I. Name

The goddess Atargatis does not occur in the Bible, but her sanctuary, an Atargateion, is mentioned in 2 Macc. 12.26. It was situated near Qarnaim, present day Sheich Saʿad 4 km north of Ashtarot-Qarnaim in the Hauran (cf. 1 Macc. 5.42–44; 2 Macc. 12.21–23; M. C. Astour, Ashteroth-Karnaim, ABD 1 [1992] 49). Her name is a compound of Ashtarte (Astarte) and ʿAnat (Anat) and is spelled in various ways: in Aramaic ʿtrʿth, ʿtrʿtʾ, ʾtrʿth, ʾtrʿtʾ, trʿt, in Greek Ἀταργατῖς, Ἀτάργατις, Ἀτταγάθη, Ἀτα…