Ashdod
Ashdod is an ancient city mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, located in the region of Coastal Plain in modern-day Israel. Known today as Tel Ashdod. It appears across 21 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Ashdod was one of the five principal cities of the Philistine pentapolis, sitting on the coastal plain of Canaan approximately 35 kilometers north of Gaza. Its earliest appearance in the conquest narratives is in Joshua 11:22, which notes that Anakim survivors fled to Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. Joshua 13:3 lists it among territories not yet conquered. Ashdod's most dramatic biblical moment comes in 1 Samuel 5, when the captured Ark of the Covenant was brought into the temple of Dagon in Ashdod — only to be found the next morning with Dagon's idol prostrate before it, and then with its head and hands broken off (1 Samuel 5:3–5). God also struck the people of Ashdod with tumors. The city passed through Israelite, Assyrian, and subsequent control, and by the time of Nehemiah, men of Ashdod were intermarrying with Judeans and the "language of Ashdod" was being spoken by their children (Nehemiah 13:23–24). In the New Testament, Ashdod reappears as Azotus (Acts 8:40), where Philip the evangelist was found after the Spirit transported him following his baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Tel Ashdod has been excavated in major campaigns by Israeli and international teams, revealing occupation spanning from the Middle Bronze Age to the Byzantine period. Excavations uncovered significant Philistine material culture including distinctive bichrome pottery, Philistine cult figurines, and architectural remains. An important inscription mentioning Ashdod was found at the site. The city was among the largest in Philistia, with a substantial lower city adjacent to the main mound. Assyrian conquest layers corresponding to Sargon II's campaigns (711 BC) have been identified, as well as evidence of later Persian and Hellenistic occupation. Modern Ashdod is one of Israel's largest cities and major ports, though the ancient tel remains a protected archaeological site separate from the urban center.
Verse Appearances (21)
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →