The Israelite Goddess Asherah

What if the God of ancient Israel had a wife?

Hidden beneath layers of redacted scripture and buried in centuries of theological discomfort lies the story of Asherah—a powerful goddess once venerated in Israelite religion. She was called “Mother of the Gods,” “Lady of the Sea,” and possibly even “Yahweh’s consort.” Yet over time, her name was erased, her image defamed, and her worship suppressed.

In this eye-opening course, you'll journey through archaeology, ancient texts, and the Bible itself to uncover the truth about Asherah. From her Mesopotamian roots to her starring role in Ugaritic myth and her ghostly echoes in the Hebrew Bible, Asherah's story challenges everything we think we know about monotheism’s rise.

Join us as we explore the divine feminine erased from Israel’s sacred history—and ask what her disappearance tells us about power, patriarchy, and the evolution of faith.

This course explores the fascinating and often overlooked figure of Asherah, a once-revered goddess in ancient Israelite religion. Drawing from archaeological finds, Ugaritic texts, and biblical references, the course traces Asherah’s origins from her first attestations in Mesopotamian Akkadian texts through her flourishing role in Ugarit, and finally to her contested and marginalized presence in the Hebrew Bible. Participants will gain insight into how Asherah was conceptualized, worshipped, and represented through various iconographic and ritual practices, particularly as a goddess of fertility, motherhood, and divine protection.

The course delves into the complex relationships between Asherah and other deities such as El, Baal, Anat, and Astarte, showing how these divine figures were frequently merged, reimagined, or redefined across time and geography. The session also critically examines the polemics in biblical texts that sought to erase or reinterpret Asherah’s role, alongside inscriptions and artifacts—like the Kuntillet Ajrud pithos and the Ta’anach cult stand—that challenge traditional readings and suggest continued devotion to her well into the monarchic period of ancient Israel and Judah.

Students are invited to explore how material culture—figurines, seals, and cultic objects—served as mediators of divine presence, and how gender, power, and theology shaped the survival and suppression of Asherah. By the end, learners will better understand how ancient Israelites navigated a pluralistic religious landscape and how remnants of goddess worship endured even under growing monotheistic reforms.

The earliest textual and archaeological attestations of the goddess Asherah
How Asherah was worshipped and represented in Ugaritic literature and iconography
The evolving relationship between Asherah and other deities such as El, Baal, Anat, and Astarte
How Asherah appears in biblical texts and inscriptions like those from Kuntillet Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom
The role of gender and divine consort imagery in shaping Asherah’s identity
Interpretations of goddess figurines and cultic stands (e.g., Ta’anach stand) in ancient Israel
The influence of Egyptian and Mesopotamian religious motifs on Asherah’s iconography
Scholarly debates on whether “Asherah” refers to a goddess, a cult object, or both
The conceptual logic behind divine images and their apotropaic functions
How socio-political and theological shifts led to the marginalization of goddess worship in Israelite religion

Dr. Dan McClellan is a distinguished scholar of the Bible and religion, renowned for his commitment to making academic biblical scholarship accessible to a broad audience. He earned his Ph.D. in theology and religion from the University of Exeter, focusing his dissertation on the conceptualization of deity and divine images in the Hebrew Bible through the lenses of cognitive linguistics and the cognitive science of religion. His academic journey also includes degrees from Brigham Young University, the University of Oxford, and Trinity Western University. Dr. McClellan's expertise encompasses Second Temple Judaism, early Israelite religion, and textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible.

Beyond academia, Dr. McClellan is a public-facing scholar dedicated to combating misinformation about the Bible and religion on social media platforms. Under the handle @maklelan, he engages with a diverse audience on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, where he addresses misconceptions and promotes scholarly understanding of religious texts. He co-hosts the "Data Over Dogma" podcast, furthering discussions on biblical scholarship. In 2025, he published his first trade book, "The Bible Says So: What We Get Right (and Wrong) About Scripture's Most Controversial Issues," aiming to bridge the gap between academic research and public discourse.

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