Judith Hadley deploys recent archaeological discoveries, alongside biblical material and non biblical inscriptions, to examine the evidence for the worship of Asherah as the partner of God in the Bible. She asks how Israelites construed the relationship between "Yahweh and his Asherah," and whether in fact the term referred to an object of worship rather than a female deity. This is a well-crafted study that promises to make a significant contribution to the debate about the exact nature of Asherah and her significance in pre-exilic Israel and Judah.

"...Hadley explains her material in a clear, ordered fashion accesible to anyone with genereal knowledge of the field."

"Hadley's critical command of previous studies is impressive; there are over six hundred items in her bibliography, most of which are cited within the text. Her greatest strength, however, lies in her personally revisiting virtually every previously published item germane to the discussion, checking out adventitious cracks and marks in inscriptions for possible earlier misinterpretations, and examining graffiti for the sequence strokes, overlays, and interrelationships."