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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

ASHDOD, ASHDODITE, ASHDOTHITE*

One of the Philistines’ five main cities (the “pentapolis”) along with Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron (Jos 13:3). Ashdod was located midway between Joppa and Gaza, about three miles (4.8 kilometers) from the coast. The ancient tell has been excavated extensively since 1962. The earliest level found was Canaanite, dating to the 17th century BC. When the Israelites arrived in the Promised Land, the city was inhabited by the giant Anakim (Jos 11:21-22). Though unconquered, it was assigned to Judah’s tribe (Jos 15:46-47). Its people were referred to as Ashdodites (Jos 13:4; Neh 4:7). During the 12th century BC the coast of Palestine was invaded by the Sea Peoples, a group of tribes from the Aegean area. Ashdod was destroyed and reoccupied by one of these peoples, the Philistines. Excavations at Ashdod have uncovered three levels of Philistine occupation and have furnished a glimpse of the material culture of these traditional enemies of Israel.

In the days of Eli the priest, the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant and placed it first in the temple of their god Dagon in Ashdod, then in Gath and Ekron (1 Sm 5). A plague broke out wherever the ark went, so the Philistine rulers returned it with an offering of gold (1 Sm 6:1-18). Although David and Solomon controlled Ashdod, it was not until Uzziah came to the throne of the kingdom of Judah (792–740 BC) that Ashdod was actually conquered (2 Chr 26:6). After a while, Judah’s military power waned, and the city became independent again. Ashdod resisted Assyrian encroachments until Sargon II attacked and destroyed it in 711 BC, a fact illumined by three fragments of a basalt stele of Sargon found at Ashdod in 1963. Those events led Isaiah to warn Judah against supporting Ashdod or counting on Egypt or Ethiopia to oppose the Assyrians (Is 20). Excavations at Ashdod show evidence of the destruction by both Uzziah and Sargon II.

Ashdod remained under Assyrian control until the Egyptian pharaoh Psamtik I (664–609 BC) took the city after a siege of 29 years (perhaps the longest in history). Later, probably at the time of the fall of Jerusalem (586 BC), Nebuchadnezzar conquered Ashdod and took its king to his court. Jeremiah and Zephaniah had prophesied about the people remaining in Ashdod (Jer 25:20; Zep 2:4). That remnant later opposed Nehemiah’s rebuilding of Jerusalem, and its women married Jewish husbands (Neh 4:7; 13:23-24). Earlier, the prophet Zechariah had predicted further desolation for Ashdod (Zec 9:6).

During Maccabean times the city, then called Azotus, was attacked and plundered by both Judas and Jonathan Maccabeus because of its idolatry (1 Macc 4:12-15; 5:68; 10:77-85; 11:4). Freed by Pompey in 63 BC, Ashdod became part of the Roman province of Syria. Later Herod the Great willed the city to his sister Salome. Philip the evangelist preached the message of Christ in Azotus (Acts 8:40). The early Christian historian Eusebius regarded it as an important town in the fourth century AD, and Christian bishops were located there from the fourth through the sixth centuries. During the Middle Ages, Ashdod, or Azotus, began to decline, and now is only a small village called Esdud.

Ashdod was located about three miles (4.8 kilometers) inland and therefore had a port, separated from the city proper, called Ashdod Yam, or Ashdod-on-the-Sea. That coastal town in later years became larger than the inland city. Excavations in the area of the seaport have uncovered remains of Canaanite, Israelite, and Hellenistic occupation. One interesting find was the remains of a Hellenistic dye operation. A purple dye made from the murex shell was used to dye cloth worn by royalty and the wealthy. The site of the port continued to be occupied through the Arabic period, and today Israel has built a port near the site of ancient Ashdod Yam.