people had guessed based on his name that he was a god of grain (Hebrew: dagan) or fish (Hebrew: dag), but these are no more than guesses.
Based on linguistic guesses, the Semitic god Dagon may have been a god of grain (Hebrew: dagan) or fish (Hebrew: dag).
This was a very ancient god already worshiped extensively in Ebla (southwest of Aleppo) in the 23rd century BCE. He was later adopted by the Philistines as a national god.
Dagon was a god worshiped in Ebla (southwest of Aleppo) in the 23rd century BCE and was later adopted by the Philistines.
Dagon’s father was El, the head of the West Semitic pantheon. The name Israel, shows that El was originally the tutelary god of Israel (it’s right there in the name!), but over time, Yahweh took El’s place:“When the Most High (El Elyon) divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord's (Yahweh’s) portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance” (Deuteronomy 32:8-9).
In the West Semitic pantheon of gods, El was the father of Dagon who was in turn the father of Baal. El Elyon is mentioned in Deuteronomy 32:8-9 and his name is a root word of the endonym Israel.
In 1 Samuel chapter 5 we are told that after the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant, they took it to the Temple of Dagon in Ashdod. But this resulted in the miraculous destruction of his cult statue. Yahweh wins again.
1 Samuel 5 describes an event at the Temple of Dagon, the father of Baal, in Ashdod where the cult's statue is destroyed.