Ashima

Ashima is mentioned briefly in 2Ki.17.30 as a deity worshipped by the people of Hamath, a city in Syria. After the Assyrian king resettled various peoples in Samaria, each group continued to worship their own gods, including the Hamathites who made Ashima their god.

Little is known about Ashima beyond this single reference in the Bible. The name Ashima may be derived from the Semitic root "šm," meaning "name" or "heaven." Some scholars suggest that Ashima could be a variant of the Semitic goddess Asherah or a local deity specific to Hamath.

The worship of Ashima by the Hamathites in Samaria illustrates the religious syncretism that occurred when people from different cultures were resettled in Israel by the Assyrians. This practice of worshipping foreign gods alongside or in place of the Lord was condemned by the biblical writers as a violation of the covenant relationship between God and His people.