TARTAK

(Tarʹtak).

A deity worshiped by the Avvites, whom the king of Assyria settled in the territory of Samaria after his taking the Israelites of the ten-tribe kingdom into exile. (2 Ki. 17:31) Aside from the brief reference to Tartak in the Scriptures, nothing can be stated with any certainty concerning the nature of this deity. According to the Talmud, Tartak had the form of an ass. Based on the conclusion that the name “Tartak” may be comparable to the Pahlavi (Persian) word Tar-thakh (intense darkness, hero of darkness), it has been suggested that Tartak may have been a demon of the lower regions.