In 1 Sam 5:1-5, we read the following:
When the Philistines
captured the Ark of God, they brought it from Eben-ezer to Ashdod. The
Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon and
they set it up beside Dagon. Early the next day, the Ashdodites found Dagon
lying face down on the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord. They picked
Dagon up and put him back in his place; but early the next morning, Dagon was
again lying prone on the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord. The head and
both hands of Dagon were cut off, lying on the threshold; only Dagon's trunk
was left intact. That is why, to this day, the priests of Dagon and all who
enter the temple of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod. (1985
JPS Tanakh)
Commenting on this pericope, Jonathan
Wylie wrote:
. . . the Philistines deposit the ark in Dagon’s temple because they
intend to reverse the God of Israel alongside Dagon—not necessarily as an equal
to Dagon but as a deity who has partnered with Dagon and promoted his cause.
This would be consistent with the Philistine’s respectful attitude toward the
ark in 1 Sam 4:6-8, where they realize that the ark has arrived at the
battlefield and fear that YHWH will do to them what they did to the Egyptians
earlier in Israel’s history. The possibility that the Philistines intend to
honor the ark finds lexical support in the fact that they set it up beside the
statue of Dagon (ויציגו אתו אצל דגון), not in front of or
opposite to it (e.g., לפני or מול). The arrangement
seems to be one of co-regency, or at least of regent and vice regent . . . The
struggle between YHWH and Dagon falls into the [category of “Struggle for rule
among the gods between individual competing claimants”], in which “what is at
stake is control of the divine realm.” Dagon’s posture following the conflicts
supports this conclusion. On both mornings, the priests of Dagon find him “fallen
face to the earth before the ark of YHWH” (והנה דגון נפל לפניו ארצה לפני ארון יהוה). There are two
possible interpretations of this phrase. One interpretation is that Dagon bows in
submission to YHWH. The phrase נפל לפני (“fall
before”) commonly has this meaning (e.g., Gen 44:14; 50:17; Josh 5:14; 2 Sam
14:4, 22; 19:18; etc. For another text that speaks of YHWH subduing other gods
and the resulting submission of those gods and their nations to YHWH’s rule,
though with very different language, see Zeph 2:11). Alternatively, and in my
view more likely, the phrase indicates that Dagon is dead, even when this
phrase describes Dagon’s posture after the first night’s confrontation. All occurrences
of נפל ארצה in which נפל is a participle, as
in 1 Sam 5:3-4, refers to individuals who have “fallen slain” (See Judg 3:25; 2
Chron 20:24. Even when נפל is not a participle, the phrase נפל ארץ/ארצה frequently [but not
always] refers to falling slain, e.g., Lev 26:7-8; 1 Sam 14:13; 17:49; 2 Sam
3:34; etc). Moreover, such a meaning is consistent with the A[rk]N[arrative]’s
emphasis on YHWH’s utter sovereignty; there is no theological space in this
text for a rival god, even a subordinate one. If the latter interpretation is
correct, then Dagon is slain during the ark’s first night in his temple (1 Sam
5:3). YHWH’s victory on the second night is a fait accompli; his dismemberment
of Dagon’s statue underscores and proves that has already been achieved (1 Sam
5:4). However, we understand the phrase דגון נפל לפניו ארצה לפני ארון יהוה, there can be no
doubt that, by the second morning, headless Dagon is dead. (Jonathan Wylie, “The
Victory of YHWH in the Temple of Dagon (1 Samuel 5:1-5),” in Adam Miglio, Caryn
A. Reeder, Joshua T. Walton, and Kenneth C. Way, eds., For Us, But Not To
Us: Essays on Creation, Covenant, and Context in Honor of John H. Walton
[Eugene, Oreg.: Pickwick Publications, 2020], 335-50, here, pp. 340, 342-43)
Such a narrative, especially in light of
the above commentary, adds further light to the meaning of “thou shalt have no
other gods before me” (Exo 20:3). See:
Is Latter-day Saint Theology Contradicted by Exodus 20:3 in the Decalogue?
