1 Samuel 5:2

House of Dagon. One of the chief temples of the Philistines, Dagon being their principal deity. The gods of the heathen were never considered as averse to associating with other gods, and the Philistines may have felt fortunate in honoring Israel’s Deity along with the gods they had known for years. They probably placed the ark by the side of Dagon, planning to offer him a great sacrifice, as they had done years before when Samson was taken captive (Judges 16:23, 24). Then they boasted their triumph over Israel’s champion; now they would exult over the presumed capture of Israel’s God.

Some believe that the word translated “Dagon” is related to the Hebrew word dag, meaning “fish,” and that the god was shaped like a man above the waist, and like a fish below. In Layard’s Nineveh there is a description of a bas-relief from Khorsabad representing a battle between the Assyrians and the inhabitants of the Syrian seacoast.

The relief shows a figure, the upper half of which is a bearded man, and the lower half a fish. Others think that the name “Dagon” is derived from dagan, meaning “corn,” and therefore that the Philistine deity was a corn god representing fertility. His being half man, half fish would not necessitate his being a sea god.