1 Samuel 5

1 Samuel 5

Chart from recommended resource Jensen's Survey of the OT - used by permission 1 Samuel Chart from Charles Swindoll TIMELINE OF THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL, KINGS & CHRONICLES 1107 1011 971 931 853 722 586 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 1 Kings 2 Kings 31 1-4 5-10 11-20 21-24 1-11 12-22 1-17 18-25 1Chr 10 1 Chr 11-19 1 Chr 20-29 2 Chronicles 1-9 2 Chronicles 10-20 2 Chronicles 21-36 Legend: B.C. dates at top of timeline are approximate. Note that 931BC marks the division of the Kingdom into Southern Tribes (Judah and Benjamin) and Ten Northern Tribes. To avoid confusion be aware that after the division of the Kingdom in 931BC, the Southern Kingdom is most often designated in Scripture as "Judah" and the Northern Kingdom as "Israel." Finally, note that 1 Chronicles 1-9 is not identified on the timeline because these chapters are records of genealogy. The Ryrie Study Bible Map on Left ESV Global Study Bible, on right Jensen's Survey of the OT The Man Samuel in 1 Samuel 1-8 1 Samuel 5:1 Now the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. BGT 1 Samuel 5:1 καὶ ἀλλόφυλοι ἔλαβον τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἰσήνεγκαν αὐτὴν ἐξ Αβεννεζερ εἰς Ἄζωτον KJV 1 Samuel 5:1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod. NET 1 Samuel 5:1 Now the Philistines had captured the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. CSB 1 Samuel 5:1 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod, ESV 1 Samuel 5:1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. NIV 1 Samuel 5:1 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. NLT 1 Samuel 5:1 After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod. NRS 1 Samuel 5:1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod; RSV 1 Samuel 5:1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they carried it from Ebenezer to Ashdod; YLT 1 Samuel 5:1 And the Philistines have taken the ark of God, and bring it in from Eben-Ezer to Ashdod, NKJ 1 Samuel 5:1 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. NJB 1 Samuel 5:1 When the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. NAB 1 Samuel 5:1 The Philistines, having captured the ark of God, transferred it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. LXE 1 Samuel 5:1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Abenezer to Azotus. Philistines took the ark of God: 1Sa 4:11,17,18,22 Ps 78:61 Ebenezer: 1Sa 4:1 7:12 Ashdod called Azotus by the Greeks Jos 11:22 Ac 8:40 I love Tommy Nelson's title for his 1 Samuel 6 Sermon - Gentiles in the Hands of an Angry God (play Mp3). Now the Philistines (pelishti) took the Ark (aron) of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod - See the map above for depiction of this journey from Ebenezer to Ashdod which was about 20+/- miles. Notice to Whom the Ark ultimately belonged -- God (ark of God) See Ashdod on map above along the southwest coast of Philistia. As discussed in notes on 1Sa 4, this mention of Ebenezer is probably not the same location as the memorial set up at Ebenezer between Mizpah (see Mizpah on the map above located south and east of the first mention of Ebenezer) and Shen (1Sa 7:12+) Philistines (06430)(pelishti/pelistiy from Petesheth - territory on the southeast coast of Israel. Name of one who belonged to the ethnic group the Philistines who had settled in Philistia (see map). See Wikipedia article. See archaeology related to Philistines. Pelishti in 1-2 Samuel - 1Sa 4:1-3, 6-7, 9-10, 17; 5:1-2, 8, 11; 6:1-2, 4, 12, 16-18, 21; 7:3, 7-8, 10-11,13-14; 9:16; 10:5; 12:9; 13:3-5, 11-12, 16-17, 19-20,23; 14:1, 4, 11, 19, 21-22, 30-31, 36-37, 46-47, 52; 17:1-4, 8, 10-11, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26, 32-33, 36-37, 40ff, 48ff,57; 18:6, 17, 21, 25, 27, 30; 19:5, 8; 21:9; 22:10; 23:1ff, 27-28; 24:1; 27:1,7,11; 28:1, 4-5, 15, 19; 29:1-4, 7, 9, 11; 30:16; 31:1-2, 7-9, 11; 2Sa. 1:20; 3:14, 18; 5:17-19, 22, 24-25; 8:1, 12; 19:9; 21:12, 15, 17-19; 23:9ff,16 Ark (0727)(aron means a chest, a box (first use was coffin for Joseph's body - Ge 50:26), a container for funds to repair the Temple in (2 Ki 12:10-11, 2 Chr 24:8, 10-11). It is used most often of the Ark in the Holy of Holies and is first called the Ark of the Covenant in Nu 10:33. Aron is often used with another word to denote the ark of the covenant: "the ark of the Lord your God" (Josh. 4:5); "the ark of God" (1 Sam. 3:3); "the ark of the God of Israel" (1 Sam. 5:7); "the holy ark" (2 Chr. 35:3). The Ark contained the tablets of the law (Dt. 10:5); a copy of the Law which Moses had written (Dt. 31:26); a pot of manna (Ex 16:33, 34); Aaron's rod (Nu 17:10). Aron in 1-2 Samuel - 1 Sam. 3:3; 1 Sam. 4:3; 1 Sam. 4:4; 1 Sam. 4:5; 1 Sam. 4:6; 1 Sam. 4:11; 1 Sam. 4:13; 1 Sam. 4:17; 1 Sam. 4:18; 1 Sam. 4:19; 1 Sam. 4:21; 1 Sam. 4:22; 1 Sam. 5:1; 1 Sam. 5:2; 1 Sam. 5:3; 1 Sam. 5:4; 1 Sam. 5:7; 1 Sam. 5:8; 1 Sam. 5:10; 1 Sam. 5:11; 