The BibleGospel Companion

Beth-dagon

בֵּית־דָּגוֹן · bet-da.gon · H1016H“the house of corn, or of fish” Hitchcock's 18691 mention, all in Joshua

Where it is

32.90° N, 35.11° E

Coordinates and map: OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding · CC BY 4.0 · drawn without map tiles

Mentioned most in

Counted from 1 references · STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0

About this place

Beth-dagon, meaning "house of Dagon" in Hebrew, was a town allotted to the tribe of Asher during the division of the Promised Land. It is mentioned only once in the Bible, in Joshua 19:27, as part of a description of the border of Asher's territory.

The name Beth-dagon suggests that the town was associated with the worship of Dagon, a Philistine deity often depicted as having the upper body of a man and the tail of a fish. Dagon was considered the god of fertility, agriculture, and storms.

The presence of a town named after Dagon within Asher's territory indicates the influence of Philistine culture and religion in the region. It is not uncommon for towns and cities in the ancient Near East to be named after the deities worshipped there.

The exact location of Beth-dagon in Asher is not specified in the Bible, but it was likely situated in the western part of the tribe's territory, near the Mediterranean coast. Asher's territory was located in the northwestern part of Canaan, bordering Phoenicia to the north.

No other details about the town or its history are provided in the Bible. The mention of Beth-dagon in Joshua 19:27 serves primarily to delineate the border of Asher's territory.

Article: STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0

Every mention

1 reference, counted from STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0 · verse text: World English Bible (public domain)

Joshua 1 mention

What the dictionary says

House of Dagon.

Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
Read the article →

Sources