ASHIMA (a-shī'ma). A god of the Hamathites, whose worship was brought to Samaria at its repopulation by the king of Assyria about 715 b.c. (2Kgs.17.30). There is no certain reference to Ashima outside the OT.


ASHIMA ə shī’ mə (אֲשִׁימָֽא). A deity worshiped by the men of Hamath who had settled in Samaria (2 Kings 17:30). Nothing further is known of him. It has been suggested that the name is a corruption of “Ashera,” the name of the Canaanite mother goddess. Amos 8:14, RSV, has ASHIMAH.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

a-shi’-ma, ash’-i-ma (’ashima’; Asimath): A deity worshipped at Hamath (2Ki 17:30) of whom nothing further is known. It has been suggested that the name is the same as that of the goddess Simi, the daughter of the supreme god Hadad, who was worshipped at Membij, but there is nothing to support the suggestion.