Biblical History
Ashtaroth was an ancient city in the Transjordanian region of Bashan, associated with Og, the giant king of Bashan, whose defeat by Moses is described in Numbers 21:33–35 and Deuteronomy 1:4; 3:1. Deuteronomy 1:4 explicitly names Ashtaroth as one of the residences of Og, and Joshua 9:10 and 12:4 confirm that Og lived at Ashtaroth and Edrei. The city's name echoes the Canaanite goddess Ashtoreth, suggesting it was a cult center in the pre-Israelite period, a place where the fertility goddess was worshipped before Israel's conquest transformed the Transjordanian landscape. Following the defeat of Og, the territory of Bashan including Ashtaroth was given to the half-tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 13:31). In Joshua 21:27 and 1 Chronicles 6:71, Ashtaroth is listed as a Levitical city assigned to the Gershonite Levites from the half-tribe of Manasseh, transforming a former Canaanite cult site into a habitation for Israel's priestly servants. The city thus traces a redemptive arc from pagan religious center to Levitical community.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Ashtaroth is identified with Tell Ashtara in the Hauran region of modern Syria, southeast of the Sea of Galilee. The tell is a prominent mound that has been surveyed but not comprehensively excavated. Pottery and surface remains spanning the Bronze and Iron Ages confirm long-term occupation at the site. Ancient sources including Egyptian texts (Thutmose III's campaign lists) mention Ashtartu, confirming the city's importance in the Late Bronze Age. The site's association with Og and Bashan connects it to one of the most geographically distinctive regions of the biblical world, the fertile basalt plateau of the Hauran. Tell Ashtara sits in agricultural land that has been continuously farmed, which has constrained systematic archaeological investigation.
Verse Appearances (8)
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]