162 THE SHEPHEKD KINGS OF EGYPT. 



Edomite Teman may have gained his name througli the alliance of 

 his father Eliphaz, or his grandfather Esau, with a Hittite wife. I 

 •shall yet show a complete connection of the Ashclmrites with the 

 Hittites. But in this Temeni we also find the eponym of the well 

 known city of Timnath (Genesis xxxviii. 12), existing under that 

 name in the time of Jacob. It belonged to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 

 XV. 10, 57), or to Dan (Joshua xix. 43), but was also recognised as a 

 town of the Philistines (Judges xiv. 1, &c. ; 2 Chron. xxviii. 18). 

 The yotingest son of Kaarah was A chashtari. This remarkable name, 

 for which no Hebrew dexivation can be found, is by (xesenius referred 

 to the Persian language, and connected with the Persian ehhshter 

 (Sanscrit agiuatara), meaning "mule," but also with an analogous form, 

 khshetra, signifying "king." I have no hesitation in associating the 

 name of Achashtari with the city of Bashan called (Genesis xiv. 5 ; 

 Deut. i. 4; Joshua xiii. 12, 31; xxi. 27,) Ashtaroth Karnaim, 

 Ashtaroth, and, with the Coptic prefix, Beeshterah, as also with the 

 goddess Ashtoreth (Judges ii. 13 ; x. 6, &c., &c.) The initial letter 

 of the latter word is ay in, which is the most fitting representative of 

 the somewhat neutral cheth of Achashtari. Ashtaroth is, like Achuzam, 

 Hepher and Temeni, a Philistine name, as appears plainly in 1 Samuel, 

 xxxi. 10. 



The Bible connections of the sons of Helah are equally striking. 

 Zereth is the first mentioned. A town of the Reubenites bears the 

 name of this son of the Tekoite, together with that of his father as 

 Zereth Hashachar, equivalent in meaning to Zereth the Ashchvirite, 

 or Zereth of Ashchur (Joshua xiii. 19). He is at the same time the 

 eponym of Zarthan, a town of the Manassites (Joshua iii. 1 6 ; 1 Kings 

 iv. 12 ; vii. 46). I would also be disposed to derive Kartan and 

 Kiriathaim of the same region from the name of Zereth, as we find 

 instances of Tzade changing to Koph, such as Zabar and Kabar, 

 meaning to heap iip, hury? Still more numerous instances of the 

 ■change of Tzade to Gaph lead me to identify some of the descendants 

 of Zereth with the Cherethites (1 Samuel xxx. 14 ; Ezekiel xxv. 16, 

 (kc, &c.), who are spoken of together with the Philistines. This iden- 

 tification is in part justified by the fact that the brook Cherith 



* Kerioth in the south of Judah (Joshua xv. 25), and a place of the same name in Moab 

 (Jeremiah xlviii. 24), also represent Zereth. The Hadattah with which the first Kerioth is 

 united at once recalls the derivation of the name of Carthage given by Bochart. In treating of 

 the Phoenician and Punic relationships of the Ashchurites, I shall clearly prove the connectioa 

 of Carthage with the family of Zereth. : 



