Ashtoreth

AI summary: Ashtoreth matters because the cross references present her worship as one of the recurring rival devotions that corrupt Israel's covenant life. Her name stands behind some of the Bible's strongest polemics against syncretism, especially in the monarchy and the high-place reforms. The issue is not mere foreign religion, but the seduction of Israel into unfaithful worship. Taken together, the material presents Ashtoreth as a major false goddess whose cult repeatedly threatens covenant fidelity.¹

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). ³