Ashtoreth: 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
(Judges 10:6; 1 Samuel 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
(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 Samuel 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"
(Jeremiah 44:25)
