Ash

"(Heb. o'ren, "tremulous"), mentioned only Isa. 44:14 (R.V., "fir" "tree"). It is rendered "pine tree" both in the LXX. and Vulgate" "versions. There is a tree called by the Arabs aran, found still" "in the valleys of Arabia Petraea, whose leaf resembles that of" the mountain ash. This may be the tree meant. Our ash tree is not known in Syria.

"Stronghold, a Philistine city (Josh. 15:47), about midway" "between Gaza and Joppa, and 3 miles from the Mediterranean. It" was one of the chief seats of the worship of Dagon (1 Sam. 5:5). "It belonged to the tribe of Judah (Josh. 15:47), but it never" "came into their actual possession. It was an important city, as" "it stood on the highroad from Egypt to Palestine, and hence was" "strongly fortified (2 Chr. 26:6; Isa. 20:1). Uzziah took it, but" fifty years after his death it was taken by the Assyrians (B.C. "758). According to Sargon's record, it was captured by him in" "B.C. 711. The only reference to it in the New Testament, where" "it is called Azotus, is in the account of Philip's return from" Gaza (Acts 8:40). It is now called Eshdud.

"(Deut. 3:17; Josh. 12:3; 13:20) in Authorized Version, but in" "Revised Version translated "slopes of Pisgah." In Deut. 4:49 it" "is translated in the Authorized Version "springs of Pisgah." The" "name Ashdoth is translated "springs" in the Authorized Version," "but "slopes" in the Revised Version, of Josh. 10:40 and 12:8. It" "has been identified with the springs under Mount Nebo, now" called `Ayun Musa.

"Happy, Jacob's eigth son; his mother was Zilpah, Leah's handmaid" (Gen. 30:13). Of the tribe founded by him nothing is recorded beyond its holding a place in the list of the tribes (35:26; "46:17; Ex. 1:4, etc.) It increased in numbers twenty-nine" "percent, during the thirty-eight years' wanderings. The place of" this tribe during the march through the desert was between Dan and Naphtali (Num. 2:27). The boundaries of the inheritance "given to it, which contained some of the richest soil in" "Palestine, and the names of its towns, are recorded in Josh." "19:24-31; Judg. 1:31, 32. Asher and Simeon were the only tribes" west of the Jordan which furnished no hero or judge for the nation. Anna the prophetess was of this tribe (Luke 2:36).

"And pl. Asherim in Revised Version, instead of "grove" and" groves of the Authorized Version. This was the name of a "sensual Canaanitish goddess Astarte, the feminine of the" Assyrian Ishtar. Its symbol was the stem of a tree deprived of "its boughs, and rudely shaped into an image, and planted in the" "ground. Such religious symbols ("groves") are frequently alluded" to in Scripture (Ex. 34:13; Judg. 6:25; 2 Kings 23:6; 1 Kings "16:33, etc.). These images were also sometimes made of silver or" "of carved stone (2 Kings 21:7; "the graven image of Asherah," R.V.). (See [32]GROVE [1].).

The ashes of a red heifer burned entire (Num. 19:5) when sprinkled on the unclean made them ceremonially clean (Heb. 9:13). "To cover the head with ashes was a token of self-abhorrence and "humiliation (2 Sam. 13:19; Esther 4:3; Jer. 6:26, etc.)." "To feed on ashes (Isa. 44:20), means to seek that which will "prove to be vain and unsatisfactory, and hence it denotes the" unsatisfactory nature of idol-worship. (Comp. Hos. 12:1).

#NAME? (Josh. 13:3; 1 Sam. 6:17). It stood on the shore of the "Mediterranean, 12 miles north of Gaza. It is mentioned on an" inscription at Karnak in Egypt as having been taken by king "Rameses II., the oppressor of the Hebrews. In the time of the" judges (Judg. 1:18) it fell into the possession of the tribe of Judah; but it was soon after retaken by the Philistines (2 Sam. "1:20), who were not finally dispossessed till the time of" Alexander the Great. Samson went down to this place from "Timnath, and slew thirty men and took their spoil. The prophets" "foretold its destruction (Jer. 25:20; 47:5, 7). It became a" "noted place in the Middle Ages, having been the scene of many a" bloody battle between the Saracens and the Crusaders. It was "beseiged and taken by Richard the Lion-hearted, and "within its" "walls and towers now standing he held his court." Among the Tell" Amarna tablets (see [33]EGYPT) are found letters or official "despatches from Yadaya, "captain of horse and dust of the king's" "feet," to the "great king" of Egypt, dated from Ascalon. It is" now called `Askalan.

"One of the three sons of Gomer (Gen. 10:3), and founder of one" of the tribes of the Japhetic race. They are mentioned in "connection with Minni and Ararat, and hence their original seat" "must have been in Armenia (Jer. 51:27), probably near the Black" "Sea, which, from their founder, was first called Axenus, and" afterwards the Euxine.

"The master of the eunuchs of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 1:3), the" Rabsaris of the court. His position was similar to that of the Kislar-aga of the modern Turkish sultans.

"A city of Bashan, in the kingdom of Og (Deut. 1:4; Josh. 12:4;" 13:12; 9:10). It was in the half-tribe of Manasseh (Josh. "13:12), and as a Levitical city was given to the Gershonites (1" "Chr. 6:71). Uzzia, one of David's valiant men (1 Chr. 11:44), is" "named as of this city. It is identified with Tell Ashterah, in" "the Hauran, and is noticed on monuments B.C. 1700-1500. The name" "Beesh-terah (Josh. 21:27) is a contraction for Beth-eshterah," "i.e., "the house of Ashtaroth."

"Ashteroth of the two horns, the abode of the Rephaim (Gen." 14:5). It may be identified with Ashtaroth preceding; called "Karnaim, i.e., the "two-horned" (the crescent moon). The" "Samaritan version renders the word by "Sunamein," the present" "es-Sunamein, 28 miles south of Damascus."

"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 (Judg. 10:6; 1 Sam. 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 (Jer. "44:17; 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 Sam. "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" (Jer. 44:25)."

Mentioned among those over whom Ish-bosheth was made king (2 Sam. 2:9).