עַשְׁתֹּ֫רֶת (ash.to.ret)
ash.to.ret
Ashtoreth
N:N-F-TQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- N:N-F-T
Word Overview
The name Ashtoreth refers to a major female deity worshipped by neighboring nations during the Old Testament period. Identified with the Phoenician goddess Astarte and the Assyrian Ishtar, she was associated with both war and fertility. The sources note that her name likely derives from a root meaning "star," reflecting the celestial nature of her worship.
This figure appears in only three verses, all located in the books of Kings (1 Kings 11:5; 2 Kings 23:13). These passages highlight her role as a central idol that King Solomon was led to worship due to his foreign wives, and later as a shrine removed by King Josiah during his religious reforms. The text presents her not merely as a symbol, but as a specific object of cultic devotion that Israel’s kings were commanded to reject.
Translators consistently render this proper noun as "Ashtoreth" to distinguish it from other similar deities. Its rare occurrence in Scripture underscores the historical reality of these foreign religious practices and the persistent challenge they posed to the exclusive worship of Yahweh in ancient Israel.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The name Ashtoreth appears in Scripture as a reminder of the many distractions that compete for our loyalty. In ancient Israel, this deity represented the pull toward foreign gods and the compromise that often followed when people turned away from God’s clear commands. Solomon’s heart drifted because he allowed these influences to take root, showing how even wise leaders can be swayed by what feels attractive but is ultimately harmful.
For us today, Ashtoreth stands for anything we might place above our devotion to God. It could be the pursuit of status, the comfort of idolatry, or the quiet acceptance of values that contradict faith. The Bible does not treat this lightly; it shows how such choices lead to spiritual decay and distance from the Lord.
Yet there is hope in the story. King Josiah later removed these shrines, demonstrating that God’s people can return to Him when they repent and realign their lives with His truth. This word invites us to examine our own hearts, asking where our true allegiance lies and inviting us back to a life centered on God alone.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- to/ Astarte2×
- Astarte1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- עַשְׁתֹּ֔רֶת1×
- לְ/עַשְׁתֹּרֶת֮1×
- לְ/עַשְׁתֹּ֣רֶת\׀1×
Key Verses
-
I Kings 11:5
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
This verse marks the beginning of Solomon’s spiritual decline by showing his active pursuit of Ashtoreth, highlighting how foreign influences can lead even a wise king away from God.
-
I Kings 11:33
because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon. They have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my ordinances, as David his father did.
Here the text explicitly links worshiping Ashtoreth with forsaking God’s ways, underscoring the seriousness of idolatry as a rejection of divine covenant.
-
II Kings 23:13
The king defiled the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mountain of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon.
Josiah’s removal of Solomon’s shrine for Ashtoreth illustrates the possibility of restoration and the importance of purifying worship to honor God alone.