Reference: Dagon
American
Fish-god, a national idol of the Philistines, with temples at Gaza, Ashdid, etc., 1Ch 10:10. The temple at Gaza was destroyed by Samson, Jg 16:21-30. In that at Ashdod, Dagon twice miraculously fell down before the ark of God; and in the second fall his head and hands were broken off, leaving only the body, which was in the form of a large fish, 1Sa 5:1-9. See Jos 15:41; 19:27. There were other idols of like form among the ancients, particularly the goddess Derceto of Atergatis; and a similar form or "incarnation" of Vishnu is at this day much worshipped in India, and like Dagon is destined to be prostrated in the dust before the true God.
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and Gederoth, Beth-Dagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities and their villages.
and hath turned back, at the sun-rising, to Beth-Dagon, and come against Zebulun, and against the valley of Jiphthah-El toward the north of Beth-Emek, and Neiel, and hath gone out unto Cabul on the left,
And the Philistines seize him, and pick out his eyes, and bring him down to Gaza, and bind him with two brazen fetters; and he is grinding in the prison-house. And the hair of his head beginneth to shoot up, when he hath been shaven, read more. and the princes of the Philistines have been gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; and they say, 'Our god hath given into our hand Samson our enemy.' And the people see him, and praise their god, for they said, 'Our god hath given in our hand our enemy, and he who is laying waste our land, and who multiplied our wounded.' And it cometh to pass, when their heart is glad, that they say, 'Call for Samson, and he doth play before us;' and they call for Samson out of the prison-house, and he playeth before them, and they cause him to stand between the pillars. And Samson saith unto the young man who is keeping hold on his hand, 'Let me alone, and let me feel the pillars on which the house is established, and I lean upon them.' And the house hath been full of men and of women, and thither are all the princes of the Philistines, and on the roof are about three thousand men and women, who are looking on the playing of Samson. And Samson calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray Thee, and strengthen me, I pray Thee, only this time, O God; and I am avenged -- vengeance at once -- because of my two eyes, on the Philistines.' And Samson turneth aside to the two middle pillars, on which the house is established, and on which it is supported, to the one with his right hand, and one with his left; and Samson saith, 'Let me die with the Philistines,' and he inclineth himself powerfully, and the house falleth on the princes, and on all the people who are in it, and the dead whom he hath put to death in his death are more than those whom he put to death in his life.
And the Philistines have taken the ark of God, and bring it in from Eben-Ezer to Ashdod, and the Philistines take the ark of God and bring it into the house of Dagon, and set it near Dagon. read more. 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. And they rise early in the morning on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah, and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands are cut off at the threshold, only the fishy part hath been left to him; therefore the priests of Dagon, and all those coming into the house of Dagon, tread not on the threshold of Dagon, in Ashdod, till this day. And the hand of Jehovah is heavy on the Ashdodites, and He maketh them desolate, and smiteth them with emerods, Ashdod and its borders. And the men of Ashdod see that it is so, and have said, 'The ark of the God of Israel doth not abide with us, for hard hath been His hand upon us, and upon Dagon our god.' And they send and gather all the princes of the Philistines unto them, and say, 'What do we do to the ark of the God of Israel?' and they say, 'To Gath let the ark of the God of Israel be brought round;' and they bring round the ark of the God of Israel; and it cometh to pass after they have brought it round, that the hand of Jehovah is against the city -- a very great destruction; and He smiteth the men of the city, from small even unto great; and break forth on them do emerods.
Easton
little fish; diminutive from dag = a fish, the fish-god; the national god of the Philistines (Jg 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 (Jg 16:23-30) and Ashdod (1Sam 5:1-7|). (See Fish.)
