of the Phoenician form of the name of this goddess, ʽstrt, and the vowels of the Hebrew word boʹsheth (shame), to denote abhorrence. The plural ʽash·ta·rohthʹ (“Ashtoreth images,” NW; “Ashtarts,” AT) probably refers to the images or manifestations of this pagan goddess.—Judg. 2:13; 10:6; 1 Sam. 7:3, 4.

The name “Ashtoreth,” according to Gesenius, may be derived from the Persian word sitara, meaning star. Ashtoreth was identified by some ancient writers with the moon and by others with the planet Venus. The Scriptural references to the worship of the sun, moon and stars in connection with the practice of Baalism in Israel suggest that this goddess, viewed as Baal’s wife, may have been identified with one or more heavenly bodies. (2 Ki. 23:5; Jer. 7:9; 8:2) Possibly Ashtoreth is the goddess referred to as the “queen of the heavens” at Jeremiah 7:18 and 44:17, where she is reported as being worshiped by burning incense, pouring out drink offerings and making sacrificial cakes.—See QUEEN OF HEAVEN.

It is commonly recognized that the three major goddesses of Baalism (Asherah, Ashtoreth and Anath) are closely linked, and are frequently confused with one another in their overlapping roles. War, violence and depraved sex practices are closely associated with them.—See SACRED POLE.

Although in the Ras Shamra texts Anath is represented principally as the goddess of war, apparently Ashtoreth also figured in this role. Among the Philistines, Ashtoreth was evidently viewed as a goddess of war, as indicated by the fact that the armor of defeated King Saul was placed in the temple of the Ashtoreth images.—1 Sam. 31:10.

Chiefly, however, Ashtoreth was apparently a fertility goddess. The most prominent part of her worship consisted of sex orgies in the temples or high places devoted to Baal worship, where male and female prostitutes served.—1 Ki. 14:24; Hos. 4:14; see CANAAN, CANAANITE.

ASHURBANIPAL

See ASENAPPAR.

ASHURITE

(Ashʹur·ite).

A people subject to the kingship of Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son. At 2 Samuel 2:9 they are listed between Gilead and Jezreel. The Vulgate and Syriac versions here read “Geshurites,” while the Targums say “Asherites.” (Compare Judges 1:32.) The name Asshurim is used at Genesis 25:3, but there refers to Arabic descendants of Abraham through Dedan. The identification of the “Ashurites” is therefore conjectural.

ASHVATH

(Ashʹvath).

A man of the tribe of Asher, house of Japhlet.—1 Chron. 7:33.

ASIA

In the Christian Greek Scriptures the term Asia is used as referring, not to the continent of Asia, nor to the peninsula called Asia Minor, but to the Roman province occupying the western part of that peninsula.

EARLY HISTORY

The Romans wrested control of Asia Minor from Antiochus the Great by their victory at Magnesia (near Ephesus) in 190 B.C.E., and the territory W of the Taurus Mountains was given as a reward to Rome’s ally, the king of Pergamum. In 133 B.C.E. when King Attalus III of Pergamum died he bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. The Roman province of Asia was thereafter formed from this kingdom and included the older countries of Mysia, Lydia, Caria and, at times, part of Phrygia, as well as the adjacent islands. It was thus bounded by the Aegean Sea and the provinces of Bithynia, Galatia (which embraced part of Phrygia) and Lycia. The precise borders, however, are difficult to define due to repeated shifting.

Initially, the capital was located at Pergamum in Mysia, but during the reign of Augustus it was transferred to Ephesus, farther to the S. In the year 27 B.C.E. the province was made senatorial and thereafter governed by a proconsul. (Acts 19:38) It was also divided into nine judicial districts and subdivided into forty-four city districts.

NATIVE CULTS AND WORSHIP

An ‘Asian League’ was formed by the cities of the province, and their delegates met annually. The prime function of the league, however, was in relation to the worship of Rome and of the emperor, prayers and sacrifices being offered on behalf of the emperor, the Senate, and the Roman people, and games and festivals were arranged. The cult of emperor worship had originally been instituted at Pergamum, the Roman province of Asia being among the first to request permission to worship the living emperor. (Compare Revelation 2:12, 13.) Concerning this, one reference work states: “A[sia] M[inor] was also the home of the imperial cult, the attitude of Christians to which caused their faith to be proscribed and brought upon themselves bloody persecutions, which raged with greatest severity in A[sia] M[inor].”—Funk and Wagnalls, A New Standard Bible Dictionary, p. 74.

Among the native cults and rites was that of the worship of the Great Mother. (See The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 1, p. 259.) Concerning this we read: “From time immemorial among the Hittites and the Aryan invaders of A[sia] M[inor] the premier place was given in religion to a great Mother-Goddess, the representative of the powers of reproduction in all nature, with whom was associated a lesser male deity as spouse or son. . . . This divine personage was to make its contribution to the Christian Madonna.”—Funk and Wagnalls, A New Standard Bible Dictionary, p. 74; see EPHESUS; PHRYGIA.

Such native worship doubtless contributed toward the preference later shown toward the female deity Artemis, whose Roman counterpart was Diana, and whose worship was centered at the capital of the province of Asia, Ephesus.—Acts 19:23-35, see ARTEMIS.

The province of Asia had many Jews among its mixed population of Greeks, Romans, Persians, Lydians, Mysians, and others. In the first century C.E. their synagogues were found in many cities of the province.

RESOURCES

The province was famous for its woolen industries and dyeing factories, as also for its banks. Of it, Cicero wrote: “In the richness of its soil, in the variety of its products, in the extent of its pastures,