Dict: smith - DAGON

smith:

DAGON - D>@ - (a fish), apparently the masculine, ( kjv@1Samuel:5:3-4) correlative of Atargatis, was the national god of the Philistines. The most famous temples of Dagon were at Gaza, kjv@Judges:16:21-30) and Ashdod. ( kjv@1Samuel:5:5-6; kjv@1Chronicles: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, kjv@Joshua:15:41) and Asher. kjv@Joshua:19:27) Dagon was represented with the face and hands of a man and the tail of a fish. ( kjv@1Samuel: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.