asherah was connected with fertility, childbirth, and motherhood. these states were highly valued but dangerous and often elusive in ancient israel. therefore, people may have been scared not to worship her (basically seeing her cult as a form of insurance). there is some evidence from kuntillet ajrud and khirbet el-qom (archaeological sites) that suggest asherah was the wife of yahweh, who may have assimilated the persona of el. since asherah was associated with el, she became associated with yahweh. yet, these inscriptions refer to yahweh and his asherah. the idea that asherah was yahwehs wife is tenuous, but it is the best explanation of the evidence so far.  asherah, by her definitional nature, is a consort to the highest god. as the yahwists took over, they absorbed the most high god, el, into yahweh and gave asherah to yahweh as yahweh's consort. this is why israel at the time is littered with asherah symbology. as the yahweh-alone reformation began, the symbols of asherah were banned and many destroyed, this was so important to the israelite elite that they mentioned asherah 40 times.
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