When God had a wife

Archeology teaches us a valuable lesson: that people worship idols!

Since the 1960s and the excavation of a Hebrew tomb eight miles outside Hebron, there has been suspicion that a sinister cover-up has occurred in the Bible—something like the Da Vinci Code, but Old Testament style. Maybe, just maybe, you’ve been lied to your entire life.

And 15 years later, conclusive proof of the conspiracy seemed to have been found in the Sinai Desert at an 8th-century B.C. site we now call Kuntillet Ajrud.

Turns out, God had a wife?

Both the tomb near Hebron and the fortresses at Kuntillet Ajrud reveal similar inscriptions that seem to connect two unlikely characters. Inscription after inscription reads: “Yahweh and his Asherah.”

One water jar found at Kuntillet Ajrud states, “I bless you by Yahweh of Samaria and by his Asherah.”

Pithos A, Kuntillet Ajrud

The Bible mentions Asherah some 40 times, but we don’t know much about this figure. Thought to be a Hebrew-language name for a Canaanite fertility goddess, a goddess who was the wife of the chief Canaanite deity El, Asherah in Scripture is almost always associated with Baal worship (another Canaanite deity). In Elijah’s showdown on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18–19, 400 prophets of Asherah are present alongside the 450 prophets of Baal, so we can’t say Asherah didn’t have fans!

With the blessing formulas found on walls, tombs, and pottery linking Yahweh with “his” Asherah, some archaeologists have concluded that God had a consort—a wife! Like five inscriptions say this, so clearly it’s what everyone believed…

And they go further: they suggest that later cunning monotheists edited this out of the Bible so you wouldn’t realize that the Israelites were polytheists. Only a minority believed in Yahweh alone. Most believed in many gods. Oh no! It’s all a lie!

…Or is it?

Israel and their Idol Problem

You are probably thinking what I’m thinking: this doesn’t shake our faith or destroy the record of Scripture. Why? Because this is completely in line with the Old Testament narrative. What happens time and time again with the Israelites? They can't seem to stop worshipping other gods! They add their neighbors’ gods to the mix, set up new high places, introduce pagan objects to the temple, and engage in religious prostitution. In almost every book of the Old Testament, we see this!

The Bible doesn’t hide Israel’s tendency toward polytheism. It’s honest about Israel’s junk. It’s a recurring issue! It takes one strong generation to fade, and soon, inscriptions appear linking Yahweh with a divine "wife" plucked from the surrounding peoples.

That’s why Deuteronomy 16:21-22 specifically says God hates it when Asherah poles are set up next to an altar of Yahweh! That’s why King Hezekiah’s reform of Judah involved cutting down Asherah poles in the temple as part of his efforts to restore true worship (2 Kings 18:4).

Oh, and there’s another issue with the “God has a wife” theory. Scholars don’t even think Asherah is a goddess. The Hebrew article “the” often precedes the term, leading many to conclude it refers to an object, not a person. This explains why the Bible commands the Asherah to be cut down while other idols are said to be smashed. [Nerds can check out this article]

Your Bible probably reflects this now and refers to them as Asherah poles.

But are we surprised to find evidence of the Israelites worshiping other gods—or pagan objects? Not at all. Idolatry was a major problem for them.

Why Not Both?

There’s even a clue in the inscription we mentioned that reads, “I bless you by Yahweh of Samaria and by his Asherah.” Notice anything? It doesn’t say Yahweh of Judah or Jerusalem. It says Yahweh of Samaria—the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel when the nation split from Judah, the Southern Kingdom.

In the prophets, Samaria sometimes represents the Northern Kingdom, much like saying, “I got a call from Paris” might refer to speaking with the President of France. Although the inscription was found far south, archaeologists agree it reflects Northern Kingdom worship—a nation once part of God’s chosen people but later cast out for disobedience. And eventually destroyed.

Their major sin? Idolatry. Jeroboam, the first king of the Northern Kingdom, established two golden calves in Bethel and Dan to give people alternatives to worshipping in Jerusalem.

Jeroboam might not have intended these sites to oppose Yahweh, much like how Aaron’s golden calf in Exodus 32:4-5 was meant as a stand-in for the “gods” who brought them out of Egypt. But Jeroboam’s political maneuver became an idol to support his interests.

At the end of Israel’s life, when the King of Assyrian exiled most of the Israelites and brought in settlers to replace them, one Israelite priest came back to instruct the people on proper worship of the Lord. But it’s clear the people weren’t quite willing to give up their customs:

“They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.”

—2 Kings 17:33

“Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.”

—2 Kings 17:41

By the time Jesus arrived, the Samaritans—distant descendants of those in the Northern Kingdom—claimed Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, as God’s chosen temple site in a similar move to rewrite religion to fit them personally.

God was used as a political and cultural pawn to make one team look good and the other bad. While still worshipping other stuff. Imagine if that ever happened today…

Archaeology confirms what Scripture has told us all along: idols are a constant temptation. And they are often added to existing beliefs rather than replacing them.

So according to the Mayans...

Maybe Asherah poles were visually appealing—something everyone just had to have. I don’t know exactly what the temptation was. But what’s clear is that they thought they could enjoy both the Asherah perks and Yahweh’s blessings simultaneously, even putting them at places meant for Yahweh worship. This “Why not both?” mentality became a real problem, so God explicitly commanded early on:

“Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the Lord your God, and do not erect a sacred stone, for these the Lord your God hates.”

—Deuteronomy 16:21-22

Chop that baby down.

Photo by SHOT on Unsplash

It’s Too Close

As Paul will later write, “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?” (2 Corinthians 6:16). His answer is emphatic: None! God is holy; idols are profane.

God offers a direction for our lives, a code of conduct, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Idols offer quick fixes, buffet-style ethics without integrity, and the degradation of the soul.

Yet many of us still justify idolatry by placing it next to God’s altar. We don’t reject God; we just think this wooden pole is super neat!

For example:

• We might place an American flag next to the Cross on the church stage.

• We might use Scripture to shame others while excusing our own behavior as a “work in progress.”

• We might say, “My body, my choice,” after singing a worship song where we confess that we belong wholly to God.

• We might step on others to advance our careers while muttering, “God helps those who help themselves.”

• We might obsess over building a personal brand while claiming to glorify God with it.

• We might work 70-hour weeks, cutting costs at the expense of safety, but feel justified because we give generously at church.

• We might gossip in small groups under the guise of “sharing prayer requests.”

In a strange way, I wish we still had physical idols—it would make them easier to spot when we place them next to God’s altar.

In reality, we might not even realize what we’ve made into idols because we haven’t physically fashioned them with our hands. I probably don’t know what mine are. Maybe one of the examples above hit home for you—or maybe none did.

My hope in today’s essay is to encourage us all to take time to reflect on what idols we might be sneaking in besides God, as if proximity to the altar makes them acceptable. We may need a trusted pastor or mentor to challenge us in identifying those misplaced allegiances. Some serious prayer and confession wouldn’t hurt either.

God doesn’t have a wife—there’s nothing we need to add to God! God’s perfect as is.

Thought if we do try to add an Asherah to the mix, God’s instructions are glacier-water clear: cut it down.

Latest Podcast Episode

Life Updates

• Subscribe to the Theology Meet World podcast on your favorite podcast platform.

Cut them down,

Jake Doberenz

---

Thanks for reading Smashing Idols. Please share this publication with others!