and under every green tree” (see 1 Kgs 14:23, 2 Kgs 17:10; 18:4; 21:3; 23:13–14; 2 Chr 14:3; 17:6; 31:1; 33:3, 19; 34:3; Jer 17:2).
Asherah’s sacred pole stood next to Yahweh’s altar at Bethel and at the capital city of Samaria (Ackerman 1993). In the 7th-9th centuries BCE Asherah’s sacred pole was “perceived as an appropriate icon to erect in Jerusalem, even in Yahweh’s temple” (Ackerman 2009). In the ancient world it was common for gods and goddesses to be paired with one another. Asherah was originally paired with El who transitioned into Yahweh and absorbed many of his aspects.
Was Asherah a Goddess?
Many scholars believe that Asherah was in fact not a goddess, but a cultic object due to the references in the Old Testament, however, there are several references that specify her role as a goddess. In 2 Kings 21:7 it states, “And he set the graven image of Asherah that he made, in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son: ‘In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put My name forever.’ There is an additional reference to Asherah as an individual goddess in 2 Kings 23:4: “all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven.”
Asherah is further mentioned in the following scripture in 1 Kings 18:19: “Now therefore send and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, that eat at Jezebel’s table,” and in Judges 3:7, “And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord and forgot the Lord their God and served the Baalim and the Asheroth.” From these pieces of scripture alone it is clear that Asherah is a goddess and not simply an object.
Moreover, there are two additional scriptures that identify Asherah as a goddess. In 2 Kings 23:4 it is documented that vessels in the temple were used to make sacrifices to Asherah as a goddess and in 2 Kings 23:7 women wove garments used to clothe Asherah’s cult statue. In Jeremiah (7:18-19) it is written that “the women knead the dough and make cakes of bread for the Queen of Heaven” referring to Asherah. In Jeremiah 44:17-18 we find more details about Asherah worship, “We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time, we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.”
Furthermore, Jezebel is portrayed as an evil queen in the Bible who served the goddess Asherah. She was a Phoenician princess and the wife of Ahab, a devoted worshiper of Baal and Asherah, and an adversary of YHWH and persecutor of his prophets. In Kings 18:19 it is documented that she is a priestess of the goddess Asherah and was responsible for making Asherah-worship more prevalent, with 400 prophets of Asherah on the royal payroll.
It is clear from the Old Testament alone that the cult of the mother goddess Asherah was prevalent and why wouldn’t it be? According to Laurie Martin-Gardner, “Men and women alike looked to the comfort of the Mother Goddess and petitioned her for blessings of love and progeny. She was a mother, wife, daughter, and sister,” and “she oversaw the fruits of agriculture, ran the household, and healed the sick and injured” (Martin-Gardner 2020: 2). The idea that there would be no need for a female counterpart to the father was a foreign concept.
What Happened to Asherah?
Given that Asherah (Athirat) was an ancient goddess, widely worshipped, and at times, officially sanctioned, how did she disappear entirely into the sands of time? How did the wife of Yahweh disappear?
Even a cursory review of the Old Testament reveals how Asherah was perceived as a monster, an abominable figure whose worship would later become prohibited. She was consciously eradicated from worship by religious authority figures.
In the Old Testament we are told that the land of Canaan was to be the promised land for the Hebrew tribes upon their Exodus. Prior to their arrival, Canaan was already populated but that didn’t stop the Hebrews from invading and following the command of Yahweh in Exodus 34:11-14:
“Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
The Hebrews not only intended to take the land of Canaan for themselves, but also to replace the existing religion with Yahwehism. The worship of Yahweh in Judah, particularly during the reign of Kings Hezekiah and Josiah, led to a suppression of other deities, including Asherah, and monotheistic ideology clashed with the polytheistic Canaanite beliefs she represented (see Isaiah, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles).
As kings consolidated their authority, they sought to unify their subjects under a single deity, often associating Yahweh with political legitimacy and stability. This marginalized other gods like Asherah, which were seen as potential contenders for divine favor.
We must also consider patriarchal and gendered bias in the Bible. Biblical texts were primarily written by and for men, reflecting a patriarchal perspective that often marginalized female deities. Asherah’s association with fertility and the female sphere likely contributed to her marginalization. Additional considerations include the fact that Yahweh was often portrayed as jealous and demanding exclusive worship. Asherah, being a Canaanite goddess, was labeled as foreign and potentially harmful, justifying her removal from sacred spaces and narratives.