1 Sam. 6:1; 1 Sam. 6:2; 1 Sam. 6:3; 1 Sam. 6:8; 1 Sam. 6:11; 1 Sam. 6:13; 1 Sam. 6:15; 1 Sam. 6:18; 1 Sam. 6:19; 1 Sam. 6:21; 1 Sam. 7:1; 1 Sam. 7:2; 1 Sam. 14:18; 2 Sam. 6:2; 2 Sam. 6:3; 2 Sam. 6:4; 2 Sam. 6:6; 2 Sam. 6:7; 2 Sam. 6:9; 2 Sam. 6:10; 2 Sam. 6:11; 2 Sam. 6:12; 2 Sam. 6:13; 2 Sam. 6:15; 2 Sam. 6:16; 2 Sam. 6:17; 2 Sam. 7:2; 2 Sam. 11:11; 2 Sam. 15:24; 2 Sam. 15:25; 2 Sam. 15:29 Ashdod (0795)(Ashdod; Lxx = Azotus) Ashdod - 15v - Jos. 11:22; Jos. 15:46; Jos. 15:47; 1 Sam. 5:1; 1 Sam. 5:5; 1 Sam. 5:6; 1 Sam. 5:7; 1 Sam. 6:17; 2 Chr. 26:6; Isa. 20:1; Jer. 25:20; Amos 1:8; Amos 3:9; Zeph. 2:4; Zech. 9:6 QUESTION - . What does the term "Ebenezer" mean in the Bible? ANSWER - Most of us are familiar with the name “Ebenezer” because of the character Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’s novella A Christmas Carol. Because of that story, the name “Ebenezer” has taken on the connotation of miserliness and a lack of charity—although, to be fair, Ebenezer Scrooge did become a changed man at the end of the story. The name “Ebenezer” actually comes from the Bible. In 1 Samuel 7, during the end of the time of the judges, Israel experiences revival under the leadership of Samuel. The nation repents of their sin, destroys their idols, and begins to seek the Lord (1 Samuel 7:2–4). Samuel gathered the people at Mizpah where they confessed their sin, and Samuel offered a sacrifice on their behalf (verses 5–9). It was during this time of repentance and renewal that the enemy attacked: “While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle” (1 Samuel 7:10). The Israelites went out to do battle against the invaders, and God sent them supernatural help: “That day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites” (verse 10). Israel’s victory over the Philistines was decisive. Several cities the Philistines had captured were restored to Israel, and it was a long time before the Philistines tried to invade Israel again (1 Samuel 7:13–14). To commemorate the divine victory, “Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the LORD has helped us’” (verse 12). Ebenezer means “stone of help.” From then on, every time an Israelite saw the stone erected by Samuel, he would have a tangible reminder of the Lord’s power and protection. The “stone of help” marked the spot where the enemy had been routed and God’s promise to bless His repentant people had been honored. The Lord had helped them, all the way to Ebenezer.GotQuestions.org QUESTION - What is the significance of Ashdod in the Bible? ANSWER - Ashdod was one of the five primary Philistine cities: Gaza, Gath, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Ashdod. These were major metropolitan areas because later Ashdod, as well as the other cites, are mentioned as having “town and villages” (Joshua 15:46–47), perhaps similar to modern suburbs. Ashdod is mentioned several times in the book of Joshua in conjunction with the conquest of the Promised Land. Joshua 11:22 mentions that most of the Anakim (giant warriors) had been destroyed in the conquest, but a few remained in some of the Philistine cities including Ashdod. Gath, the future home of Goliath, is also mentioned here. Joshua led the people in the conquest and captured a number of major cities. The land was then divided among the tribes of Israel who were then supposed to finish taking control of their territory. However, by the time Joshua is old and ready to pass from the scene, there were some areas that had not yet been subdued including Ashdod and the other four primary Philistine cities (Joshua 13:3). Ashdod was in the territory allotted to Judah (Joshua 15:46–47). The Philistines continued to present problems for Israel for many years to come. Although the Philistines figure prominently in the book of Judges, Ashdod is not mentioned in that book. In 1 Samuel, the Israelites decide to carry the ark of the covenant into battle against the Philistines. They do this, treating the ark almost as if it were a “good luck charm,” and God, in response, allows the ark to be captured by the Philistines and taken to Ashdod: When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god” (1 Samuel 5:1–7, ESV). The leaders of Ashdod sent the ark to Gath, where similar things happened, and the Gathites sent it on to Ekron. Ultimately, the Philistines decided they had to send the ark back to Israel. The whole story is found in 1 Samuel 5—6. During the time of Saul and David, the Philistines are a frequent enemy, but Ashdod is not specifically mentioned in conjunction with either king. After the time of David, the Philistines are not mentioned as prominent enemies, although King Uzziah is commended for his campaign against the Philistines. One of his specific accomplishments was breaking through the wall of Ashdod (2 Chronicles 26:6). Amos prophesied judgment against Ashdod (Amos 1:8; 3:9), and later the Assyrian armies defeated Ashdod (Isaiah 20:1). Years after that, Jeremiah