The word Ashtoreth cannot be plausibly derived from an)' root or combination of roots in the Syro- Arabian languages. The best etymology, that ap- proved by Gesenius (Thes. Heb. p. 1083), deduces it from the Persian sitdrah, star, with a prosthetic gut- tural (i. q. 1ttt>X, "Esther," aorrip). Ashtoreth is feminine as to form ; its plural Ashtaroth also oc- curs (Judg. ii, 13 ; x, 16; 1 Sam. vii, 4 ; xii, 10 ; xxxi, 10), as is likewise the case with Baal, with which it is in this form often associated (Judg. x, C ; 1 Sam. vii, 4; xii, 10); and this peculiarity of both words is thought (by Gesenius, Thesaur. s. v.) to denote a plu- rality of images (like the Greek Hernia?), or to belong to that usage of the plural which is found in words denoting lord (Ewald, Ilebr. Gram. § 361). Movers, however, contends (Phon. i, 175, 602) that the plurals are used to indicate different modifications of the di- vinities themselves. In the earlier books of the O. T. only the plural, Ashtaroth, occurs, and it is not till the time of Solomon, who introduced the worship of the Sidonian Astarte, and only in reference to that par- ticular goddess, Ashtoreth of the Sidonians, that the singular is found in the O. T. (1 Kings xi, 5, 33 ; 2 Kings xxiii, 13). — Kitto; Smith. See Astarte. Ash-tree. See Ash.
Ash'uath (Heb. Ashvath', VXJ'J, perh. for hilDS, bright; Sept. 'AaeiSr v. r. 'AaiS, Vulg. Asoth), the last named of the three sons of Japhlet, great-grandson of Asher (1 Chron. vii, 33). B.C. cir. 1612.
Ash'ur (Heb. Ashchur', "iWdN, perh. black, oth- erwise man of nobility ; Sept. 'Aa\(.o v. r. 'Accojo, and 'Aaovp v. r. 'AvotV>)> a posthumous son of Hezron (grandson of Judah), by one of his wives (the daugh- ter of Machir), Abiah (1 Chron. ii, 24). He had sev- eral sons by each of his two wives (1 Chron. iv, 5), and through these he is called (in both passages) the "father" (founder) of Tekoa, which appears to have been the place of their eventual settlement. B.C. cir. 1658. Schwarz suggests (Palest, p. 119) that the name may be connected with the Both-Zachaj-ias (q. v.) of Josephus (War, i, 1, 5); but this lies at some distance from Tekoa. See also Asshur.
Ash'urite (Heb. Ashuri' ', I'nittJSJ, prob. originally from llttJX, a step; Sept. 'Aaepi, Vulg. Gessuri ; Auth. Vers. " Ashurites"), apparently the designation of a tribe in the vicinity of Gilead, one of the trans-Jordanic districts over whom the revolting Abner made Ish-
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boshcth king (2 Sam. ii, 9). The Chaldee paraphrast I (Targum of Jonathan) supposes the inhabitants of Asher ("IttJK "d?, "of the house of Asher"), which is supported by several MSS. that read "''■Sn (Da- | vidson, TIebr. Text, ad loc). " The Asherites" will then denote the whole of the country west of the Jor- I dun above Jezreel (the district of the plain of Esdrae- j Ion), and the enumeration will proceed regularly from i north to south, Asher to Benjamin. The form " Ash- erite" occurs in Judg. i, 32. See Asher. By some of the old interpreters— Arabic, Syriac, and Vulgate versions — and in modern times by Ewald (Gesck. Isr. Hi, 145), the name is taken as meaning the Geshurites, the members of a small kingdom to the S. or S.E. of Damascus, one of the petty states which were included under the general title of Aram (q. v.). The difficulty in accepting this substitution is that Geshur had a king of its own, Talmai, whose daughter, moreover, wras mar- ried to David somewhere about this very time (1 Chron. iii, 2, compared with 4), a circumstance not consistent with his being the ally of Ishbosheth, or with the latter being made king over the people of Geshur. Talmai ■ was still king many years after this occurrence (2 Sam. [ xiii, 37). In addition, Geshur was surely too remote j from Mahanaim and from the rest of Ishbosheth's ter- ritory to be intended here. See Geshur. Still oth- ers understand that the clan referred to are- the same j with the Asskurites (Heb. Asshurim', CHVi'X ; Sept. j 'Aatrovpit i'/i, Vulg. Assitrim ; Auth . Vers. ' ' Asshurim"), an Arab tribe said (with the Letushim and Leummim) to be descended from Dedan (Gen. xxv, 3), and who appear from these notices to have settled in the south-western part of the Hauran, where they became somewhat incorporated with the Israelites. See Ara- bia.
In Ezek. xxvii, 6, Ashur ("1>1 .X, plur. Ashurim' , in the expression, D"nm~ra ^"IBJS tl^P, thy benches [or decks'] they hare made of ivory, the daugh- ter of the ashur-trees, i. e. inlaid or bordered with that wood; Sept. r« iepa gov tiroirjaav t£ iXiQavToc;, ohovg ct\<jioctic, Vulg. et transtra tua fecerunt tibi ex ebore Indico et prateriula, Auth. Vers. " the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory") evidently stands for teiisshur' ("!Ti"XFl), or box-wood. See Box-tree.
Ash-Wednesday (dies cinerum), the first day of Lent. It is so called from the custom observed in the ancient Church of penitents expressing their humilia- tion at this time by appearing in sackcloth and ashes. But it is not certain that this was always done precise- ly on Ash- Wednesday, there being a perfect silence in the most ancient writers about it. The discipline used toward penitents in Lent, as described by Gratian, dif- fered from their treatment at other times ; for on Ash- Wednesday they were presented to the bishop, clothed in sackcloth, and barefooted ; then the seven peniten- tial psalms were sung; after which the bishop laid his hands on them, sprinkled them with holy water, and poured ashes upon their heads, declaring to them that as Adam was cast out of paradise, so they, for their sins, were cast out of the Church. Then the inferior ministers expelled them out of the doors of the church. In the end of Lent, on the Thursday before Easter, they were again presented for reconciliation by the and presbyters at the gates of the church. But this method of treating penitents in Lent carries with it the marks of a more modern practice ; for there was ii" use of the holy water in the ancient discipline, nor seven penitential psalms in their service, but only one, viz. the tifty-lirst. Neither was Ash-Wednesday anciently the first day of Lent, till Gregory the Great first added it to bent to make the number of fa-ting- days completely forty, which before were but thirty- six. N..r does it appear that anciently the time of imposing penance was confined to the beginning of