Illustration: Fish-God from Khorsabad
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and the princes of the Philistines have been gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; and they say, 'Our god hath given into our hand Samson our enemy.'
and the princes of the Philistines have been gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; and they say, 'Our god hath given into our hand Samson our enemy.' And the people see him, and praise their god, for they said, 'Our god hath given in our hand our enemy, and he who is laying waste our land, and who multiplied our wounded.' read more. And it cometh to pass, when their heart is glad, that they say, 'Call for Samson, and he doth play before us;' and they call for Samson out of the prison-house, and he playeth before them, and they cause him to stand between the pillars. And Samson saith unto the young man who is keeping hold on his hand, 'Let me alone, and let me feel the pillars on which the house is established, and I lean upon them.' And the house hath been full of men and of women, and thither are all the princes of the Philistines, and on the roof are about three thousand men and women, who are looking on the playing of Samson. And Samson calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray Thee, and strengthen me, I pray Thee, only this time, O God; and I am avenged -- vengeance at once -- because of my two eyes, on the Philistines.' And Samson turneth aside to the two middle pillars, on which the house is established, and on which it is supported, to the one with his right hand, and one with his left; and Samson saith, 'Let me die with the Philistines,' and he inclineth himself powerfully, and the house falleth on the princes, and on all the people who are in it, and the dead whom he hath put to death in his death are more than those whom he put to death in his life.
And the Philistines have taken the ark of God, and bring it in from Eben-Ezer to Ashdod, and the Philistines take the ark of God and bring it into the house of Dagon, and set it near Dagon. read more. 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. And they rise early in the morning on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah, and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands are cut off at the threshold, only the fishy part hath been left to him; therefore the priests of Dagon, and all those coming into the house of Dagon, tread not on the threshold of Dagon, in Ashdod, till this day. And the hand of Jehovah is heavy on the Ashdodites, and He maketh them desolate, and smiteth them with emerods, Ashdod and its borders. And the men of Ashdod see that it is so, and have said, 'The ark of the God of Israel doth not abide with us, for hard hath been His hand upon us, and upon Dagon our god.'
Fausets
Diminutive (expressing endearment) of dag, "a fish." The male god to which Atargatis corresponds (2Ma 12:26), the Syrian goddess with a woman's body and fish's tail, worshipped at Hierapolis and Ascalon. Our fabulous mermaid is derived from this Phoenician idol. She corresponds to the Greek foam-sprung Aphrodite. The divine principle supposed to produce the seeds of all things from moisture. Twice a year, water was brought from distant places and poured into a chasm in the temple, through which the waters of the flood were said to have been drained away (Lucian de Syr. Dea, 883). Derived from tarag, targeto, "an opening," the goddess being also called DERCETO; or else addir, "glorious," and dagto, "a fish."
The tutelary goddess of the first Assyrian dynasty, the name appearing in Tiglath. Dag-on was the national god of the Philistines, his temples were at Gaza and Ashdod (Jg 16:21-30; 1Sa 5:5-6). The temple of Dagon, which Samson pulled down, probably resembled a Turkish kiosk, a spacious hall with roof resting in front upon four columns, two at the ends and two close together at the center. Under this hall the Philistine chief men celebrated a sacrificial meal, while the people assembled above upon the balustraded roof. The half-man half-fish form (found in bas-relief at Khorsabad) was natural to maritime coast dwellers. They senselessly joined the human form divine to the beast that perishes, to symbolize nature's vivifying power through water; the Hindu Vishnu; Babylonian Odakon.
On the doorway of Sennacherib's palace at Koyunjik there is still in bas-relief representations of Dagon, with the body of a fish but under the fish's head a man's head, and to its tail women's feet joined; and in all the four gigantic slabs the upper part has perished, exactly as 1Sa 5:4's margin describes: now in the British Museum. The cutting off of Dagon's head and hands before Jehovah's ark, and their lying on the threshold (from whence his devotees afterward did not dare to tread upon it), prefigure the ultimate cutting off of all idols in the great day of Jehovah (Isa 2:11-22). Beth-Dagon in Judah and another in Asher (Jos 15:41; 19:27) show the wide extension of this worship. In his temple the Philistines fastened up Saul's head (1Ch 10:10).