also prophesied judgment against “the remnant of Ashdod” to be carried out at the hands of the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 25:20). After the Jews’ return from exile, some of the people of Ashdod were among those who opposed the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah (Nehemiah 4:7). Nehemiah was also dismayed to find that some of the Israelites had intermarried with the women of Ashdod and many of the children could not even speak “the language of Judah” (Nehemiah 13:23–24). Zephaniah also gives a word on the Philistines: “For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon shall become a desolation, Ashdod’s people shall be driven out at noon, and Ekron shall be uprooted” (Zephaniah 2:4, ESV). And, finally, Zechariah weighs in: “Ashkelon shall see [the judgment of God on the surrounding nations] and be afraid; Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish; Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded. The king shall perish from Gaza; Ashkelon shall be uninhabited; a mixed people shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of Philistia” (Zechariah 9:5–6, ESV). However, even in judgment there is mercy. Immediately following the pronouncement of doom, Zechariah includes a note of hope: “I will take away its blood from its mouth, and its abominations from between its teeth; it too shall be a remnant for our God; it shall be like a clan in Judah” (Zechariah 9:7, ESV). In the future, the Philistines would cease to eat unclean food and join in true worship of God. The historian Josephus reports that many Philistines became proselytes to Judaism. Yet there still awaits an even greater fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. Philistines or their descendants will one day be part of the great congregation made of every tribe and tongue and people and nation who worship God (Revelation 7:9–10).GotQuestions.org The Journey of the Ark of the Covenant 1–2 Samuel Adapted from ESV Study Bible Journey of First 8 Stop of the Ark 1 Sam. 3:3 The Lord calls to Samuel who is sleeping in the tent of meeting, “where the ark of God was” 1 Samuel 4 Philistines capture the ark (for seven months: 1 Sam. 6:1) 1 Sam. 5:1–7 Philistines bring the ark to Ashdod, setting it up next to the idol Dagon 1 Sam. 5:8–9 Philistines bring the ark to Gath 1 Sam. 5:10–12 Philistines send the ark to Ekron 1 Sam. 6:10–15 Philistines return the ark with guilt offering to Beth-shemesh 1 Sam. 6:19–21 The Lord strikes 70 men for looking upon the ark 1 Sam. 7:1–2 Men of Kiriath-jearim take the ark to the house of Abinadab (where it stays for 20 years) 1 Sam. 14:18 Saul commands Ahijah to bring the ark to the war camp 2 Sam. 6:2–5 David begins to move the ark to Jerusalem on a cart 2 Sam. 6:6–7 The Lord strikes Uzzah dead for holding on to the ark 2 Sam. 6:10–11 David takes the ark to the house of Obed-edom, where it stays for three months 2 Sam. 6:12–17 David brings the ark to Jerusalem, and places it inside the tent he pitched for it 2 Sam. 15:24–25 Zadok brings the ark to David, who commands him to carry it back to Jerusalem 2 Sam. 15:29 Zadok and Abiathar carry the ark back to Jerusalem 1 Samuel 5:2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. KJV 1 Samuel 5:2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. NET 1 Samuel 5:2 The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, where they positioned it beside Dagon. CSB 1 Samuel 5:2 brought it into the temple of Dagon and placed it next to his statue. ESV 1 Samuel 5:2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. NIV 1 Samuel 5:2 Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. NLT 1 Samuel 5:2 They carried the Ark of God into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon. NRS 1 Samuel 5:2 then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon. RSV 1 Samuel 5:2 then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. YLT 1 Samuel 5:2 and the Philistines take the ark of God and bring it into the house of Dagon, and set it near Dagon. NKJ 1 Samuel 5:2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the temple of Dagon and set it by Dagon. NJB 1 Samuel 5:2 Taking the ark of God, the Philistines put it in the temple of Dagon, setting it down beside Dagon. NAB 1 Samuel 5:2 They then took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, placing it beside Dagon. LXE 1 Samuel 5:2 And the Philistines took the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. ASV 1 Samuel 5:2 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. of Dagon: Judges 16:23 1Chr 10:10 Da 5:2,23 Hab 1:11,16 MY GOD IS STRONGER THAN YOUR GOD! Then - The time significant word then marks progression in the narrative. From Ebenezer, to Ashdod and then into the temple of Dagon. There is a saying kids often toss around that "My dad is stronger than your dad." The Philistines by taking the Ark of God to the temple of their god was as if they were saying to Israel "Our