The God of the Philistines (Judg. 16: 23; 1 Sam. 5: 2; 1 Macc. 10: 84; 12: 2). There were temples of Dagon at Gaza and Ashdod; the latter was destroyed by Jonathan the Maccabaeus. His image was in the form partly of a man and partly of a fish. Some recent writers, however, question whether Dagon was really a fish-god, and connect the name with dagan, “grain.”

Three O.T. incidents have somewhat to do with the worship of Dagon. A Philistine temple at Gaza was the place of Samson’s death (Judg. 16: 23-30 ); at Ashdod the Philistines were killed when the Ark of the Covenant was carried into the temple of Dagon (1 Sam. 5: 1-7 ); and at Bethshan, after a battle between the Philistines and Israel at Mount Gilboa, the head of King Saul was placed in the temple of Dagon (1 Chr. 10: 10 ).

Son of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, and own brother to Naphtali. After the settlement in Canaan, the district assigned to the tribe of Dan was small in area, but had an admirable situation, adjoining Ephraim, Benjamin, and Judah, parts of it being extremely fertile (Josh. 19: 40-48). There was a good deal of difficulty in holding it against the Amorites (Judg. 1: 34), and against the Philistines (Judg. 13: 2, 25; Judg. 18: 1). Consequently the Danites made for themselves a settlement in the north of Palestine (Judg. 18), around Laish, to which city they gave the name of Dan. This town is well known as the northern limit of Palestine, which extended “from Dan even to Beersheba.” It was chosen by Jeroboam as one of the places in which to establish the calf worship for the northern tribes (1 Kgs. 12: 29; 2 Kgs. 10: 29). The city was laid waste by Ben-hadad (1 Kgs. 15: 20; 2 Chr. 16: 4); and Jewish tradition records that the calf was carried off to Assyria by Tiglath-pileser (2 Kgs. 15: 29). The reason for the omission of the tribe of Dan in John’s list in Rev. 7: 5-7 is not known. Its character is sketched in the blessings of Jacob and Moses (Gen. 49: 16-18; Deut. 33: 22).

(1) The second son of David, by Abigail the Carmelitess (1 Chr. 3: 1); also called Chileab (2 Sam. 3: 3).

(2) The hero of the book of Daniel. Nothing is known of his parentage, though he appears to have been of royal descent (Dan. 1: 3 ); he was taken captive to Babylon and received the name of Belteshazzar (Dan. 1: 6-7 ). Along with three others he refused the “king’s meat” from fear of defilement (Dan. 1: 8-16 ). He then won the favor of Nebuchadnezzar and Darius by his power of interpreting dreams (chs. 2 , 4 ); and the handwriting on the wall (ch. 5 ). In consequence of a plot on the part of his enemies he was thrown into a den of lions (ch. 6 ), but his life was preserved. There are references to him in Ezek. 14: 14, 20 ; Ezek. 28: 3 ; Heb. 11: 33 . Interesting points of resemblance may be noticed between the history of Daniel and that of Joseph.

His life divides into four portions

(1) at Bethlehem with the sheep (1 Sam. 16 ; 17 );

(2) at court (1 Sam. 18 - 19: 18) (see Jonathan );

(3) as a fugitive (1 Sam. 19: 18 - 2 Sam. 1: 27);

(4) as king

(a) over Judah at Hebron (2 Sam. 2 - 4),

(b) over all Israel (2 Sam. 5 - 1 Kgs. 2: 11).

The long and varied discipline through which he passed in the earlier part of his life fitted him for the duties of the throne. As shepherd he acquired the habit of deep reflection; as courtier he was trained in self-control and chivalrous generosity; as outlaw he acquired knowledge of men and power of government; while each successive phase of experience developed that conscious dependence upon God which was the secret of his strength throughout his life. Like Saul he was guilty of grave crimes; but unlike Saul, he was capable of true contrition and was therefore able to find forgiveness, except in the murder of Uriah. As a consequence David is still unforgiven, but he received a promise that the Lord would not leave his soul in hell. He will be resurrected at the end of the Millennium. Because of his transgressions, he has fallen from his exaltation (D&C 132: 39 ).

So long as Abner and Ishbosheth lived, David’s kingdom was restricted to the tribe of Judah. After their deaths he started on a series of conquests, beginning with Jerusalem, and finally extending his dominions as far as the Euphrates. His sin with Bathsheba was followed by a series of misfortunes that marred the last 20 years of his life. The nation as a whole was prosperous, but David himself suffered from the consequences of his own misdeeds. There were constant family feuds, which, in the case of Absalom and Adonijah, ended in open rebellion. These incidents are a fulfillment of the pronouncement of Nathan the prophet upon David, because of his sin (2 Sam. 12: 7-13 ).

In spite of these disasters David’s reign was the most brilliant of Israelitish history, for (1) he united the tribes into one nation, (2) he secured undisputed possession of the country, (3) the whole government rested upon a religious basis, and the will of God was the law of Israel. For these reasons it was in later times regarded as the nation’s golden age, and the type of the more glorious age to which the nation looked forward when Messiah should come (Isa. 16: 5 ; Jer. 23: 5 ; Jer. 30: 9 ; Ezek. 34: 23-24 ; Ezek. 37: 24-28 ).

A large number of the Psalms ascribed to David were certainly not written by him, but the following seem directly connected with the history of his life. A series consisting of Pss. 101, 15, 68, 24 was probably composed on the occasion of the removal of the Ark to Jerusalem. Pss. 20, 21, 60, 110 belong to the period of David’s foreign wars; while Ps. 18 (= 2 Sam. 22 ) marks the highest point of the national prosperity. David’s fall gave occasion to Pss. 41 and 32. The flight from Absalom led to the composition of Pss. 63 (written immediately after he left the city), 3 and 4 (which are morning and evening hymns), 26, 62, 27, and 28. There are others that are possibly of Davidic origin.

David’s life illustrates the need for all persons to endure in righteousness to the end. As a youth he is characterized as being a man after the Lord’s “own heart” (1 Sam. 13: 14 ); as a man he spoke by the Spirit and had many revelations. But he paid, and is paying a heavy price for his disobedience to the commandments of God.

(1) Nurse of Rebekah (Gen. 24: 59; Gen. 35: 8).

(2) A famous woman who judged Israel, and encouraged Barak against Sisera (Judg. 4 ); the well-known song of Deborah and Barak commemorated the Israelitish victory (Judg. 5 ).

The district east and southeast of the Sea of Galilee, containing a mixed population of Greeks, Syrians, Arabs, and Jews, the Greek element being the greatest (Matt. 4: 25; Mark 5: 20; Mark 7: 31).

A Philistine woman from the valley of Sorek who had such influence over Samson that she obtained from him the secret of his strength and betrayed him, which was the cause of his being blinded and imprisoned at Gaza ( Judg. 16).

This refers to the scattering of the house of Israel into lands other than Palestine. In many instances those scattered remained in those lands and did not return. The Jews in particular penetrated all the large cities of the Roman Empire and established centers of Judaism, with synagogues, although they retained strong ties with Jerusalem, making frequent pilgrimages there at the feasts of Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, etc. (Acts. 2: 9-11; cf. John 7: 35). In these countries the Jews often adopted many traits of Greek and Roman culture. Paul was a Jew of the diaspora, as was also Aquila.

See Dispersion ; Septuagint .

The Greek equivalent of the Aramaic name Thomas (John 11: 16; John 20: 24; John 21: 2).