Ashtoreth
Summary
The chief female deity of the Canaanites and Phoenicians, a fertility goddess whose worship was a constant snare to Israel.
☩Identity and Worship
Ashtoreth was the principal female deity of the Phoenicians and Canaanites, corresponding to Ishtar of Babylon and Astarte of the Greeks. She was the goddess of fertility, love, and war. Her worship was accompanied by immoral practices and was explicitly condemned by God. The plural form 'Ashtaroth' sometimes refers to her images or to Canaanite goddesses generally.
☩Israel's Apostasy
Israel repeatedly fell into Ashtoreth worship. During the judges' period, they forsook Yahweh and served Baal and Ashtaroth. Solomon, in his old age, built a high place for Ashtoreth 'the goddess of the Sidonians.' Josiah later defiled and destroyed these high places during his reforms. The worship of Ashtoreth represented the lure of Canaanite fertility religion that continually threatened Israel's covenant faithfulness.
Related Verses10 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Ashtoreth," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Ashtoreth," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).