god is stronger than your God!" They would soon learn that sayings like this are dangerous when it comes to Yahweh! The depiction of Dagon is most often with the head of a man and body of a fish (recall the Philistines were sea peoples originally). In light of this depiction of Dagon it is interesting to compare the depiction on the modern flag of Ashdod! The Philistines (pelishti) took the Ark (aron) of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon - Ashdod had a temple ("house") for Dagon. Bringing the Hebrew's God into the Temple of their God was tantamount to their belief that the victory had shown their "god" to be superior, but that false impression word soon change! Stated another way to bring the captured Ark of the Covenant into the pagan temple was meant to be a sign of submission of Yahweh to Dagon, the pagan god of that temple. It is notable that this is the second time the Philistines wrongly assumed that Yahweh (and His representatives in this case Samson) had been shown to be submissive to their god Dagon Now the lords of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice, for they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands ("HANDS" - STRENGTH, AUTHORITY).” 24 When the people saw him, they praised their god, for they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hands, Even the destroyer of our country, Who has slain many of us.” (Jdg 16:23,24+) As would soon prove to be the case with the second supposed "victory" over Yahweh, Yahweh's man Samson had the last word on this first occasion, clearly showing Yahweh's supremacy over all so-called gods of men... Now the house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines were there. And about 3,000 men and women were on the roof looking on while Samson was amusing them. 28 Then Samson called to the LORD and said, “O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. 30 And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he bent with all his might so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life. (Jdg 16:27-30+) The Philistines later killed King Saul and again in a vain attempt to show their god Dagon was greater than Israel's God "They put his (KING SAUL, GOD'S REPRESENTATIVE'S) armor in the house of their gods and fastened his head in the house of Dagon." (1Chr 10:10) Is this not a tragic irony that the severed head of Saul would be placed before the same so-called god whose head had been severed by Jehovah! Dagon (01712)(Dagon from dag = a fish) is a masculine noun representing the pagan god of the Philistines. Gilbrant - Dagon, the Philistine god of grain, was first mentioned in Judg. 16:23, where we are told the Philistine rulers were assembled in Gaza to offer a great sacrifice. His name again occurs in 1 Sam. 5:2-7 and in 1 Chr. 10:10. His worship seems to have been associated with the two great urban centers of the Philistines, Gaza and Ashdod. In the latter case, the Ark of the Covenant when captured by the Philistines, had been placed in the Temple of Dagon at Ashdod (1 Samuel 5). We have a vivid picture of God's judgment on any form of idolatry in 1 Sam. 5:3f. The idol of Dagon was in effect destroyed after the Ark had been set beside it. Prior to that event of judgment, the Temple of Dagon at Gaza was destroyed by Samson, a judge of Israel. Dagon was also worshiped at Beth-Shan (1 Sam. 31:10; 1 Chr. 10:10). The history of the worship of Dagon dates to before 2000 B.C., when a Temple to his honor at Ugarit was built. Dagon was a major deity of the Amorite population in the Old Babylonian Period, as well as the peoples who lived in the area of the fertile crescent (he is mentioned among the gods at Ebla, Palestine, Phoenicia and elsewhere, always as a major object of worship). H.G. Stigers (Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, 3:3) points out that archeological evidence in the form of a tablet from Ugarib dated ca. 1580-1350 B.C., established commercial relations with the Palestinian cities of Ashdod, Askelon and Akko. This presents strong support for the view that traders doing business in those Palestinian cities likely carried the worship of their principal god, Dagon, with them and that such worship was absorbed into the religious practices and perspectives of the peoples of Palestine. Temples existed at Mari and Terqa in the Amorite realm of the Upper Euphrates, in modern Syria. The Mari Archive attests to worshippers engaging in ecstatic prophecy in these temples, speaking the words of Dagon to be delivered to the king. Sumerian names from the mid-third millennium B.C., also exist. Because Philistia was located in the narrow coastal plain of southwestern Palestine (extending from Joppa to the north to just south of Gaza), a major grain-producing area, the worship of Dagon by the Philistines and in coastal Palestine was a natural sociological by-product of geographic conditions. (Complete Biblical Library) Dagon - 7v - Jdg. 16:23; 1Sam. 