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and Gederoth, Beth-Dagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities and their villages.
and Gederoth, Beth-Dagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities and their villages.
and hath turned back, at the sun-rising, to Beth-Dagon, and come against Zebulun, and against the valley of Jiphthah-El toward the north of Beth-Emek, and Neiel, and hath gone out unto Cabul on the left,
and hath turned back, at the sun-rising, to Beth-Dagon, and come against Zebulun, and against the valley of Jiphthah-El toward the north of Beth-Emek, and Neiel, and hath gone out unto Cabul on the left,
And the Philistines seize him, and pick out his eyes, and bring him down to Gaza, and bind him with two brazen fetters; and he is grinding in the prison-house.
And the Philistines seize him, and pick out his eyes, and bring him down to Gaza, and bind him with two brazen fetters; and he is grinding in the prison-house. And the hair of his head beginneth to shoot up, when he hath been shaven,
And the hair of his head beginneth to shoot up, when he hath been shaven, and the princes of the Philistines have been gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; and they say, 'Our god hath given into our hand Samson our enemy.'
and the princes of the Philistines have been gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; and they say, 'Our god hath given into our hand Samson our enemy.' And the people see him, and praise their god, for they said, 'Our god hath given in our hand our enemy, and he who is laying waste our land, and who multiplied our wounded.'
And the people see him, and praise their god, for they said, 'Our god hath given in our hand our enemy, and he who is laying waste our land, and who multiplied our wounded.' And it cometh to pass, when their heart is glad, that they say, 'Call for Samson, and he doth play before us;' and they call for Samson out of the prison-house, and he playeth before them, and they cause him to stand between the pillars.
And it cometh to pass, when their heart is glad, that they say, 'Call for Samson, and he doth play before us;' and they call for Samson out of the prison-house, and he playeth before them, and they cause him to stand between the pillars. And Samson saith unto the young man who is keeping hold on his hand, 'Let me alone, and let me feel the pillars on which the house is established, and I lean upon them.'
And Samson saith unto the young man who is keeping hold on his hand, 'Let me alone, and let me feel the pillars on which the house is established, and I lean upon them.' And the house hath been full of men and of women, and thither are all the princes of the Philistines, and on the roof are about three thousand men and women, who are looking on the playing of Samson.
And the house hath been full of men and of women, and thither are all the princes of the Philistines, and on the roof are about three thousand men and women, who are looking on the playing of Samson. And Samson calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray Thee, and strengthen me, I pray Thee, only this time, O God; and I am avenged -- vengeance at once -- because of my two eyes, on the Philistines.'
And Samson calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray Thee, and strengthen me, I pray Thee, only this time, O God; and I am avenged -- vengeance at once -- because of my two eyes, on the Philistines.' And Samson turneth aside to the two middle pillars, on which the house is established, and on which it is supported, to the one with his right hand, and one with his left;
And Samson turneth aside to the two middle pillars, on which the house is established, and on which it is supported, to the one with his right hand, and one with his left; and Samson saith, 'Let me die with the Philistines,' and he inclineth himself powerfully, and the house falleth on the princes, and on all the people who are in it, and the dead whom he hath put to death in his death are more than those whom he put to death in his life.
and Samson saith, 'Let me die with the Philistines,' and he inclineth himself powerfully, and the house falleth on the princes, and on all the people who are in it, and the dead whom he hath put to death in his death are more than those whom he put to death in his life.
And they rise early in the morning on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah, and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands are cut off at the threshold, only the fishy part hath been left to him;
And they rise early in the morning on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah, and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands are cut off at the threshold, only the fishy part hath been left to him;
and put his weapons in the house of their gods, and his skull they have fixed in the house of Dagon.
and put his weapons in the house of their gods, and his skull they have fixed in the house of Dagon.
