Library Home
>
All Subjects
>
A Subjects
>
Ashtaroth; Ashtoreth
Ashtaroth; Ashtoreth
Subject download …
Download PDF
Print
Share on Facebook
Share on X (Twitter)
Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
(star). A city of
Bashan
, noted for its
worship
of
Ashtoreth
(
Deut. 1:4
4
After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei: (Deuteronomy 1:4)
;
Josh. 9:10; 12:4; 13:12
10
And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. (Joshua 9:10)
4
And the coast of Og king of Bashan, which was of the remnant of the giants, that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, (Joshua 12:4)
12
All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, which reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, who remained of the remnant of the giants: for these did Moses smite, and cast them out. (Joshua 13:12)
).
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
Goddess
of
the
Phoenicians and
Zidonians
, worshipped by
Israel
after the
death
of
Joshua
, and by
Solomon
.
Ashtaroth
was the
chief
female
goddess and
Baal
the chief male
god
, and
they
are
often
named
together.
Josiah
destroyed the emblems of her
worship
as introduced by Solomon (
Judg. 2:13
13
And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. (Judges 2:13)
;
Judg. 10:6
6
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord, and served not him. (Judges 10:6)
;
1 Sam. 7:3-4
3
And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
4
Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only. (1 Samuel 7:3‑4)
;
1 Sam. 12:10
10
And they cried unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. (1 Samuel 12:10)
;
1 Sam. 31:10
10
And they put his armor in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. (1 Samuel 31:10)
;
1 Kings 11:5,33
5
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. (1 Kings 11:5)
33
Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. (1 Kings 11:33)
;
2 Kings 23:13
13
And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. (2 Kings 23:13)
). Ashtaroth is often called ASTARTE, which is her
name
in the
Greek
, and
Istar
or
Ishtar
in the
Assyrian
.
Jackson’s
Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names
:
thought searching
From
Manners and Customs of the Bible
:
1 Kings 11:5
5
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. (1 Kings 11:5)
. For
Solomon
went after
Ashtoreth
the
goddess
of the
Zidonians
, and after
Milcom
the
abomination
of the
Ammonites
.
1. Ashtoreth was the companion deity to
Baal
. See note on
Numbers 22:41
41
And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people. (Numbers 22:41)
(#184). This text, verse 33 of this chapter, and
2 Kings 23:13
13
And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. (2 Kings 23:13)
, are the only places where
the word
is used in the singular. In all other passages it is
Ashtaroth
, which is a term probably corresponding to
Baalim
, the plural of Baal. See note on
Judges 3:7
7
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves. (Judges 3:7)
(#222). The two words are in several places coupled together. See
Judges 10:6
6
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord, and served not him. (Judges 10:6)
;
1 Samuel 7:4; 12:10
4
Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only. (1 Samuel 7:4)
10
And they cried unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. (1 Samuel 12:10)
. Ashtoreth, or Astarte, was a goddess of the
Sidonians
, and also of the
Philistines
(
1 Sam. 31:10
10
And they put his armor in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. (1 Samuel 31:10)
). Under different
names
she was worshiped in all the countries and colonies of the Syro-Arabian nations. As Baal is supposed to have represented the
sun
, so Astarte is thought to have represented the
moon
; though some take the two to stand for
Jupiter
and Venus. The
worship
of Astarte is very ancient, and was undoubtedly connected with impure rites. But little is known of the form of the goddess or of the mode of worship. She is
sometimes
seen represented with the
head
and
horns
of a
cow
, and sometimes with a
woman
’s head having horns. We read in
Genesis 14:5
5
And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, (Genesis 14:5)
of the city of Ashtaroth Karnaim, that is, the horned Ashtaroth. As the city was doubtless named because of the worship of Astarte, the word Karnaim (horns) is thought to have reference to the horns of the goddess, either lunar or bovine, or both. If “the
queen
of
heaven
” spoken of by
Jeremiah
was meant for Astarte, as many suppose, we have a little
light
thrown on the mode of her worship. “Seest thou not what they do in the cities of
Judah
and in the streets of
Jerusalem
? The
children
gather
wood
, and the
fathers
kindle the
fire
, and the women knead their dough, to make
cakes
to the queen of heaven, and to pour out
drink offerings
unto other
gods
, that they may provoke me to anger” (
Jer. 7:17-18
17
Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
18
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. (Jeremiah 7:17‑18)
). See also
Jeremiah 44:17-19
17
But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
18
But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
19
And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men? (Jeremiah 44:17‑19)
. Here a whole family is represented as engaging in the worship of the goddess. They present to her
meat
offerings and drink offerings, and burn
incense
. The worship of Astarte is also referred to in
Judges 2:13
13
And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. (Judges 2:13)
;
1 Samuel 7:3; 12:10
3
And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. (1 Samuel 7:3)
10
And they cried unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. (1 Samuel 12:10)
.. See likewise note on
Isaiah 65:11
11
But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number. (Isaiah 65:11)
(#535).
2. Milcom, also called
Malcham
(
Zeph. 1:5
5
And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham; (Zephaniah 1:5)
), is another name for
Molech
. See note on
Leviticus 18:21
21
And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 18:21)
(#163).
Related Books and Articles:
304. Ashtoreth Milcom
From:
Manners and Customs of the Bible
By:
James M. Freeman
Narrator:
Chris Genthree
Call: 1-630-543-1441
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Authors
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
Z
All Authors
Bibles
Books
All Books and eBooks
Commentaries
Hymnbooks
Magazines
Reference
Stories & Bios
Subjects
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
All Subjects
Bible Truth Study Bible
Español (Spanish)
More
All Articles
Audio
Charts
Conferences & Events
Hymnbooks
Illustrations & Quotes
Maps
Magazines
Poetry
Sunday School
Store