5:2; 1Sam. 5:3; 1Sam. 5:4; 1Sam. 5:5; 1Sam. 5:7; 1Chr. 10:10 QUESTION - Who was Dagon in the Bible? ANSWER - Dagon was the chief deity of the Philistines, and the worship of this pagan god dates back the third millennium BC. According to ancient mythology, Dagon was the father of Baʿal. He was the fish god (dag in Hebrew means “fish”), and he was represented as a half-man, half-fish creature. This image furthered an evolutionary belief that both men and fish had evolved together from the primal waters. Dagon may also have been the provider of grain. So Dagon was similar to many other idols in that he personified natural forces that had supposedly produced all things (cf Ro 1:23). There are three places where Dagon is mentioned in the Bible. The first mention is Judges 16:23+, where we are told that Dagon was the god of the Philistines. The Philistines offered “a great sacrifice” to Dagon, believing that their idol had delivered Samson into their hands. First Chronicles 10:10 mentions a temple of Dagon in which the head of King Saul was fastened. Then, in 1 Samuel 5, Dagon is brought to humiliation by the True God of the Israelites. What an interesting story is found in 1 Samuel 5! The Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant, and they “carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of [the city of] Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon’s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold. The Lord’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors. When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, ‘The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god’” (verses 2-7). Who says God does not have a sense of humor? This has to be one of the more funny passages in the entire Bible. For further reading, see 1 Samuel 6 for the account of the Philistines’ attempt to solve their dilemma—with golden rats and golden tumors (or, as some translations put it, “golden hemorrhoids”)! Dagon figures into the story of Jonah, as well, although the deity is not mentioned by name in Jonah’s book. The Assyrians in Nineveh, to whom Jonah was sent as a missionary, worshiped Dagon and his female counterpart, the fish goddess Nanshe. Jonah, of course, did not go straight to Nineveh but had to be brought there via miraculous means. The transportation God provided for Jonah—a great fish—would have been full of meaning for the Ninevites. When Jonah arrived in their city, he made quite a splash, so to speak. He was a man who had been inside a fish for three days and directly deposited by a fish on dry land. The Ninevites, who worshiped a fish god, were duly impressed; they gave Jonah their attention and repented of their sin. GotQuestions.org J. F. HEALEY - DAGON דגון (Borrow Dictionary of deities and demons in the Bible - discussion on page 244) I. Dagon is the Hebrew form of the name of the god Dagan, who was an important Mesopotamian and West Semitic deity. Dagon occurs as a Philistine deity in the Hebrew Bible, specifically as the god of Ashdod (1 Sam 5:1–7 and 1 Macc 10:83–84; Judg 16:23 [Gaza]; 1 Chr 10:10 [Beth-Shan?]). The LXX also reads the name Δαγων instead of Nebo (→Nabû) in Isa 46:1. The etymology of the name Dagan is uncertain. Etymologies based on dāg, ‘fish’, dāgān, ‘grain’, and on a root meaning ‘be cloudy’ (Arabic dajj or dajana) are all equally dubious and there is no contextual evidence from the Hebrew Bible or from Mesopotamian/West Semitic sources to give much support to these speculations. It is wiser to restrict oneself to what can be known from the evidence, principally that Dagan was a deity of major significance in the Mari region in the Old Babylonian period and that his worship appears to have spread widely in later times. He was thus adopted, no doubt in some syncretistic form, perhaps as a corn-god, by the Philistines. II. Dagan is one of the most persistent deities of the world of Semitic religion. His worship is well attested from the third millennium BCE in the Ebla texts and he appears in Sargonic personal names, but neither source gives any hint of the precise nature of this deity. In Ebla, though important in cult, he is rarely named, but called by various titles including dBE (bēlu, ‘Lord’) and dLUGAL-du-du-luki (‘Lord of Tuttul’). Temples, festivals and even a section of the city were dedicated to Dagan. Sargon attributed his conquest of Upper/Western Mesopotamia to Dagan and worshipped him in Tuttul. This confirms Dagan’s regional authority, leaving southern Mesopotamia to other deities, including Enlil. He is well attested in the Mari texts as one of the principal deities of the Amorites of Old Babylonian Upper Mesopotamia and he is specifically linked with Mari, his great cult-centres being at Terqa and especially Tuttul. It may be noted that Dagan is often connected in the Mari texts with the activities of ecstatics/prophets who received messages from the god in his temple, which were then transmitted to the