Ashtaroth

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

ASHTAROTH . This city (pl. of Ashtoreth [wh. see]), originally held by Og, king of Bashan (  Deuteronomy 1:4 ,   Joshua 9:10;   Joshua 12:4;   Joshua 13:12;   Joshua 13:31 ), later captured by the Israelites and by them awarded to the Gershonites (  Joshua 21:27 Be-eshterah , ‘dwelling [or temple] of Ashtoreth’; cf. ||   1 Chronicles 6:56 , which reads Ashtaroth ), might, without contradicting Biblical records, be identified with Ashteroth-Karnaim (wh. see). However, a statement found in Eusebius’ Onomasticon favours the view that the names designate two localities. Eusebius relates that there were at his time two villages of the same name, separated by a distance of 9 miles, lying between Adara (Edrei) and Abila; viz., (1) Ashtaroth, the ancient city of Og, 6 miles from Abila, and (2) Karnaim Ashtaroth, a village in the corner of Bashan, where Job’s village is shown (cf. Book of Jubilees 29:10). Eusebius’ Karnaim Ashtaroth evidently lay in the corner or angle formed by the rivers Nahr er-Rukkad and Sharî‘at el-Manadireh , in which vicinity tradition places Uz, Job’s fatherland. At long. 36° E lat. 32° 50′ N., on the Bashan plateau, stands Tell (‘hill’) ‘Ashtarâ , whose strategical value, as shown by the ruins, was recognized in the Middle Ages. Its base is watered by the Moyet en-Nebî Ayyûb (‘stream of the prophet Job’). Following this rivulet’s course for 2 1 / 2 miles N.N.E., passing through the Hammam Ayyûb (‘Job’s bath’), is found its source, a spring said to have welled forth when Job in his impatience stamped upon the ground. In the immediate vicinity towards the S., Job’s grave is shown. Furthermore, upon the hill at whose base these two places are situated lies the village of Sa‘dîyeh or Sheikh Sa‘d , whose mosque contains the Sakhret Ayyûb , a large basalt boulder against which Job is said to have leant while receiving his friends. Indeed, ¾ of a mile S. of Sa dîyeh at el-Merkez , another grave (modern) of Job is shown, and a Der (‘monastery’) Ayyûb , according to tradition built by the Ghassanide Amr I., is known to have existed. Eusebius’ Ashtaroth must then have been in the proximity of Muzerib , 9 1 /2 miles S. of Sa‘dîyeh , and 8 miles N.W. of Adara, almost the distance of the Onomasticon . Even Tell Ash‘arî , 4 1 /4 miles S. of Tell ‘Ashtarâ , protected on the one side by the Yarmuk, on the second by a chasm, and showing evidences of having been fortified by a triple wall on the third, is admirably situated for a royal stronghold.

None of these modern place-names, with the exception of Tell ‘Ashtarâ , is linguistically related to the ‘Ashtaroth and ‘Ashteroth-karnaim of the Bible and the Onomasticon . The description of ‘Ashteroth-karnaim ( 2Ma 12:21 f., cf. 1Ma 5:43 ) as a place hard to besiege and difficult of access because of numerous passes leading to it, in whose territory a temple was situated, is applicable to Sa‘dîyeh or to Tell ‘Ashtarâ or even to Tell Ash‘arî , whose double peak at the S. summit is partly responsible for the translation of the name ‘Ashtaroth of (near) the double peak’ (see Ashtoreth). The similarity of name between Tell ‘Ashtarâ and ‘Ashteroth-karnaim , even though Tell ‘Ashtarâ does not lie directly between Adara and Abila, and lacks, with the other places, narrow passes, would favour the identification of ‘Ashteroth-karnaim with Tell ‘Ashtarâ , and hence, according to the distances of Eusebius, the location of ‘Ashtaroth near Muzerib . However, until the ancient name of Muzerib is known, and the various sites excavated, a definite determination of the location of these cities, and even of the difference between them, must remain impossible.

N. Koenig.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 1 Kings 11:33 2 Kings 23:13 boshet

In Canaanite mythology, she appears to be the sister of the goddess Anath and the spouse of the god Baal. Anath also was the spouse of Baal, as well as the goddess of love and war. Some confusion, therefore, exists with regards to Ashtaroth's relationship to Anath. Anath and Ashtaroth may have referred to the same goddess, or they may have been two separate deities. Among the people of Palestine, Ashtaroth may have taken over Anath's role. The Egyptians gave the title “Lady of Heaven” to Astarte, Anath, and another goddess, Qudshu. In Moab, Astarte was the spouse of the major god, Chemosh. The Babylonians and Assyrians called her Ashtar and worshiped her as goddess of fertility and love. The people of the Ancient Near East during the Hellenistic and Roman periods referred to her as Aphrodite-Venus.

