The Most High God of Gods and Goddesses: Yahweh and Asherah
- Elaine R Kelly
- Jan 7
- 6 min read
Updated: May 30
Ancient Israelites saw God as male and female, with Asherah the female side of god. This mirrors the idea of Eve being the female side of Adam. Before the Jewish exile (Judges, Kings), there are references to "Yahweh and his Asherah". She was traditionally seen as a separate being, a goddess who was Yahweh's consort or partner. There are also references to Asherah objects in worship.
Did Ancient Jewish Writers Acknowledge Yahweh as the Most High Among Other Gods?
The traditional Jewish prayer shawl, the tallit, is embroidered with the phrase "God of Gods and king of kings". It declares that God is the Most High of gods, and God is sovereign over the universe. It is taken from a passage in Deuteronomy which states what God requires of us who acknowledge God as supreme.
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear the Lord your God by walking in all his ways, to love him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul? Keep the Lord’s commands and statutes I am giving you today, for your own good.... For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awe-inspiring God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the resident alien, giving him food and clothing. You are also to love the resident alien, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:12-13, 17-19 CSB, emphasis added).
Several passages refer to the God of Israel as the highest god above all other gods. These passages seem to acknowledge that there are many other gods:
The angel Gabriel tells Mary that her child will be the "Son of the Most High [God]" (Luke 1:32).
Legion, the name of many demons in a man in the Gerasenes, called Jesus "Son of the Most High God" (Mark 5:7).
For you,Lord, are the Most High over the whole earth; you are exalted above all the gods. Psalm 97:9 CSB
God stands in the divine assembly; he pronounces judgment among the gods (Psalm 82:1 CSB)
Did ancient peoples believe the God, Yahweh, had a partner, the goddess Asherah?
It is possible that early writers were not stating a belief in other gods but acknowledging that other gods were worshipped by other tribes and peoples.
The first-century Roman pantheon recognized many gods, usually portrayed as male-female couples. Each god was beside his goddess:
Apollo and Diana,
Neptune and Minerva,
Vulcan and Vesta,
Mercury and Ceres.
Some ancient art and inscriptions refer to Yahweh and his Asherah.
William Dever, author of Did God Have a Wife?, discusses archeological insights into ancient Israelite religious practices. He notes that Asherah is a goddess whose name is well attested in ancient Israel. She is associated with Mother Earth, fertility, and trees.
Edward Durand says that there has always been a goddess as part of Christianity [1]. Durand tells us that in Solomon's first Temple, there was a common blessing for Yahweh and Asherah, the female divine present in the temple. Edward Durand notes that in Hebrew, the Holy Spirit is Ruah, and in Aramaic is Shekinah, and both are female words that imply a feminine divine presence. Edward Durand reveals that the Gospel of the Holy Twelve, an ancient gnostic text, shows Jesus saying, “I come from the Father-Mother who sent me.” The Lord's Prayer is translated from the original Aramaic as, “O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos”[2].
Durand suggests that the ten commandments might indicate a heavenly or divine father and mother, "Honour your father and mother." (Matthew 19:19, Exodus 20:12-16; Deuteronomy 5:16-20). Is there a heavenly father and mother? Is God our father and mother? Is God a father-mother being?
Asherah: Ancient goddess or an object to worship the One God
Asherah was seen as a separate goddess, while Lady Wisdom (Sophia in Greek), was seen as one with God. Wisdom seems to be an early understanding of the Holy Spirit .
Lady Wisdom has some of the same characteristics as Asherah. Both female figures are involved in creating, redeeming, restoring justice, and giving life. Both are sometimes symbolized as Mother Earth, fertility, and the Tree of Life.
Happy are those who find wisdom and those who gain understanding.... She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who hold her tight are happy. (Proverbs 3:13, 18 CEB)
Perhaps Asherah was not the name of a goddess, but the name for a sacred object used in worship. An Asherah pole may have been a wooden altar carved with images of a tree and female figures.
Solomon had Asherah objects in the temples he built, and Josiah removed them (2 Kings 23:4). Putting an Asherah pole in the temple was called a sin (2 Kings 21:7).
Since Asherah was associated with wood, trees, and the Tree of Life, the Latin Vulgate and King James translations of the Bible removed the name Asherah and instead translated the name as a grove or wood.
The worship of Asherah, or the use of Asherah worship symbols, was suppressed with the rise of monotheism.
Did Ancient Jewish Writers Refer to Humans as Gods?
The phrase "other gods" in the above passages may not refer to the gods of other tribes, but to human beings as gods or earthly rulers. After all, God told the first male and female humans to rule the earth.
God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth. (Genesis 1:28)
“You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High. However, you will die like humans and fall like any other ruler.” (Psalm 82:6-7 CSB)
Who is a Son or a Daughter of God?
Women and men are called children of the Most High God when you decide to accept Jesus
He came to ·the world that was his own [or his own country; that which was his own], but his own people did not ·accept [receive] him. But to all who did ·accept [receive] him and believe ·in him in his name; [the name indicating the character of the person] he gave the ·right [power; authority] to become children of God. (John 1:11-12 Expanded Bible)
But accepting Jesus means following his way. We can tell whether people have truly accepted Jesus by whether they let God govern their actions and behaviours. Women and men are called children of the Most High God when our actions show that we are faithful:
But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. 9Luke 6:35 CSB)
This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister. (1 John 3:10 CSB)
What does it mean to be a Son or a Daughter of God?
Women and men inherit the same rights and freedoms and responsibilities as sons of God. Children of God have a responsibility to represent God well, to be good stewards of God's world.
For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:27-29)
God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we [women and men] might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir. (Galatians 4:4-7)
Do all those who are adopted as children of God have the same rights as Jesus, the Son of God? It's worth asking what responsibilities we have as children of God.
The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ— Romans 8:16-17
Conclusion
We don't know why ancient evidence points to the existence of many gods. However, we know that the Christian Bible acknowledges Yahweh as the Most High, above other gods. It is possible there are other gods, such as Asherah. It is also possible that Asherah was a primitive understanding of gods, which is now understood as false. It is possible that those who let the God of Israel govern their lives are sons and daughters of God, and that we have inherited the responsibility to represent God to the world.
Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:
Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1, A Novel (2022)
The Sword: A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role (2023)
Because She Was Called from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church (2024)
Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience (2024)
Finding Her Voice from Broken to Bold, Book 3, Acts of Early Female Apostles: A Novel (2025)
Sources:
[1] Edward Durand https://braidedway.org/rediscovering-sophia-the-goddess-in-christianity/
[2] Neil Douglas-Klotz, Prayers of the Cosmos, https://www.songofhome.com/Klotz.htm
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