KJV1611,
"Ishtar" (a form of "Astarte") may sound similar to "Easter", but the two words are not etymologically related. Astarte is "עשׁתּרות (ashtarot)" in Hebrew. This name is derived from the word "עשׁתּרה (‛ashterâh)" which means "increase" or "flock" (Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions). "עשׁתּרה (‛ashterâh)" is translated as "flocks" four times in the KJV. Hence, the name "Astarte" or "Ishtar" is a Semitic word related to animal fertility. This makes sense because Astarte was regarded as a goddess of fertility.
The etymology of "Easter" on the other hand has nothing to do with "flocks" or animal fertility. "Easter" ("Ostern" in German) is a Germanic word derived from the word "east" ("Ost" in German). Today, "east" refers to the direction from which the sun rises. The direction of east goes by that name because the Saxon word "east" meant "dawn", "sunrise" or "morning". The etymology of "east" is as follows:
There is nothing in "East" that suggests animal fertility. Hence the word has nothing to do with Astarte or Ishtar. Relating the Germanic word "Easter" to the Semitic word "Ishtar" is as fallacious as relating the English word "Baby" to the Semitic word "Babylon".
Btw, relating the word "Easter" to the sun rising in the east is starting to make more sense relating it to the Son's resurrection.
"Ishtar" (a form of "Astarte") may sound similar to "Easter", but the two words are not etymologically related. Astarte is "עשׁתּרות (ashtarot)" in Hebrew. This name is derived from the word "עשׁתּרה (‛ashterâh)" which means "increase" or "flock" (Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions). "עשׁתּרה (‛ashterâh)" is translated as "flocks" four times in the KJV. Hence, the name "Astarte" or "Ishtar" is a Semitic word related to animal fertility. This makes sense because Astarte was regarded as a goddess of fertility.
The etymology of "Easter" on the other hand has nothing to do with "flocks" or animal fertility. "Easter" ("Ostern" in German) is a Germanic word derived from the word "east" ("Ost" in German). Today, "east" refers to the direction from which the sun rises. The direction of east goes by that name because the Saxon word "east" meant "dawn", "sunrise" or "morning". The etymology of "east" is as follows:
- "Old English east "east, easterly, eastward," from Proto-Germanic *aus-to-, *austra- "east, toward the sunrise" (cf. Old Frisian ast "east," aster "eastward," Dutch oost Old Saxon ost, Old High German ostan, German Ost, Old Norse austr "from the east"), from PIE *aus- "to shine," especially "dawn" (cf. Sanskrit ushas "dawn;" Greek aurion "morning;" Old Irish usah, Lithuanian auszra "dawn;" Latin aurora "dawn," auster "south"), literally "to shine." The east is the direction in which dawn breaks." (Online Etymological Dictionary)
There is nothing in "East" that suggests animal fertility. Hence the word has nothing to do with Astarte or Ishtar. Relating the Germanic word "Easter" to the Semitic word "Ishtar" is as fallacious as relating the English word "Baby" to the Semitic word "Babylon".
Btw, relating the word "Easter" to the sun rising in the east is starting to make more sense relating it to the Son's resurrection.
