Asherah’s family tree is not a single, fixed genealogy but a set of overlapping traditions from ancient Canaan and Israel. In the most widely attested version, she is the mother of the gods, the consort of the supreme god El, and the matriarch of a divine family that includes Baal, Anat, and Astarte. However, the Hebrew Bible and later Jewish tradition present her differently, often as a forbidden fertility goddess whose worship was condemned. This article traces her known relatives across Ugaritic texts, biblical references, and archaeological finds, while noting where the evidence is fragmentary or contested.
Who Is Asherah in the Ancient Sources?
Asherah (also spelled Ashera, Athirat, or ʼAṯirat) appears in three main types of sources: Ugaritic tablets from the Late Bronze Age city of Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra, Syria), the Hebrew Bible, and inscriptions from the southern Levant. The Ugaritic texts, dating to around the 14th–12th centuries BCE, give the fullest picture of her family. There she is called ʼAṯirat, and her full title is often qnyt ilm, “creatress of the gods.” She is the wife of El, the head of the pantheon, and the mother of a large group of deities collectively called the “seventy sons of Athirat” or “the children of El.”
In the Bible, Asherah appears as a goddess whose cult objects (wooden poles or trees, also called asherim) were set up at high places and altars. The biblical writers condemn these practices, but they do not give a genealogy. Instead, they treat her as a foreign or illicit deity. This contrast—between a revered mother goddess in Canaanite religion and a condemned idol in Israelite religion—shapes every attempt to reconstruct her family tree.
Asherah’s Husband: El, the Supreme God
In the Ugaritic texts, Asherah’s husband is El (also spelled Ilu), the creator and ruler of the gods. El is depicted as an aged, wise deity who lives at the source of the rivers, and Asherah is his primary wife. In the Baal Cycle (a set of tablets recounting the deeds of the storm god Baal), Asherah intercedes with El on behalf of other gods, and El addresses her with affection. For example, in one tablet, El says, “Athirat, daughter of the sea,” a title that may connect her to the sea or to a primordial watery abyss.
Some scholars have suggested that Asherah’s name may derive from a Semitic root meaning “to tread” or “to be upright,” but the etymology is uncertain. Her epithet “Lady Athirat of the Sea” (in Ugaritic, rbt ʼaṯirat ym) is common, and it may indicate a role as a sea goddess or as the consort of a god associated with the deep. In any case, her marriage to El places her at the top of the divine hierarchy, above most other gods.
Asherah’s Children: The Seventy Sons and the Major Deities
The most explicit statement of Asherah’s offspring is the Ugaritic phrase “the seventy sons of Athirat.” These are not all named individually; the number seventy is likely a conventional way of saying “many” or “all the gods.” Among these children, several are named in the texts:
- Baal (Hadad) – the storm and fertility god, the main protagonist of the Baal Cycle. In some passages, Baal is called the son of Dagan, not of El and Asherah, so his parentage is not consistent. In the Ugaritic texts, Baal is sometimes referred to as “the son of Dagan,” but Asherah is still called his mother in a figurative sense as the mother of all gods.
- Anat – the virgin warrior goddess, sister and lover of Baal in some myths. She is often called Baal’s sister, and as a daughter of El and Asherah, she would be part of the same divine family.
- Astarte (Ashtart) – a goddess of love and war, closely associated with Anat and sometimes conflated with her. She is also considered a daughter of El and Asherah in the broader West Semitic pantheon.
- Mot – the god of death, who battles Baal in the Baal Cycle. He is not explicitly called Asherah’s son, but as a member of the divine assembly, he is implicitly one of the children of El and Asherah.
- Yam (Yamm) – the sea god, who also contends with Baal. He is called “the beloved of El,” and in some interpretations, he is a son of El and Asherah.
It is important to note that the Ugaritic texts do not provide a single, consistent family tree. Baal’s father is sometimes given as Dagan, a grain god, and sometimes as El. This may reflect different local traditions or the merging of separate pantheons. The “seventy sons” phrase is the closest thing to a comprehensive list, but it is a collective, not a roster.
Asherah in the Hebrew Bible: A Different Family Context
The Hebrew Bible mentions Asherah (or the plural asherim) about forty times, but never as a mother goddess with a family. Instead, she is a symbol of apostasy. The books of Kings, Chronicles, and the prophets refer to the “Asherah” as a wooden pole or tree set up near altars, and the people are commanded to cut it down (e.g., Exodus 34:13, Deuteronomy 16:21). The queen mother Maacah is said to have made an “abominable image for Asherah” (1 Kings 15:13), and King Josiah is reported to have burned the vessels made for Baal and Asherah (2 Kings 23:4).