king. In southern Mesopotamia Dagan was sometimes identified with the god Enlil. This may suggest some ‘storm-god’ aspect (supporting the etymology linking the name with the possible Arabic cognate noted above), though the significance of the equation may not be this aspect and the Arabic cognate is extremely remote. The westward ‘migration’ of Dagan is already evident in the Ugaritic texts. He has a rather minor role in Ugaritic mythology, playing a very small and obscure part in the Nikkal poem. The context here is fragmentary, but it is possible that Dagan is mentioned as the father of the lunar deity Yarikh (→Moon) (KTU 1.24:14). He has no active role in the main myths and legends and is merely mentioned as the father of Baʿal (called bn dgn, ḥtk dgn). His paternity of Baʿal might be interpreted as implying characteristics similar to Baʿal’s. Be this as it may, Dagan’s importance in Ugaritic religion is confirmed by his relative popularity in offering-lists and similar texts. From the fact that he is the recipient of offerings recorded on two stelae found in the precinct of a major temple (KTU 6.13 and 6.14) it appears that one of the two principal temples at Ugarit was dedicated to Dagan, though the evidence is not completely conclusive. The other temple was that of Baʿal. Ugaritic ‘theology’ (as opposed to the different world of Ugaritic mythology) may be reflected in the local pantheon lists and the main one of these, extant in several versions, puts Dagan in third place, after →El and →Ilib but before Baʿal (see KTU 1.47; 1.118 and Akkadian RS 20.24 = Ugaritica V i, 18). It is noteworthy that in the Ugaritic texts Dagan is twice called dgn ttl, ‘Dagan of Tuttul’ (KTU 1.100:15; 1.24:14 [tt(l)]), a title which shows the continuity of the Ugaritic Dagan tradition with that of Mari. The fact of Dagan’s having no active part in the main Baʿal myths may reflect the relative lateness of his arrival on the Syrian coast. References to Baʿal as ‘son of Dagan’ also present considerable problems, since he is clearly also the son of El. Some have sought to resolve this by assuming that Dagan is to be identified with El, but this idea is hard to maintain in view of the fact that the two were separately worshipped. Others suggest the title ‘son of Dagan’ reflects an awareness of Baʿal’s foreignness and secondariness within the history of the Ugaritic pantheon. It may well be that the confusion arises from a lack of fixity in the genealogy of the Ugaritic gods. Biblical evidence of Philistine worship of Dagan (below)—the form of the name recorded for this is Dagon, reflecting a shift of ā to ō—is uninformative in detail, but clearly implies that the deity was taken over by the Philistines as a national god. We must assume his worship had been widespread throughout the coastal (corn-producing?) area which the Philistines came to call their own. The adoption of pre-existing cults, no doubt still popular among the Semitic population, can be regarded as normal. It may be noted, however, that there is only one possible direct Phoenician allusion to Dagan/Dagon, in the phrase ʾrṣt dgn hʾdrt, ‘the rich lands of Dagon’, in the fifth century BCE Eshmunazar inscription (KAI 14:19). Dagon does, however, have a prominent role in Philo of Byblos’ speculative account of Phoenician religion (below). ROBERTS (1972:18–19) argued for Dagan having had an underworld role. His argument is largely based on the underworld aspect of Enlil, with whom Dagan was identified, though he also cites a Mari text in which Dagan is called bēl pagrê, which Roberts takes to mean ‘lord of the sacrifices for the dead’. This translation is dubious: ‘lord of sacrificial victims’ may be more likely. There is, however, some slight evidence pointing in the direction of the funerary cult in that an inscription of Shamshi-Adad I seems to connect the bı̄t kispi (‘temple of the funerary ritual’) in Terqa with the temple of Dagan there. We cannot resolve the question of the etymology of the name Dagan/Dagon. It could be pre-Semitic. The connection with ‘fish’ (cf. Biblical evidence as interpreted by Wellhausen [below], Jerome and later Jewish tradition [Rashi, Kimchi]) is entirely secondary, being based on a folk etymology. The name Dagan appears to have been a ‘given’ which needed explanation and the explanation arrived at would, conveniently, help to make sense of certain difficulties in one of the Biblical texts (see below). This made the ‘fish’ connection the more attractive, but it has little intrinsic merit. As an interpretation it is only loosely supported by the Philistine association with the sea and analogies with the goddess Derketo at a later date. As for ‘grain’, this suggestion has a venerable ancestry in that this is the significance of Dagan in Philo of Byblos, where Dagon is identical with Siton and is regarded as having discovered grain and the plough. This cannot, however, be regarded as settling the issue and it is now a