Francesca Stavrakopoulou TV - Empires Special: Kingdom of David TV - Bible Secrets Revealed TV -
The ancestors of Judaism and Christianity believed in many gods. And God had a wife. Dr Francesca Stavrakopoulou, Bible’s Buried Secrets 2/3: Did God Have a Wife? BBC 2011
A female counterpart, a goddess ... It’s the word Asherah. The word is found forty times ... But why is the Bible so unsettled by this apparent object? ... Archaeology now shows us that Asherah wasn’t always an object. ibid.
Asherah’s role is of a life-giving goddess. ibid.
The Tree of Life was frequently used to represent the goddess. ibid.
All across Israel, in almost every excavation of ancient domestic buildings, archaeologists are unearthing female figurines. ibid.
The Israelites were polytheists. And God had a wife. ibid.
Judaism and Christianity are proud of their monotheistic pedigree ... This history has been skilfully manufactured by the scribes who composed these ancient texts. The claims that Abraham and his descendants worshipped a unique and distinctive God just don’t stand up. The truth about the Bible is that for most of its time its people were polytheists. And their chief God had a wife. ibid.
In toppling the goddess from Heaven monotheism disempowered women. ibid.
The Book of Deuteronomy banned the worship of Asherah and other pagan gods. Empires Special: Kingdom of David: The Saga of the Israelites: By the Rivers of Babylon, PBS 2003
If Asherah was believed to be the wife of God, when did this change and why? Bible Secrets Revealed III: The Forbidden Scriptures, History 2013