Because the Bible does not give her a genealogy, some scholars have argued that the biblical Asherah is not the same goddess as the Ugaritic Athirat, but rather a local fertility figure. Others maintain that the biblical writers deliberately suppressed her divine role and reduced her to a cult object. The archaeological evidence, however, suggests that Asherah was worshiped as a goddess in Israel and Judah. Inscriptions from Kuntillet Ajrud (in the Sinai) and Khirbet el-Qom (in Judah) mention “Yahweh and his Asherah,” which many scholars interpret as the goddess as Yahweh’s consort, though others read it as a cult pole. This evidence does not give a family tree, but it places Asherah in a direct relationship with the Israelite god.
Asherah’s Family in Later Jewish and Gnostic Traditions
In later Jewish tradition, Asherah is sometimes identified with the biblical figure of Lilith or with a demon, but these are post-biblical developments, not part of the ancient Canaanite family tree. The Talmud discusses the prohibition of planting trees near altars, and the medieval rabbinic commentators explain that an asherah was a tree worshiped by pagans. There is no attempt to reconstruct her divine family.
In some Gnostic texts, a figure named “Asherah” or “Ashtoreth” appears as an angel or a fallen power, but these are speculative and far removed from the Ugaritic sources. For a genuine family tree, one must rely on the Canaanite and Phoenician evidence, which is sparse and often contradictory.
How Scholars Reconstruct the Family Tree
Scholars piece together Asherah’s family from three main methods:
- Comparative mythology – comparing Asherah with other Near Eastern goddesses such as Ishtar, Inanna, and the Hurrian goddess Hebat, who was the consort of the storm god Teshub. This helps identify her role as a mother goddess, but it does not give a direct genealogical link.
- Philological analysis – studying the etymology of her name and epithets. For example, “Lady Athirat of the Sea” might connect her to the sea, and some scholars have linked her to the biblical “tree of life” in Eden, though this is speculative.
- Archaeology – examining figurines and inscriptions that depict a goddess with a tree or a lion, which may represent Asherah. The famous “Asherah” figurines from ancient Israel are small clay figures with prominent breasts, often interpreted as fertility symbols. These do not name her family, but they confirm her worship.
Using these methods, the consensus is that Asherah was the mother of the gods in the Canaanite pantheon, but the exact list of her children is uncertain. The “seventy sons” is a collective, and the named deities (Baal, Anat, Astarte, Mot, Yam) are the most prominent, but they are not always consistently identified as her offspring.
Common Misconceptions About Asherah’s Family
A frequent misunderstanding is that Asherah is the same as Astarte (Ashtoreth). While both are goddesses of fertility and love, they are distinct in the Ugaritic texts. Asherah is the wife of El, while Astarte is a separate deity, sometimes called the sister of Baal. In later Phoenician and Greek sources, the two may be conflated, but in the earliest texts, they are different.
Another misconception is that Asherah is the wife of Yahweh in the Hebrew Bible. The biblical text never says this, and the “Yahweh and his Asherah” inscriptions are debated. Some scholars argue that “Asherah” here refers to a cult object, not a goddess, so the question of a divine marriage is not settled.
Finally, some popular writers claim that Asherah was the “mother of the Nephilim” or a demon in Jewish lore. These claims come from modern conspiracy theories, not from ancient sources. The ancient texts are clear: Asherah is a goddess, not a demon, and her family is the Canaanite pantheon.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are Asherah’s parents?
No ancient source names Asherah’s parents. She appears in the Ugaritic texts as already married to El, with no backstory. Some scholars speculate that she may have been a primordial sea goddess, but this is not attested.
Is Asherah the same as the biblical “Asherah” pole?
The biblical asherah (plural asherim) is usually a wooden pole or tree, but the name is the same as the goddess. Most scholars believe the pole was a symbol of the goddess, and that the biblical writers used the same word to refer to both the goddess and her cult object.
Did the ancient Israelites worship Asherah?
Yes, according to the Bible and archaeology. The Bible records that kings like Ahab and Manasseh set up Asherah poles, and the prophets condemned this. The Kuntillet Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom inscriptions suggest that some Israelites associated Asherah with Yahweh, though the meaning is debated.
Who is Asherah’s husband in the Bible?
The Bible never gives Asherah a husband. In the Ugaritic texts, her husband is El. The idea that she was the wife of Yahweh comes from modern interpretations of the inscriptions, not from the biblical text itself.
Are Baal and Asherah related?
In the Ugaritic texts, Baal is often called the son of Dagan, but Asherah is the mother of all gods, so she is his mother in a collective sense. In some passages, Baal and Asherah interact as equals, not as mother and son. The relationship is not clearly defined.
What happened to Asherah’s family tree?
The family tree is incomplete because the ancient sources are fragmentary. The Ugaritic tablets are the most detailed, but they are damaged and often ambiguous. The Bible deliberately ignores her divine family, and later traditions transformed her into a demon or a pole, so the original genealogy was lost.
Related
- Laufey in Norse Mythology: Loki’s Mother
- Uni in Etruscan Mythology: Queen of the Gods
- Electra in Greek Mythology: Roles and Myths
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