ASHTORETH, עַשְׁתּרֶת (1 Kings xi. 5), or עַשְׁתָּרוֹת, Ashtaroth (Deut. i. 4).  I should feel disposed to derive this word from אִשָׁת, isha, תּר, tor, "The woman dove," Ashtoreth being the plural form.  אֶסְתֵּר, ester, signifies the star Venus, the goddess of good luck with wealth and love.  (Compare Esther.)  The name has also been rendered, "The spouse, or wife" (of Mahadeva), "Goddess of love," &c.  Ishtar was one of the names given to the celestial virgin mother in Assyria, and Ishtaroth would be the natural Hebrew plural for "the Ishtars," i.e., as virgin and mother, or as the androgyne mother.  (See Baal and Ishtar). (Ancient Faiths Embodied in Ancient Names, Inman, 1868).