Apparently, the word “ashtaroth” at one time meant “womb” or “that which comes from the womb.” This word, “ashtaroth,” appears in  Deuteronomy 7:13 and   Deuteronomy 28:4 ,Deuteronomy 28:4, 28:18 ,Deuteronomy 28:18, 28:51 to describe the young of the flock. This use may demonstrate the link between the goddess Ashtaroth and fertility.

The biblical writers often coupled Baal with Ashtaroth as a designation of pagan worship ( Judges 2:13;  Judges 10:6;  1 Samuel 7:3-4;  1 Samuel 12:10 ). In addition to her worship by the Canaanites, the Old Testament mentions the people of Sidon ( 1 Kings 11:5 ) and the Philistines ( 1 Samuel 31:10 ) as reverencing her. At Beth-Shan, the Philistines erected a temple to Ashtaroth ( 1 Samuel 31:10 ). The reference to the Queen of Heaven ( Jeremiah 7:18 ) may have Ashtaroth in mind, but this is uncertain. The Israelites worshiped her, and the biblical writers specifically refer to Solomon's leadership in promoting the worship of Ashtaroth ( 1 Kings 11:5 ). She was only one of many foreign deities revered by the Israelites. Josiah destroyed the shrines built to her ( 2 Kings 23:13 ).

2. Egyptian documents dating from the eighteenth century B.C. onward refer to a city called Ashtartu or Ashtarot in the region of Bashan.  Joshua 21:27 mentions a city with the name Be-eshterah in Bashan, while a man named Uzzia is called an Ashterathite (  1 Chronicles 11:44 ). Og, king of Bashan, reigned in the city of Ashtaroth ( Deuteronomy 1:4;  Joshua 9:10;  Joshua 12:4 ,  Joshua 13:12 ,  Joshua 13:31;  1 Chronicles 6:17 ). The sons of Machir received it as a part of their inheritance in the land ( Joshua 13:31 ).

Once the city is called Ashteroth-karnaim ( Genesis 14:5 ) or “Ashtaroth of the two horns.” A seventeenth century B.C. stone mold for making bronze figurines of Astarte was uncovered at Nahariyah. She was represented as a woman with two horns on her head. Many other clay figurines of Astarte have been found at sites throughout Palestine. The city's name, Ashtaroth, may reflect that she was worshiped by the citizens of this settlement.

The city is located at modern Tel Ashtarah about 20 miles east of the Sea of Galilee. It was located on a major branch of the Via Maris, or Way of the Sea and in the King's Highway, the major highway for traffic east of the Jordan.

Scott Langston

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

or ASTARTE, a goddess of the Zidonians. The word Ashtaroth properly signifies flocks of sheep, or goats; and sometimes the grove, or woods, because she was goddess of woods, and groves were her temples. In groves consecrated to her, such lasciviousness was committed as rendered her worship infamous. She was also called the queen of heaven; and sometimes her worship is said to be that of "the host of heaven." She was certainly represented in the same manner as Isis, with cows' horns on her head, to denote the increase and decrease of the moon. Cicero calls her the fourth Venus of the Syrians. She is almost always joined with Baal, and is called a god, the Scriptures having no particular word to express a goddess. It is believed that the moon was adored in this idol. Her temples generally accompanied those of the sun; and while bloody sacrifices of human victims were offered to Baal, bread, liquors, and perfumes were presented to Astarte. For her, tables were prepared upon the flat terrace roofs of houses, near gates, in porches, and at cross- ways, on the first day of every month; and this was called by the Greeks, Hecate's supper.

Solomon, seduced by his foreign wives, introduced the worship of Ashtaroth into Israel; but Jezebel, daughter of the king of Tyre, and wife to Ahab, principally established her worship. She caused altars to be erected to this idol in every part of Israel; and at one time four hundred priests attended the worship of Ashtaroth,  1 Kings 18:7 .

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Ashtaroth ( Ăsh'Ta-R Ŏth ), Astaroth ( Ăs'-T Â-Rŏth ). 1. A city of Bashan, east of the Jordan,  Deuteronomy 1:4;  Joshua 9:10;  Joshua 13:31; the same as Beesh-terah,  Joshua 21:27; probably Tell-Ashterah, in Jaulan. 2. Ashtoreth, sing.; Ashtaroth, plur. and more usual. An idol called the goddess of the Sidonians,  Judges 2:13, much worshipped in Syria and Phœnicia. Solomon introduced the worship of it.  1 Kings 11:33. The Greeks and Romans called it Astarte. The 400 prophets of the Asherah which ate at Jezebel's table, mentioned  1 Kings 18:19, R. V., were probably employed in the service of Asherah, the female deity. The worship of Ashtoreth was suppressed by Josiah. The goddess was called the "queen of heaven," and the worship was said to be paid to the "host of heaven." Her name is usually mentioned in connection with Baal. Baal and Ashtoreth are taken by many scholars as standing for the sun and the moon respectively.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

