"Asherah and the Asherim: Goddess or Cult Symbol?"
"Asherah and the Asherim: Goddess or Cult Symbol?"
"While some readers might find the idea that Yahweh had a wife disturbing, it was common in the ancient world to believe that gods married and even bore children.
This popular connection between Yahweh and Asherah, and the eventual purging of Asherah from the Israelite cult, is likely a reflection of the emergence of monotheism from the Israelites’ previous polytheistic worldview."
This quote is from Ellen White’s* Biblical Archaeology Society article at http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/asherah-and-the-asherim-goddess-or-cult-symbol/
*Hebrew Bible Ph. D. Professor at University of St. Michael's College
“I have blessed you by Yahweh of Samaria and his Asherah”
Discovered at Kuntillet Ajrud, this is 1 of 3
Hebrew inscriptions pairing Yahweh with the goddess Asherah, 4 times.
Although a southern complex under Israelite control, analysis of storage jars reveal they were produced around Jerusalem, affirming Kuntillet Ajrud had a southern and northern presence. -History’s Vanquished Goddess Asherah
"In Search of Asherah: The Lost Hebrew Goddess"
"In Search of Asherah: The Lost Hebrew Goddess"
Mary E. Naples and the Dominican University of California analyze the search for Asherah.
http://coastlinejournal.org/2013/10/09/in-search-of-asherah-the-lost-hebrew-goddess/
Asherah as Vegetative Prosperity Goddess
Asherah as the personification of a Vegetative Prosperity Goddess.
Vegetation was a matter of live or death in ancient cultures - a family lived or perished dependent upon a bountiful vegetation season and blessings of the Vegetative Goddess were essential.
Discovered at Tel Beit Mirsim, this plaque depicting Asherah as a Vegetative Prosperity Goddess dates to ~1550-1230 BCE.
-History’s Vanquished Goddess Asherah
Asherah as Bountiful Earth and Feminine Nature Principle
This clay plaque of the Naked Goddess Asherah represents the Bountiful Earth and the Feminine Principle of Nature.
“The nakedness of the goddess is indicative of her
emanating power, on the basis of which she is sought out as one who can bring a blessing to those who worship her.”
Asherah’s lost history is reconstructed in this 316 page study with over 550 archaeological drawings and 1,183 references. $24.99. 20% discount at this Amazon site - enter discount code 3BFCDQSB.
Khirbet el-Qom Blessing Inscription with Yahweh & “his Asherah" (3 times)
Discovered at Khirbet el-Qom and dating to ~750-700 BCE, a Paleo-Hebrew inscription is depicted above a blessing hand. The Israelite bench tomb inscription invokes the goddess Asherah with Yahweh 3 separate times.
Although a proclaimed bachelor god, this blessing inscription is yet another pairing Yahweh with 'his Asherah.' -History’s Vanquished Goddess Asherah
Naked, Vegetation Goddess Asherah on Armored Horse
Dating to the 12th century BCE, this hammered gold-foil plaque depicts a naked Vegetation Goddess standing upon the back of an armored, prancing horse.
Stylistically similar to Egyptian Qds representations (one of Asherah's epithets), the Encyclopedia of the Holy Land identifies this goddess as "Ashtoreth[/Asherah].”
-History’s Vanquished Goddess Asherah