Charles Ellicott Commentary Judges 16:23

"And the lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand." — Judges 16:23 (ASV)

To Dagon their god. — Compare 1 Samuel 5:1–2; 1 Chronicles 10:10. This was the

“Sea-monster:—upward man,
And downward fish.”

In 1 Samuel 5:4 we have an allusion to his stump or fish-part. Dag means “fish,” and the same root is found in Tagus. A goddess of similar form and attributes was worshipped under the name of Atargatis or Derceto . How widely the worship was spread we see from the commonness of the name Beth-dagon in the Shephelah (Joshua 15:41). His chief temple at Azotus was burned by Judas Maccabeus . The only other Philistine god mentioned in Scripture is Baal-zebub, god of Ekron (2 Kings 1:2–16).