I. Name
The name of the Phoenician god of health, Eshmun (ʾšmn), has been used by some scholars to explain the hap. leg. of Isa. 59.10 אשׁמנים as an abstract plural meaning ‘health’. Eshmun has also been connected with Ashima, the deity of the settlers from Hamath referred to in 2 Kgs. 17.30.
II. Identity
From the 8th century bce onward, the cult of the god Eshmun is attested in Syria, Palestine, Cyprus, Egypt, Carthage and other Punic cities. In a broken context, the Treaty of Ashurnera…