Beth Dagon or Dagan (בית-דגון or בית-דגן) is the name of two biblical cities in
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.
* A city (
Joshua
Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...
15:41) in the territory of the
tribe of Judah
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah (son of Jacob), Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was one of the tribes to take its place in Canaan, occupying it ...
"in the plains", that is, the territory below
Jaffa
Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...
between the
Judean hills
The Judaean Mountains, or Judaean Hills (, or ,) are a mountain range in the West Bank and Israel where Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron and several other biblical sites are located. The mountains reach a height of . The Judean Mountains can be div ...
and the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
. Its site is uncertain, though it may be adjacent to
Latrun
Latrun (, ''Latrun''; , ''al-Latrun'') is a strategic hilltop in the Latrun salient in the Ayalon Valley. It overlooks the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla. It was the si ...
. The city was sacked by
Sennacherib
Sennacherib ( or , meaning "Sin (mythology), Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 705BC until his assassination in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynasty, Sennacherib is one of the most famous A ...
during the revolt of
Sidqa
Ṣidqa (Philistine language, Philistine: 𐤑𐤃𐤒𐤀 *''Ṣīdqāʾ''; Akkadian language, Akkadian: ) was a king of Ascalon in the 8th century BC. He, much like Hezekiah, king of the neighboring Kingdom of Judah, rebelled against the Assyria ...
, king of
Ashkelon
Ashkelon ( ; , ; ) or Ashqelon, is a coastal city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip.
The modern city i ...
. Beth Dagon appears in among the list of "the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of
Judah toward the coast of
Edom
Edom (; Edomite language, Edomite: ; , lit.: "red"; Akkadian language, Akkadian: , ; Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom that stretched across areas in the south of present-day Jordan and Israel. Edom and the Edomi ...
southward."
[
* A city (]Joshua
Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...
19:27) in the territory of the tribe of Asher
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Asher was one of the Tribes of Israel descended from Asher (), the eighth son of Jacob. It is one of the ten lost tribes.
Biblical narrative
According to the biblical Book of Joshua, following the comp ...
near the territory of Zebulun
Zebulun (; also ''Zebulon'', ''Zabulon'', or ''Zaboules'' in ''Antiquities of the Jews'' by Josephus) was, according to the Books of Genesis and Numbers,Genesis 46:14 the last of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's tenth son), and the foun ...
, southeast of Acre
The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
. Some scholars identify it with the Druze
The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
town of Beit Jann
Bayt Jann (; ) is a Druze village on Mount Meron in northern Israel. At 940 meters above sea level, Bayt Jann is one of the highest inhabited locations in the country. In it had a population of .
Etymology
Guérin noted that the village was ...
.[Ben Yosef, Sefi, ''Madrich Yisrael'', Vol. 11 (''Addenda''), p. 61. Keter Publishing, 1980 (Hebrew).]
*It also appears in the Tosefta
The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''.
Background
Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...
(''Ohalot'' 3:4) transcribed as "Beth Dagan".[ ]Moshe Sharon
Moshe Sharon (; born December 18, 1937) is an Israeli historian of Islam.
He is currently Professor Emeritus of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he serves as Chair in Baháʼí Studies.
Education, ...
writes that this latter spelling, which corresponds exactly to the Arabic name, may have arisen after the village was conquered by Judea
Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...
.[Sharon, 1999, pp]
8990
With Dagon
Dagon or Dagan (; ) was a god worshipped in ancient Syria, across the middle of the Euphrates, with primary temples located in Tuttul and Terqa, though many attestations of his cult come from cities such as Mari and Emar as well. In settl ...
being a head deity in the Philistine
Philistines (; Septuagint, LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia.
There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philist ...
pantheon of gods, Sharon speculates that under Judean control, his name was changed to ''Dagan'', meaning "wheat", a symbol of prosperity.[
]
See also
* Beit Dagan
Beit Dagan () is a local council (town) in the Central District of Israel. As of 2021, Beit Dagan had a population of .
History
During the Ottoman period, the area of Beit Dagan was part of to the Nahiyeh (sub-district) of Lod, which encompas ...
*
References
Bibliography
*
Hebrew Bible cities
Former populated places in West Asia
{{hebrew-Bible-stub