When God Had a Wife: The Fall and Rise of the Sacred Feminine in the Judeo-Christian Tradition

Reveals the tradition of goddess worship in early Judaism and how Jesus attempted to restore the feminine side of the faith - Provides historical and archaeological evidence for an earlier form of Hebrew worship with both male and female gods, including a 20th-century discovery of a Hebrew temple dedicated to both Yahweh and the warrior goddess Anat - Explores the Hebrew pantheon of goddesses, including Yahweh's wife, Asherah, goddess of fertility and childbirth - Shows how both Jesus and his great rival Simon Magus were attempting to restore the ancient, goddess-worshipping religion of the Israelites Despite what Jews and Christians--and indeed most people--believe, the ancient Israelites venerated several deities besides the Old Testament god Yahweh, including the goddess Asherah, Yahweh's wife, who was worshipped openly in the Jerusalem Temple. After the reforms of King Josiah and Prophet Jeremiah, the religion recognized Yahweh alone, and history was rewritten to make it appear tha