widely held view that the word for ‘grain’ comes from the name of the god and not vice versa. Perhaps more simply we might suppose that the connection with ‘grain’ is secondary and based on the coincidence of the West Semitic word for grain (e.g. Hebrew and Ugaritic [one doubtful occurrence: KTU 1.16 iii:13]) and the Mesopotamian name of the god being homonyms. The grain-related meaning of the root dgn is distinctively West Semitic. It would not have been known to a Mesopotamian worshipper of the deity and cannot have been at all prominent in the understanding of his name. Finally the Arabic dajana, ‘to be gloomy, cloudy’, not found elsewhere in Semitic, has been adopted by many recent scholars. As we have seen, connection with storms (since Dagan was Enlil-like and also the father of Baʿal) is possible though never explicit. The appeal to such a remote Semitic cognate for etymology smacks of desperation. III. 1 Sam 5:1–7 contains the most important of the Biblical references to Dagan/Dagon. The passage concerns the bringing of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines into the temple of their god Dagon in Ashdod. The introduction of the captured Ark into a temple is meant to be a sign of submission to the god of the particular temple. According to the story in 1 Sam, however, the statue of Dagon fell down (in submission) before the Ark and was smashed. There is a difficulty in the text of the end of v. 4: raq dāgōn nišʾar ʿālā(y)w, apparently “only Dagon was left upon him”. BHK and BHS recognise the need for a construct noun before ‘Dagon’ and this is reflected in the ancient versions (LXX: ἡ ῥάχις, backbone; Vg: truncus, body without limbs; Tg: gwpyh, his body, Syr: gwšmh, his body). Wellhausen would correct dāgōn to dāgō, ‘his fish(-part)’, and this is still favoured by BHK. This would give ‘only his fish-part remained upon him’, which would, if accepted, support the connecting of Dagan’s name with dāg, ‘fish’, a tradition represented in Jerome (<dag ʾōn, ‘fish of tribulation’!) and in the Talmud. It is notable, however, that while the ancient versions are aware of a problem with the text, this is not an interpretation they put upon it. The Wellhausen suggestion is now rightly abandoned by BHS. Of the remaining Biblical references to Dagan/Dagon, note may be made of other passages which confirm the association of the god with the Philistines. In Judg 16:23 the Philistine chiefs assemble, presumably in the temple of Dagon, to offer sacrifice of thanksgiving to Dagon for their capture of Samson. Dagon is called ‘their/our god’ and he receives a zebaḥ gādōl, ‘a great sacrifice’. Although it is not explicitly stated here that there was a Dagon temple at Gaza, no change of locale is implied and it seems likely that there was such a temple, since there appear to have been many temples of the god. Josh 15:41 and 19:27, where the placename Beth-Dagon occurs, imply there were such temples in Judah and in Asher. According to 1 Chr 10:10 the head of Saul was initially displayed by the Philistines as a trophy of war in a temple of Dagon. This appears to have been at Beth-Shan (1 Sam 31:10). That the cult of Dagon persisted into the intertestamental period is clear from 1 Macc 10:83–84, according to which the High Priest Jonathan burned down the temple of Dagon in Azotus, i.e. Ashdod, which had become the place of refuge of the cavalry of Apollonius, governor of Coele-Syria. In addition to these explicit biblical references to the god Dagon, note should be made of a number of biblical verses in which it has been argued that the occurrence of the word dāgān, ‘grain’, intends an allusion to the deity. Thus in Gen 27:28 and Hos 7:14 and 9:1 (e.g. ALBRIGHT 1946: 1046). The claimed allusion in Gen 27:28 is without foundation, since nothing in the context suggests anything to do with foreign gods and dāgān is satisfactorily translated as ‘grain’, one of the divine gifts in Isaac’s blessing upon his son. Here and elsewhere ‘grain’ is associated with →‘dew’ (ṭal), ‘fatness of the earth’ and ‘new wine’ (tîrôš, →Tirash). The fact that ṭal and ṭîrôš may elsewhere have mythological overtones does not prove that dāgān has such overtones in Gen 27:28. The case of the Hosea passages is different, since it is clear that it is one of Hosea’s themes that it was Yahweh, not the foreign gods, who gave Israel “the grain, the wine and the oil” (2:10–11:12). In these cases there may be a faint echo of the divine name Dagan (though the fact that the definite article is used means that it is indeed faint). In Hos 7:14 the specific context is that of turning to other gods and “for dāgān and ṭîrôš (without definite articles) they gash themselves” may plausibly be interpreted as an allusion to illicit cult, though the allusion could be simply to a cult of lamentation for the failure of vegetation. Hos 9:1, “you have loved a prostitute’s payment upon all the threshing-floors of dāgān”, could again contain an allusion