Ancient temple of Dagon found in Gath

Dagon

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CC BY 2.0

Last week, archaeologists running a long-term dig of the Five Cities of the Philistines discovered the apparent remains of a temple to Dagon, their piscine national god, in the old city of Gath (Qiryat Gat), that figured prominently in the Biblical books of 1 Samuel, 2 Kings and Amos.

Professor Aren Maeir of Bar Ilian University described the recent finds unearthed at the dig, known as Tel Tsafit in Hebrew, or Tell es-Safi in Arabic. The most remarkable of these finds, as reported by Arutz-7 Israel National News, The Jerusalem Post, and The Christian Post, are identifiable ruins of an ancient Philistine temple. The architectural hallmarks include the sockets for the two central pillars upon which the temple essentially rested, according to the Samson story (Judges 16:23-30).

Maeir and his team also found some of the siege engines that King Hazael of ancient Syria used to attack the city during the reign of King Joash of Judah, and further evidence that a magnitude-8 earthquake leveled the city during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, as the prophet Amos noted.

Modern arms of Gath (Qiryat Gat)

Contrary to the sensationalistic coverage in Arutz-7 and the Post, the Samson story did not take place in Gath and therefore is not directly relevant to this find. Samson, who was judge of Israel from 1140-1120, was imprisoned in Gaza, not Gath. The idea that the Lords (Seranim) of the Five Cities brought Samson from Gaza to Gath on the memorable occasion that cost them their lives (and those of 3,000 others) has no historical warrant. Indeed, Maeir repeatedly disclaimed having found the temple that Samson had destroyed. He did say that, had Samson been a real person, he would have destroyed a temple very much like the one that Maeir found.

But Gath does synchronize with the Bible in four places:

1. The Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant at the Battle of Ebenezer and brought it first to Ashdod, then to Gath, then to Ekron. It became a positive health hazard to every inhabitant of each city until finally the Philistines returned it. (1 Samuel 4-5)
2. Goliath, the Philistines' single-combat champion, grew up in Gath. (1 Samuel 17:4)
3. King Hazael of Syria besieged Gath and captured it during the reign of Joash of Judah. (2 Kings 12:17-18)
4. Finally, an earthquake devastated the region--and Maeir's latest finds suggest that this earthquake leveled Gath. (Amos 1:1)

Samson killing the lion

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