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Easton's Bible Dictionary
little fish; diminutive from dag = a fish, the fish-god;
The national god of the Philistines ( Judges
16:23 ). This idol had the body of a fish with the head and hands of a man.
It was an Assyrio-Babylonian deity, the worship of which was introduced among
the Philistines through Chaldea. The most famous of the temples of Dagon were
at Gaza ( Judges
16:23 - 30
) and Ashdod ( 1
Samuel 5:1 - 7
). (See FISH.)
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
corn; a fish
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(a fish) Apparently the masculine, ( 1 Samuel 5:3 , 5:4
) correlative of Atargatis, was the national god of the Philistines. The most
famous temples of Dagon were at Gaza, ( Judges 16:21 - 30 ) and Ashdod. ( 1 Samuel
5:5 , 5:6 ; 1 Chronicles 10:10 ) The latter temple was destroyed by Jonathan in
the Maccabaean wars. Traces of the worship of Dagon likewise appear in the names
Caphar-dagon (near Jamnia) and Beth-dagon in Judah, ( Joshua 15:41 ) and Asher.
( Joshua 19:27 ) Dagon was represented with the face and hands of a man and the
tail of a fish. ( 1 Samuel 5:5 ) The fish-like form was a natural emblem of fruitfulness,
and as such was likely to be adopted by seafaring tribes in the representation
of their gods.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
da'-gon (daghon; apparently derived from dagh, "fish"):
Name of the god of the Philistines (according to Jerome on Isaiah 46:1 of the
Philistines generally); in the Bible, Dagon is associated with Gaza (Judges 16)
but elsewhere with Ashdod (compare 1 Samuel 5 and 1 Macc 10:83 ; 11:4); in 1 Chronicles
10:10 there is probably an error (compare the passage 1 Samuel 31:10). The god
had his temple ("the house of Dagon") and his priests. When the ark was captured
by the Philistines, it was conducted to Ashdod where it was placed in the house
of Dagon by the side of the idol. But on the morrow it was found that the idol
lay prostrate before the ark of the Lord. It was restored to its place; but on
the following day Dagon again lay on the ground before the ark, this time with
the head and both hands severed from the body and lying upon the miphtan (the
word is commonly interpreted to mean "threshold"; according to Winckler, it means
"pedestal"); the body alone remained intact. The Hebrew says: "Dagon alone remained."
Whether we resort to an emendation (dagho, "his fish-part") or not, commentators
appear to be right in inferring that the idol was half-man, half-fish. Classic
authors give this form to Derceto. The sacred writer adds that from that time
on the priests of Dagon and all those that entered the house of Dagon refrained
from stepping upon the miphtan of Dagon. See 1 Samuel 5:1 - 5. The prophet Zephaniah
(Zechariah 1:9) speaks of an idolatrous practice which consisted in leaping over
the miphtan. The Septuagint in 1 Samuel indeed adds the clause: "but they were
accustomed to leap." Leaping over the threshold was probably a feature of the
Philistine ritual which the Hebrews explained in their way. A god Dagon seems
to have been worshipped by the Canaanites; see BETH-DAGON.
LITERATURE
Commentaries on Judges and 1 Samuel; Winckler, Altoriental. Forschungen, III,
383.
Max L. Margolis
Tags:
bible commentary, bible reference, bible study, define, dagon, history of, idol, fish, philistine god
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