Hebrew word · H6251

עַשְׁתָּרוֹת

ve'ashterot

young

The young, or 'increase', of sheep and goats. It occurs only in Deut 7:13; 28:4, 18, 51. In form it is the plural of the name Ashtart (Astarte), the major Canaanite goddess of fertility, love and war.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

ewe, flock, increase, young

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Deuteronomy 28:4

Range of meaning

The young, or 'increase', of sheep and goats. It occurs only in Deut 7:13; 28:4, 18, 51. In form it is the plural of the name Ashtart (Astarte), the major Canaanite goddess of fertility, love and war. Elsewhere in the Bible her name appears as Ashtoreth, and the plural 'the Ashtaroth' refers to her images or cult (Judg 2:13; 1 Sam 7:3–4).

Against the English

KJV 'flocks of thy sheep', YLT 'wealth of thy flock', and modern 'lambs' or 'young' all render the sense, but all of them lose the fact that the word is a goddess's name.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deir ʿAlla pairs ʿštr with šgr, exactly the pair found here. Ugaritic ʿṯtrt, Phoenician ʿštrt. In Israel's own history the Ashtaroth are rivals to YHWH.

From the study of Deuteronomy 7:13

Range of meaning

In this phrase only: the increase, breeding or young of the flock (Deut 7:13; 28:4, 18, 51). The identical word, as a proper name, means the goddess Ashtoreth/Astarte and her images or shrines (Judg 2:13; 10:6; 1 Sam 7:3–4; 31:10), and also a town in Bashan (Deut 1:4).

Against the English

English versions vary: 'lambs' (BSB), 'young' (WEB, ESV), 'flocks of thy sheep' (KJV), 'wealth' (YLT). None can show the link to the goddess.

Used elsewhere in the period

Astarte (Ugaritic 'Athtart, Phoenician 'Ashtart) was a major goddess linked with fertility and war. The Talmud (b. Hullin 84b) explains the word by wordplay as livestock that 'enrich' (me'ashrot) their owners, which is the source of YLT's 'wealth.' The Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate simply translate it 'flocks.'

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 4

  1. Deuteronomy 7:13 וְעַשְׁתְּרֹ֣ת and [the] young ones of

    He will love you and bless you and multiply you. He will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your land—your grain, new wine, and oil, the young of your herds and the lambs of your flocks—in the land that He swore to your fathers to give you.

    Here: "And the increase of." The word is identical in form to the plural of Ashtoreth/Astarte, the Canaanite goddess of fertility. Here it has become an ordinary word for the breeding or offspring of sheep and goats.

  2. Deuteronomy 28:4 וְעַשְׁתְּר֥וֹת and [the] young ones of

    The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

    Here: 'And the young of' your flock: the lambs and kids. The word is the plural form of the name Ashtart (Astarte), the Canaanite goddess of fertility, used here as an ordinary noun for new-born sheep and goats.

  3. Deuteronomy 28:18 וְעַשְׁתְּר֥וֹת and [the] young ones of

    The fruit of your womb will be cursed, as well as the produce of your land, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.

  4. Deuteronomy 28:51 וְעַשְׁתְּרֹ֣ת and [the] young ones of

    They will eat the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain or new wine or oil, no calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks, until they have caused you to perish.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.