(אֲשֵׁירָה)]. Asherah appears in the OT both as the name of a Canaanite goddess and of her wooden cult-symbol. She is known in the Ugaritic texts under the name of Athirat (ʾaṯrt), where she functions as consort of the chief god, El, and mother of the gods. Prior to the discovery of the Ugaritic texts some scholars denied that Asherah was the name of a goddess while others wrongly equated her with Astarte (Ashtoreth). Since Yahweh is equated with El in the OT, it is understandable that in syncretistic circles