ASHTAROTH or Astaroth. A city N.E. of Jordan, called so from being a seat of Ashtoreth's worship, "Og dwelt in Ashtaroth, in Edrei" ( Deuteronomy 1:4;  Joshua 12:4;  Joshua 13:12-31;  Joshua 9:10). Allotted to Machir, son of Manasseh; and, out of Manasseh's portion, then allotted to the sons of Gershom, their other Levitical city here being Golan ( Joshua 21:27), called Be-eshterah (i.e. Beth Ashterah, "the house of Ashtaroth.") Between Adara and Abila (according to Eusebius and-Jerome) lay two villages, probably the one Ashtaroth, the other Ashteroth-Karnaim. There is still a Tel Ashterah in this region. One of David's valiant men was Uzziah the Ashterathite ( 1 Chronicles 11:44).

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Ash'taroth. Ash'taroth and once As'taroth. (A Star). A city on the east of Jordan in Bashan, in the kingdom of Og, doubtless so called from being a seat of the worship of the goddess of the same name.  Deuteronomy 1:4;  Joshua 9:10;  Joshua 12:4;  Joshua 13:12.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Deuteronomy 1:4 Joshua 12:4 13:12 9:10 Joshua 13:12 1 Chronicles 6:71 1 Chronicles 11:44 Joshua 21:27

Webster's Dictionary

(pl.) of Ashtoreth

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Ashtaroth', עִשְׁתָּרוֹת , plur. of Ashtoreth,  Joshua 9:10;  Joshua 12:4;  Joshua 13:12;  Joshua 13:31; Sept. Ἀσταρώθ ; but Auth. Vers. "Astaroth," in  Deuteronomy 1:4; Sept, in  1 Chronicles 6:71, v; R. Ἀσηρώθ and ῾Ραμώθ ) , a city on the east of Jordan, in Bashan, in the kingdom of Og, doubtless so called from being a seat of the worship of the goddess of the same name. (See Ashtoreth). It is generally mentioned as a description or definition of Og, who "dwelt in Astaroth in Edrei" ( Deuteronomy 1:4), "at Ashtaroth and at Edrei" ( Joshua 12:4;  Joshua 13:12), or "who was at Ashtaroth" ( Joshua 9:10). It fell into possession of the half tribe of Manasseh ( Joshua 13:31), and was given with its suburbs or surrounding pasture- lands ( מִגְרָשׁ ) to the Gershonites ( 1 Chronicles 6:71 [56]), the other Levitical city in this tribe being Golan. In the list in  Joshua 21:27, the name is given as Beeshterah ("house of Ashtoreth;" Reland, p. 621). Nothing more is heard of Ashtaroth, except that Uzziah, an Ashterathite, is named in  1 Chronicles 11:44. It is not named in any of the lists, such as those in Chronicles, or of Jeremiah, in which so many of the trans-Jordanic places are enumerated; and hence it has usually been considered the same with the place elsewhere called (See Ashteroth-Karnaim) (q.v.). Eusebius and Jerome, however (Onomast. S.V. Astaroth, Ἀσταρώθ ), mention it as situated 6 Roman miles from Adraa or Adar (Edrei), which again was 25 from Bostra; and the former adds that it lay on higher ground ( Ἀνωτέρω ) than Ashteroth-karnaim, which: they farther distinguish by stating (in the next art.) that there were two villages ( Κῶμαι , castella) lying 9 miles apart, between Adara and Abila. One of these was probably that called Ashtaroth simply, and the other may have been Ashteroth- karnaim. The only trace of the name yet recovered in the region indicated is Tell-Ashterah or Asherah (Ritter, Erdk. 15:819; Porter, ii, 212); and as this is situated on a hill, it would seem to correspond to the Ashtaroth in question.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Ash´taroth and Ashtaroth-Carnaim, a town of Bashan ( Deuteronomy 1:4;  Joshua 9:10) which was included in the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh ( Joshua 13:31), and was assigned to the Levites ( 1 Chronicles 6:71). It is placed by Eusebius 6 miles from Edrei, the other principal town of Bashan, and 25 miles from Bostra. The town existed in the time of Abraham ( Genesis 14:5); and as its name of Ashtaroth appears to be derived from the worship of the moon under that name [ASHTORETH], there is little need to look farther than the crescent of that luminary and its symbolical image for an explanation of the addition Carnaim, or rather Karnaim, 'horned.' Astaroth-Carnaim is now usually identified with Mezareib, the situation of which corresponds accurately enough with the distances given by Eusebius. Here is the first castle on the great pilgrim road from Damascus to Mecca, which was built about 340 years ago by the Sultan Selim. There are no dwellings beyond the castle, and within it only a few mud huts upon the flat roofs of the warehouses, occupied by the peasants who cultivate the neighboring grounds.