Ashtaroth

Ashtaroth was a Canaanite goddess of fertility, love, and war. The Israelites were repeatedly drawn into worshipping Ashtaroth during times of apostasy (Judg 2:13; 10:6; 1Sa.7.3-4; 12:10). After the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant, they placed it in the temple of Dagon at Ashdod and later returned it with an offering of golden tumors and rats, which they sent to Beth-shemesh on a cart pulled by two cows (1Sa.6.1-14). The name Ashtaroth is also used to refer to the place where her cult was practiced, such as Ashtaroth-karnaim, a city in Bashan (Gen.14.5; Deut 1:4; Josh 9:10; 12:4; 13:12, 31).