to the deity. IV. Bibliography W. F. ALBRIGHT, Archaeology and the Religion of Israel (Baltimore 19462); A. CAQUOT & M. SZNYCER, Textes Ougaritiques. Tome I: Mythes et Légendes (Paris 1974); A. COOPER, Divine Names and Epithets in the Ugaritic Texts, RSP III (Rome 1981) 361–363; L. K. HANDY, Dagon, ABD 2 (1992) 1–2; J. F. HEALEY, The Underworld Character of the God Dagan, JNSL 5 (1977) 43–51; HEALEY, The “Pantheon” of Ugarit: Further Notes, SEL 5 (1988) 103–112; F. J. MONTALBANO, Canaanite Dagon: Origin, Nature, CBQ 13 (1951) 381–397; M. J. MULDER, Kanaänitische Goden in het Oude Testament (The Hague 1965) 71–75; G. PETTINATO & H. WAETZOLDT, Dagān in Ebla und Mesopotamien nach den Texten aus dem 3. Jahrtausend, Or 54 (1985) 234–256; H. RINGGREN, Dagan, דגן, TWAT 2, 148–151 (TDOT 3; 139–142); J. J. M. ROBERTS, The Earliest Semitic Pantheon (Baltimore/London 1972); H. SCHMÖKEL, Der Gott Dagon, Ursprung, Verbreitung und Wesen seines Kultes (Leipzig 1928); S. A. WIGGINS, Old Testament Dagan in the Light of Ugarit, VT 43 (1993) 268–274. 1 Samuel 5:3 When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. BGT 1 Samuel 5:3 καὶ ὤρθρισαν οἱ Ἀζώτιοι καὶ εἰσῆλθον εἰς οἶκον Δαγων καὶ εἶδον καὶ ἰδοὺ Δαγων πεπτωκὼς ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐνώπιον κιβωτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἤγειραν τὸν Δαγων καὶ κατέστησαν εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐβαρύνθη χεὶρ κυρίου ἐπὶ τοὺς Ἀζωτίους καὶ ἐβασάνισεν αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰς ἕδρας αὐτῶν τὴν Ἄζωτον καὶ τὰ ὅρια αὐτῆς KJV 1 Samuel 5:3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. NET 1 Samuel 5:3 When the residents of Ashdod got up early the next day, Dagon was lying on the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him back in his place. CSB 1 Samuel 5:3 When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. ESV 1 Samuel 5:3 And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. NIV 1 Samuel 5:3 When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. NLT 1 Samuel 5:3 But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the LORD! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again. NRS 1 Samuel 5:3 When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. RSV 1 Samuel 5:3 And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. YLT 1 Samuel 5:3 And the Ashdodites rise early on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah; and they take Dagon, and put it back to its place. NKJ 1 Samuel 5:3 And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again. NJB 1 Samuel 5:3 When the people of Ashdod got up the following morning and went to the temple of Dagon, there lay Dagon face down on the ground before the ark of Yahweh. They picked Dagon up and put him back in his place. NAB 1 Samuel 5:3 When the people of Ashdod rose early the next morning, Dagon was lying prone on the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they picked Dagon up and replaced him. LXE 1 Samuel 5:3 And the people of Azotus rose early, and entered into the house of Dagon; and looked, and behold, Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark of the Lord: and they lifted up Dagon, and set him in his place. And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Azotians, and he plagued them, and he smote them in their secret parts, Azotus and her coasts. ASV 1 Samuel 5:3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of Jehovah. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. Dagon : Ex 12:12 Ps 97:7 Isa 19:1 46:1,2 Zep 2:11 Mk 3:11 Lu 10:18-20 2Co 6:14-16 set him: Isa 19:1 40:20 41:7 44:17-20 46:1,2,7 Jer 10:8 A BAD WAY TO BEGIN YOUR MORNING IN ASHDOD When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD - The Philistines thought that Dagon had given them their victory over the Hebrews, but they were wrong. Yahweh had given them the victory! The omnipotent God was now demonstrating His power over Dagon, even making him fall on his face before Him. It was almost as if Yahweh said "Your "little g" God will bow before Me on his face and worship Me!" Yahweh's message was clear, but the Ashdodites were slow learners as we shall see! Robert Bergen - Early the next morning, at the time of day prescribed in the Torah for the first daily act of worship toward the Lord (cf. Exod 24:14; 29:39, 41; 30:7; Lev 6:12, 20; 9:17; Num 28:4, 23), Dagon was found in a posture of reverence and submission before “the ark of the Lord” (v. 3); “his face” was “on the ground” (cf. Gen 19:1; 24:52; Neh 8:6). The writer, subtly suggesting the futility of the Philistine’s idolatrous practices (cf. Isa 44:9–20; Jer 10:5; Hab 2:18; Acts 19:26; 1 Cor 8:4), noted that the people of Ashdod had to “put” Dagon “back in his place.” Their god, thought to be so virile on the battlefield, in the confines of his own dwelling did not even have the strength to lift his face out of the dust! (Borrow 1 & 2 Samuel - New American Commentary) Warren