through the desert was between Dan and Naphtali (Numbers 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 Joshua
19:24-31; Judges 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).
- ASHERAH 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 (Exodus 34:13; Judges 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 GROVE [1].). - ASHES The ashes of a red heifer burned entire (Numbers 19:5) when
sprinkled on the unclean made them ceremonially clean (Hebrews 9:13).
To cover the head with ashes was a token of self-abhorrence and
humiliation (2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:3; Jeremiah 6:26, etc.).
To feed on ashes (Isaiah 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).
- ASHKELON =Askelon=Ascalon, was one of the five cities of the
Philistines (Joshua 13:3; 1 Samuel 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 (Judges 1:18) it fell into the
possession of the tribe of Judah; but it was soon after retaken by the
Philistines (2 Samuel 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 (Jeremiah 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 EGYPT) are found letters or