Ashdod
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(fortified place) (Josh. 11:22; 13:3; 15:47; Judg. 1:18; Acts 8:40) — one of the five chief cities of the Philistines, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, between Ekron and Ashkelon, fifteen or twenty English miles north of Gaza. Here stood the temple of Dagon, in which the Philistines placed the Ark of the Covenant. Ashdod was repeatedly destroyed (2 Chron. 26:6; Isa. 20:1). One recent traveler says that Ashdod can still be seen today from a certain height near Jaffa, and that the city abounds in old olive trees, as well as the most varied fruits and plants of every kind.
Christianity was planted in Ashdod as early as apostolic times, and probably owes its beginning to the Apostle Paul (Acts 8:40). Afterward there were bishops here. Today there is a small settlement here, Esdud, with a population of about 500.