Nehemia 13:23-24

13:23 Also in those days I saw the men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 13:24 Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod (or the language of one of the other peoples mentioned ¹ ) and were unable to speak the language of Judah.

Nehemia 13:1

Further Reforms by Nehemiah

13:1 On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing ²  of the people. They found ³  written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God,

1 Samuel 5:1-2

The Ark Causes Trouble for the Philistines

5:1 Now the Philistines had captured the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 5:2 The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, where they positioned it beside Dagon.

1 Samuel 5:2

5:2 The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, where they positioned it beside Dagon.

1 Samuel 26:6-8

26:6 David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” Abishai replied, “I will go down with you.”

26:7 So David and Abishai approached the army at night and found Saul lying asleep in the entrenchment with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the army were lying all around him. 26:8 Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me drive the spear ⁴  right through him into the ground with one swift jab! ⁵  A second jab won’t be necessary!”

Yeremia 25:20

25:20 the foreigners living in Egypt; ⁶  all the kings of the land of Uz; ⁷  all the kings of the land of the Philistines, ⁸  the people of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, the people who had been left alive from Ashdod; ⁹ 

Amos 1:8

1:8 I will remove ¹⁰  the ruler ¹¹  from Ashdod, ¹² 

the one who holds the royal scepter from Ashkelon. ¹³ 

I will strike Ekron ¹⁴  with my hand; ¹⁵ 

the rest of the Philistines will also die.” ¹⁶ 

The sovereign Lord has spoken!

Amos 3:9

Samaria Will Fall

3:9 Make this announcement in ¹⁷  the fortresses of Ashdod

and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt.

Say this:

“Gather on the hills around Samaria! ¹⁸ 

Observe the many acts of violence ¹⁹  taking place within the city, ²⁰ 

the oppressive deeds ²¹  occurring in it.” ²² 

Zakharia 9:5-6

9:5 Ashkelon will see and be afraid; Gaza will be in great anguish, as will Ekron, for her hope will have been dried up. ²³  Gaza will lose her king, and Ashkelon will no longer be inhabited. 9:6 A mongrel people will live in Ashdod, for I will greatly humiliate the Philistines.

[13:24]  ¹ tn Heb “people and people.”

[13:1]  ² tn Heb “ears.”

[13:1]  ³ tn Heb “it was found.” The Hebrew verb is passive.

[26:8]  ⁴ tn Here “the spear” almost certainly refers to Saul’s own spear, which according to the previous verse was stuck into the ground beside him as he slept. This is reflected in a number of English versions: TEV, CEV “his own spear”; NLT “that spear.” Cf. NIV, NCV “my spear,” in which case Abishai refers to his own spear rather than Saul’s, but this is unlikely since (1) Abishai would probably not have carried a spear along since such a weapon would be unwieldy when sneaking into the enemy camp; and (2) this would not explain the mention of Saul’s own spear stuck in the ground beside him in the previous verse.

[26:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “let me strike him with the spear and into the ground one time.”

[25:20]  ⁶ tn The meaning of this term and its connection with the preceding is somewhat uncertain. This word is used of the mixture of foreign people who accompanied Israel out of Egypt (Exod 12:38) and of the foreigners that the Israelites were to separate out of their midst in the time of Nehemiah (Neh 13:3). Most commentators interpret it here of the foreign people who were living in Egypt. (See BDB 786 s.v. I עֶרֶב and KBL 733 s.v. II עֶרֶב.)

[25:20]  ⁷ sn The land of Uz was Job’s homeland (Job 1:1). The exact location is unknown but its position here between Egypt and the Philistine cities suggests it is south of Judah, probably in the Arabian peninsula. Lam 4:21 suggests that it was near Edom.

[25:20]  ⁸ sn See further Jer 47:1-7 for the judgment against the Philistines. The Philistine cities were west of Judah.

[25:20]  ⁹ sn The Greek historian Herodotus reports that Ashdod had been destroyed under the Pharaoh who preceded Necho, Psammetichus.

[1:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “cut off.”

[1:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the one who sits.” Some translations take this expression as a collective singular referring to the inhabitants rather than the ruler (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[1:8]  ¹² sn Ashdod was one of the five major Philistine cities (along with Ashkelon, Ekron, Gaza, and Gath).

[1:8]  ¹³ sn Ashkelon was one of the five major Philistine cities (along with Ashdod, Ekron, Gaza, and Gath).

[1:8]  ¹⁴ sn Ekron was one of the five major Philistine cities (along with Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza, and Gath).

[1:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will turn my hand against Ekron.” For other uses of the idiom, “turn the hand against,” see Ps 81:14; Isa 1:25; Jer 6:9; Zech 13:7.

[1:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and the remnant of the Philistines will perish.” The translation above assumes that reference is made to other Philistines beside those living in the cities mentioned. Another option is to translate, “Every last Philistine will die.”

[3:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “on” or “over” (also later in this verse).

[3:9]  ¹⁸ sn Samaria might refer here both to the region and to the capital city (later known as Sebaste). On the other hand, there actually are hills that surround the mound upon which the city was built. The implication is that the nations can come and sit and see from those hills the sin of the capital city and its judgment.

[3:9]  map For location of the city see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[3:9]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew noun carries the nuance of “panic” or “confusion.” Here it refers metonymically to the violent deeds that terrorize the oppressed.

[3:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “in her midst” (so NAB, NASB); NIV “among her people.”

[3:9]  ²¹ tn The translation assumes the form is an abstract plural (see Job 35:9; Eccl 4:1). Another option is to understand the form as a substantival passive participle and translate, “the oppressed” (so KJV).

[3:9]  ²² tn Heb “within her.”

[9:5]  ²³ tn The present translation presupposes a Hiphil perfect of יָבֵשׁ (yavesh, “be dry”; cf. NRSV “are withered”) rather than the usually accepted Hiphil of בּוֹשׁ (bosh, “be ashamed”; cf. KJV, ASV), a sense that is less suitable with the removal of hope.