Throughout the books of Kings and Chronicles several kings attempt to erase Asherah as a revered goddess of the people. These include King Hezekiah and King Josiah. During the reign of King Hezekiah (715-687 BCE) the worship of Asherah was banned and he ordered her poles destroyed (see 2 Kings 18:4). King Josiah (640-609 BCE) led a campaign against polytheistic practices and ordered Asherah poles removed along with any reference to her in the temple (see 2 Kings 23:6-9).
The Story of Gideon in the Old Testament
One of the earliest stories we have regarding Asherah in the Bible comes from the Book of Judges (6:25) wherein a man named Gideon is commanded by Yahweh to tear down his Asherah pole: “tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.” In the middle of the night, Gideon sneaks out and destroys the altar. In the morning, the men of the community demand to know who destroyed the Asherah pole and altar to Baal. Once it was discovered to be Gideon, the community demanded his brother be put to death as punishment for the desecration. Gideon’s life is only spared by the intercession of his father, Joash, presumably a priest of both Baal and Asherah. This story clearly reveals much about the significance of Asherah worship during this period.
Asherah in The Talmud
Asherah is further mentioned in the Talmud text called “Avodah Zarah” within a legal context (Kadmon 2017). This text, which means “foreign worship” or “idolatry” references the prohibition of Asherah’s poles:
“There are three laws of Asherot forbidden due to idolatry.”
“If a tree was originally planted to be worshiped, it is forbidden; If one cut it, leaving the stump or the branches in order to worship the new growth, if the new growth is removed, the tree is permitted; if idolatry was put under it and removed, the tree is permitted.”
Asherah and Sexual Rites
The worship of Asherah was noted for its sensuality and involved ritual prostitution. The Bible reports that during the days of King Josiah (sixth century BCE), the king “tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes, which were in the temple of the Lord and where women did weaving for Asherah” (2 Kings 23:7). The Bible contains some references to the Israelites committing “sexual immorality” with Canaanite deities at high places and sacred groves. One example comes from the Book of Hosea 4:13: “They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar and terebinth, where the shade is pleasant. Therefore, your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.”
This has led scholars to conclude that the worship of Asherah involved what are called licentious rites. Sacred prostitution was a well-established tradition in ancient Mesopotamia and other regions in the Levant. One example comes from the sexual rites of the goddess Ishtar. Priestesses who participated in the sacred sexual rites were believed to “bring blessings and fertility to the land as they reenacted the hieros gamos—the sacred marriage of heaven and earth” (Schaeffer 2024). There is no documentation referencing the sacred male prostitutes; it is possible they may have played a similar role in relation to a male deity.
These sexual rites were likely misinterpreted and ultimately condemned by the Israelite priests to justify their erasure. The immorality accusation likely contributed to the erasure of Asherah worship.
Photo credit: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin[3]
Asherah and Qetesh (Qadesh/Qudsu) in Egypt
In Ugaritic texts, the goddess Asherah’s name is found parallel to the ancient Egyptian goddess, Qetesh (Qadesh), causing many scholars to believe that she was worshiped in ancient Egypt under a different name. One image of Qetesh (similar to traditional depictions of Hathor) contains inscriptions referencing “the Queen of Heaven,” and “the Mistress of the Gods”; titles matching those of Asherah. Further, an additional inscription reads that this goddess is “Qudshu-Athirat-Anat” stating that she is indeed Asherah. In some cases, Qadesh is sometimes thought of as an aspect of Asherah rather than a distinct goddess.
Photo by Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr[4]
New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX
(1292-1186 BCE).[5]
Conclusion
The suppression of Asherah as a powerful supreme deity compels us to question prevailing narratives of the divine. In the modern world the divine consists of a male dominated perspective, that being God the father, with the maternal aspect being deliberately erased. Modern religion often leads us to believe that creation is a solitary endeavor, despite the reality that it is a result of the union between female and male. In contemporary society, the divine feminine remains largely unrecognized, yet women are working to make the divine more inclusive by reintroducing goddesses like Asherah and reclaiming their ancestral power. By unearthing Asherah’s history, we have the opportunity to restore her rightful place amongst the powerful goddesses of the past.
Notes
[1] https://www.schoyencollection.com/
[2] Wikimedia Commons File: Tel Rehov Exhibition 090316 06.jpg
[3] Courtesy of worldhistory.org
[4] Wikimedia Commons File: Stele of Qadesh upper-frame.jpg
[5] Wikimedia Commons File: Stele of the Syrian goddess Kadesh.JPG https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stele_of_the_Syrian_goddess_Kadesh.JPG
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