1Sa 5:1-2 | TNotes | STEP | 5:1 Ebenezer: See study note on 4:1b. • Ashdod , one of the five important Philistine cities (see 6:17 ), was located along the same major trade highway (the Great Trunk Road) as Aphek.

dJudg 16:23-24►

‏ 1 Samuel 5:1-2

5:1 ^a Ebenezer: See study note on 4:1b.

• Ashdod, one of the five important Philistine cities (see 6:17 ^b), was located along the same major trade highway (the Great Trunk Road) as Aphek.
5:2 ^c Dagon was one of the Philistines’ gods (see Judg 16:23-24 ^d). The name could be related to the Hebrew dag (“fish”), an appropriate name for a god of seafaring people. More likely, it reflects the Hebrew dagan (“grain”), suggesting a fertility or agriculture god.