Ashtaroth

Ash'taroth (Heb. Ashtaroth', עִשׁתָּרוֹת, plur. of Ashtoreth, Jos 9:10; Jos 12:4; Jos 13:12,31; Sept. Α᾿σταρώθ; but Auth. Vers. "Astaroth," in De 1:4; Sept, in 1Ch 6:71, v; r. Α᾿σηρώθ and ῾Ραμώθ), a city on the east of Jordan, in Bashan, in the kingdom of Og, doubtless so called from being a seat of the worship of the goddess of the same name. SEE ASHTORETH. It is generally mentioned as a description or definition of Og, who "dwelt in Astaroth in Edrei" (De 1:4), "at Ashtaroth and at Edrei" (Jos 12:4; Jos 13:12), or "who was at Ashtaroth" (9:10). It fell into possession of the half tribe of Manasseh (Jos 13:31), and was given with its suburbs or surrounding pasture- lands (מִגרָשׁ) to the Gershonites (1Ch 6:71 [56]), the other Levitical city in this tribe being Golan. In the list in Jos 21:27, the name is given as BEESHTERAH ("house of Ashtoreth;" Reland, p. 621). Nothing more is heard of Ashtaroth, except that Uzziah, an Ashterathite, is named in 1Ch 11:44. It is not named in any of the lists, such as those in Chronicles, or of Jeremiah, in which so many of the trans-Jordanic places are enumerated; and hence it has usually been considered the same with the place elsewhere called SEE ASHTEROTH-KARNAIM (q.v.). Eusebius and Jerome, however (Onomast. s.v. Astaroth, Α᾿σταρώθ), mention it as situated 6 Roman miles from Adraa or Adar (Edrei), which again was 25 from Bostra; and the former adds that it lay on higher ground (ἀνωτέρω) than Ashteroth-karnaim, which: they farther distinguish by stating (in the next art.) that there were two villages (κῶμαι, castella) lying 9 miles apart, between Adara and Abila. One of these was probably that called Ashtaroth simply, and the other may have been Ashteroth- karnaim. The only trace of the name yet recovered in the region indicated is Tell-Ashterah or Asherah (Ritter, Erdk. 15:819; Porter, ii, 212); and as this is situated on a hill, it would seem to correspond to the Ashtaroth in question.