Beth-dagon standard
Dijan, about 6 miles Southeast of Jaffa. This however is a modern site, and not in the Shephelah. Nearly 2 miles to the south is Khirbet Dajan, a Roman site.
Where is Beth-dagon in the Bible?
Beth-dagon was a town in ancient Judah mentioned in the Bible, likely named after the Philistine god Dagon. The primary Beth-dagon appears in Joshua 15:41 as part of the territory assigned to the tribe of Judah, and scholars believe it was located in the Shephelah region, the lowland area between the coastal plain and the Judean highlands. A second Beth-dagon is mentioned in Joshua 19:27 as a city on the border of Asher in northern Israel. The name Beth-dagon, meaning "house of Dagon," reflects the religious influence of Philistine worship in the region during the Old Testament period, though the exact modern location of the Judahite site remains uncertain among scholars.
In Scripture1 biblical book; 1 with study content
- Joshua
Beth-dagon
ISBE 1915 (Public Domain)Dijan, about 6 miles Southeast of Jaffa. This however is a modern site, and not in the Shephelah. Nearly 2 miles to the south is Khirbet Dajan, a Roman site. The connection in which it occurs leads us to expect a position farther Southeast
(2) A city on the border of Asher (Jos 19:27) which Conder would identify with Tell D'auk, near the mouth of the Belus, in the plan of Acre.
The name seems to have been of frequent occurrence. There is a Beit Dejan about 6 miles East of Nablus, and Josephus speaks of a fortress called Dagon above Jericho (Ant., XII, viii, 1; BJ, I, ii, 3). This would seem to indicate a widespread worship of Dagon. But the name may mean "house of corn."
W. Ewing
beth-dib-la-tha'-im (beth dibhlathayim; oikos Deblaithaim, literally, "house of Diblathaim"): A town in Moab mentioned with Dibon and Nebo (Jer 48:22). It is probably ident