BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY
How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.
HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H6253
ash.to.ret — Ashtoreth
A female deity in the time of the Old Testament, first mentioned at 1Ki.11.5, also known as Astarte § Ashtoreth = "star" the principal female deity of the Phoenicians worshipped in war and fertility 1a) also 'Ishtar' of Assyria and 'Astarte' by the Greeks and Romans
3 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H6255
ash.te.rot qar.na.yim — Ashteroth-karnaim
Ashtoreth-karnaim = "Ashtoreth of the two horns or peaks" a city in Bashan east of the Jordan given to Manasseh Also named: qar.na.im (קַרְנַ֫יִם "Karnaim" H7161B)
1 tagged verse occurrence · see every occurrence →The moon goddess of the Phoenicians, representing the passive principle in nature, their principal female deity; frequently associated with the name of Baal, the sun-god, their chief male deity (Judg. 10:6; 1 Sam. 7:4; 12:10). These names often occur in the plural (Ashtaroth, Baalim), probably as indicating either different statues or different modifications of the deities. This deity is spoken of as Ashtoreth of the Zidonians. She was the Ishtar of the Accadians and the Astarte of the Greeks (Jer. 44:17; 1 Kings 11:5, 33; 2 Kings 23:13). There was a temple of this goddess among the Philistines in the time of Saul (1 Sam. 31:10). Under the name of Ishtar, she was one of the great deities of the Assyrians. The Phoenicians called her Astarte. Solomon introduced the worship of this idol (1 Kings 11:33). Jezebel’s 400 priests were probably employed in its service (1 Kings 18:19). It was called the “queen of heaven” (Jer. 44:25).
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.