The haughty eyes of man have been humbled, And bowed down hath been the loftiness of men, And set on high hath Jehovah alone been in that day.
The haughty eyes of man have been humbled, And bowed down hath been the loftiness of men, And set on high hath Jehovah alone been in that day. For a day is to Jehovah of Hosts, For every proud and high one, And for every lifted up and low one,
For a day is to Jehovah of Hosts, For every proud and high one, And for every lifted up and low one, And for all cedars of Lebanon, The high and the exalted ones, And for all oaks of Bashan,
And for all cedars of Lebanon, The high and the exalted ones, And for all oaks of Bashan, And for all the high mountains, And for all the exalted heights,
And for all the high mountains, And for all the exalted heights, And for every high tower, And for every fenced wall,
And for every high tower, And for every fenced wall, And for all ships of Tarshish, And for all desirable pictures.
And for all ships of Tarshish, And for all desirable pictures. And bowed down hath been the haughtiness of man, And humbled the loftiness of men, And set on high hath Jehovah alone been in that day.
And bowed down hath been the haughtiness of man, And humbled the loftiness of men, And set on high hath Jehovah alone been in that day. And the idols -- they completely pass away.
And the idols -- they completely pass away. And men have entered into caverns of rocks, And into caves of dust, Because of the fear of Jehovah, And because of the honour of His excellency, In His rising to terrify the earth.
And men have entered into caverns of rocks, And into caves of dust, Because of the fear of Jehovah, And because of the honour of His excellency, In His rising to terrify the earth. In that day doth man cast his idols of silver, And his idols of gold, That they have made for him to worship, To moles, and to bats,
In that day doth man cast his idols of silver, And his idols of gold, That they have made for him to worship, To moles, and to bats, To enter into cavities of the rocks, And into clefts of the high places, Because of the fear of Jehovah, And because of the honour of His excellency, In His rising to terrify the earth.
To enter into cavities of the rocks, And into clefts of the high places, Because of the fear of Jehovah, And because of the honour of His excellency, In His rising to terrify the earth. Cease for you from man, Whose breath is in his nostrils, For -- in what is he esteemed?
Cease for you from man, Whose breath is in his nostrils, For -- in what is he esteemed?
Hastings
A god whose worship was general among the Philistines (at Gaza, Jg 16:23,1Ma 10:83-84; 1Ma 11:4; at Ashkelon, 1Sa 5:2; prob. at Beth-dagon [wh. see], which may at one time have been under Philistine rule). Indeed, the name Baal-dagon inscribed in Ph
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And Samson goeth to Gaza, and seeth there a woman, a harlot, and goeth in unto her;
and the princes of the Philistines have been gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; and they say, 'Our god hath given into our hand Samson our enemy.'
and the Philistines take the ark of God and bring it into the house of Dagon, and set it near Dagon.
And they rise early in the morning on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah, and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands are cut off at the threshold, only the fishy part hath been left to him;
And they send and gather all the princes of the Philistines unto them, and say, 'What do we do to the ark of the God of Israel?' and they say, 'To Gath let the ark of the God of Israel be brought round;' and they bring round the ark of the God of Israel;
And they say, 'What is the guilt-offering which we send back to Him?' and they say, 'The number of the princes of the Philistines -- five golden emerods, and five golden mice -- for one plague is to you all, and to your princes, and ye have made images of your emerods, and images of your mice that are corrupting the land, and have given honour to the God of Israel; it may be He doth lighten His hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land;
and the golden mice -- the number of all the cities of the Philistines -- for the five princes, from the fenced city even unto the hamlet of the villages, even unto the great meadow on which they placed the ark of Jehovah -- are unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite.
Morish
Da'gon
The national god of the Philistines, whose principal temples were at Gaza and Ashdod. The name has been traced by some to dag, a fish; others however associate the fish-god with EA, the water-god; and trace Dagon to dagan 'corn' as a god of agriculture. This was the idol that fell to pieces before the ark of Israel, and it was in its temple subsequently that the Philistines hung the head of Saul. A representation of a god found at Khorsabad has the head and hands of a man, and the body and tail of a fish. Jg 16:23; 1Sa 5:2-7; 1Ch 10:10.
