Ashdod

Ashdod [Heb.,=stronghold], city (1994 pop. 120,100), SW Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is Israel's leading port after Haifa. Construction is Ashdod's main industry; its manufactures include synthetic fibers, woolen yarn, and knitted goods. Nearby is the site of ancient Ashdod, which was settled as early as the Bronze Age. Conquered by the Philistines in the 12th cent. BC, it became an important city of the Philistine Pentapolis and a center for the worship of Dagon . The city was later ruled by Judah, Egypt, and Assyria. The Jews of Ashdod had been considered idolatrous by other Jews since the time of the return to Jerusalem (6th cent. BC), but they were cleansed by Judas Maccabeus in 163 BC Jonathan, the brother of Judas Maccabeus, took the city in 148 BC and destroyed the temple of Dagon. Ashdod was revived by the Romans and was an early Christian center. The first modern Israeli settlement in Ashdod was made in 1955, and in 1965 the deepwater port was completed.

Ashdod A town under Philistine control to which the Ark of the Covenant was temporarily taken (1 Sam. 5: 6). Its walls were demolished by Uzziah, king of Judah (783–742 BCE) and later it was captured by the Assyrians. In the Maccabean period it was known as Azotus.

Philistines A non-Semitic people, originally a group of the SEA PEOPLES, who settled in southern PALESTINE in the 12th century BC. Having established five cities – Ashdod, Askelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza – they gained control of land and sea routes and proved a formidable enemy to the Israelites, inflicting defeats on Samson and Saul. King DAVID, however, gained decisive revenge (c.1000 BC) and from then on Philistine power declined until they were assimilated with the CANAANITES.