Enciclopedia Cattolica Vol. II, 1949 Sacred Scripture Biblical geography

Ashdod

AZOTO

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Ashdod redirects here.

Also known as: Latin: Azotus

ASHDOD (Hebrew: ʾAšdādh; Akkadian: Ašdādh; Greek: ʾAšdōr; modern: Esdūd). - One of the five Philistine cities (Josh. 13:3), which always remained such (1 Sam. 5:1-8). At 5 km from the Mediterranean, equidistant (55 km) between Gaza and Jaffa, on the road between Egypt and Syria, it had strategic and commercial importance. It was famous for the temple of Dagon, a Philistine deity, where the Philistines brought the ark of the covenant which they had captured in battle (1 Sam. 5:1-8; Judg. 16:23).

Sargon, king of Assyria, took possession of it in 711 B.C. (Is. 20:1) and, according to Herodotus (II, 157), Psammetichus I, king of Egypt (663-610), did so as well. In 163 and 143 it was stormed by the Maccabees (1 Macc. 5:68) and destroyed (ibid. 10:77-84; 11:4). Under Roman rule, it was declared free by Pompey, and rebuilt in 55 B.C. by Gabinius, proconsul of Syria (Flavius Josephus, Antiq. Iud., XIV, 5, 3; Bell. Iud., 1, 8, 4). Populated by Jews and Greeks, it later belonged to the kingdom of Herod, who by his testament bequeathed it to his sister Salome (4 B.C.).

In 1 Macc. 9:15, in place of "mountain of A.," which is unknown and conflicts with the context, it has been proposed to read "mountain of Hazor," which would be the Baal-Hazor of 2 Sam. 13:23, the present-day Gebel el-ʾAsār (F.-M. Abel, in Revue Biblique, 33 [1924], pp. 380-87; L. Pirot, Azot, in DBs, I, cols. 682-84).

Evangelized by the deacon Philip (Acts 8:40), it was an episcopal see of Palaestina prima in the 4th-6th centuries. Silvanus, bishop of A., took part in the Council of Nicaea, 325; three other bishops of A. are known: Charisius, Heraclius, Lazarus. From the 14th century it is a titular see which, until the middle of the 18th century, was conferred on the auxiliaries of Trier.

Bibliography

BIBL.: F. Vigouroux, Azot, in DB, I, cols. 1307-11. For the diocese, cf. G. Bardy, Azot, in DHG, V, col. 1365 ff.

Gaetano M. Perrella

About this entry

By Gaetano Perrella

How we know signed in print

Translated from the Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. II (1949), col. 609.

More by Gaetano Perrella: Avenarius (Latinization of Habermann) · Auran (Hebrew Hauran) · Augusti, Friedrich Albrecht · Mount Athos · Astyages (Greek Ἀστυνάγης; Hittite in Cuneiform Documents)

Cite this article

Chicago

Perrella, Gaetano Maria. “Azoto (Ebr. ʾAŠDĀDh; Asir. AŠDĀDh; Gr. ʾAŠḎŌR; Oggi EŠDĀDh).” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. II, col. 609. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1949. https://azioneromana.com/article/azoto-ebr-asdadh-asir-asdadh-gr-asdor-oggi-esdadh.

MLA

Perrella, Gaetano Maria. “Azoto (Ebr. ʾAŠDĀDh; Asir. AŠDĀDh; Gr. ʾAŠḎŌR; Oggi EŠDĀDh).” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. II, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1949, col. 609. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/azoto-ebr-asdadh-asir-asdadh-gr-asdor-oggi-esdadh.

BibTeX

@incollection{ec2_azoto_ebr_asdadh_asir_asdadh_g,
  author    = {Perrella, Gaetano Maria},
  title     = {Azoto (Ebr. ʾAŠDĀDh; Asir. AŠDĀDh; Gr. ʾAŠḎŌR; Oggi EŠDĀDh)},
  booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
  volume    = {II},
  pages     = {609},
  note      = {Cited by column},
  publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
  address   = {Città del Vaticano},
  year      = {1949},
  url       = {https://azioneromana.com/article/azoto-ebr-asdadh-asir-asdadh-gr-asdor-oggi-esdadh}
}

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