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Smith
Da'gon
(a fish), apparently the masculine,
correlative of Atargatis, was the national god of the Philistines. The most famous temples of Dagon were at Gaza,
and Ashdod.
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,
and Asher.
Dagon was represented with the face and hands of a man and the tail of a fish.
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.
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and Gederoth, Beth-Dagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities and their villages.
and hath turned back, at the sun-rising, to Beth-Dagon, and come against Zebulun, and against the valley of Jiphthah-El toward the north of Beth-Emek, and Neiel, and hath gone out unto Cabul on the left,
And the Philistines seize him, and pick out his eyes, and bring him down to Gaza, and bind him with two brazen fetters; and he is grinding in the prison-house. And the hair of his head beginneth to shoot up, when he hath been shaven, read more. and the princes of the Philistines have been gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; and they say, 'Our god hath given into our hand Samson our enemy.' And the people see him, and praise their god, for they said, 'Our god hath given in our hand our enemy, and he who is laying waste our land, and who multiplied our wounded.' And it cometh to pass, when their heart is glad, that they say, 'Call for Samson, and he doth play before us;' and they call for Samson out of the prison-house, and he playeth before them, and they cause him to stand between the pillars. And Samson saith unto the young man who is keeping hold on his hand, 'Let me alone, and let me feel the pillars on which the house is established, and I lean upon them.' And the house hath been full of men and of women, and thither are all the princes of the Philistines, and on the roof are about three thousand men and women, who are looking on the playing of Samson. And Samson calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray Thee, and strengthen me, I pray Thee, only this time, O God; and I am avenged -- vengeance at once -- because of my two eyes, on the Philistines.' And Samson turneth aside to the two middle pillars, on which the house is established, and on which it is supported, to the one with his right hand, and one with his left; and Samson saith, 'Let me die with the Philistines,' and he inclineth himself powerfully, and the house falleth on the princes, and on all the people who are in it, and the dead whom he hath put to death in his death are more than those whom he put to death in his life.
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. And they rise early in the morning on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah, and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands are cut off at the threshold, only the fishy part hath been left to him; read more. therefore the priests of Dagon, and all those coming into the house of Dagon, tread not on the threshold of Dagon, in Ashdod, till this day.
Watsons
DAGON, ????, corn, from ???, or ??, a fish, god of the Philistines. It is the opinion of some that Dagon was represented like a woman, with the lower parts of a fish, like a triton or syren. Scripture shows clearly that the statue of Dagon was human, at least, the upper part of it. 1Sa 5:4-5. A temple of Dagon at Gaza was pulled down by Samson, Jg 16:23, &c. In another, at Ashdod, the Philistines deposited the ark of God, 1Sa 5:1-3. A city in Judah was called Beth-Dagon; that is, the house, or temple, of Dagon, Jos 15:41; and another on the frontiers of Asher, Jos 19:27.
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and Gederoth, Beth-Dagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities and their villages.
and hath turned back, at the sun-rising, to Beth-Dagon, and come against Zebulun, and against the valley of Jiphthah-El toward the north of Beth-Emek, and Neiel, and hath gone out unto Cabul on the left,
and the princes of the Philistines have been gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; and they say, 'Our god hath given into our hand Samson our enemy.'
And the Philistines have taken the ark of God, and bring it in from Eben-Ezer to Ashdod, and the Philistines take the ark of God and bring it into the house of Dagon, and set it near Dagon. read more. 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. And they rise early in the morning on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah, and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands are cut off at the threshold, only the fishy part hath been left to him; therefore the priests of Dagon, and all those coming into the house of Dagon, tread not on the threshold of Dagon, in Ashdod, till this day.