Greek word · G108
Ἄζωτος
azōtos
Azotus
Two place names marking the start and end of a roughly 90 km (about 55 mile) journey north along the Mediterranean coastal plain.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
Two place names marking the start and end of a roughly 90 km (about 55 mile) journey north along the Mediterranean coastal plain.
- Against the English
Most English versions keep "Azotus." Some study Bibles add a note that it is Ashdod. "Caesarea" here means Caesarea Maritima on the coast, not Caesarea Philippi in the north.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Azotus was Ashdod, one of the five Philistine cities (1 Sam 5–6, where the ark sits in Dagon's temple). Jonathan the Maccabee burned its temple of Dagon (1 Macc 10:84). Pompey separated it from Jewish rule, Gabinius rebuilt it (Josephus, Ant. 14.75, 88), and Herod later left it to his sister Salome (Ant. 17.189). Josephus describes Herod building Caesarea and its great harbour (Ant. 15.331–341). Caesarea later became the residence of Rome's governors.
Where it appears
Acts · 1
-
Acts 8:40 Ἄζωτον, Azotus,
But Philip appeared at Azotus and traveled through that region, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Here: The Greek name of old Philistine Ashdod, on the southern coastal plain, roughly 30–35 km north of Gaza. In Philip's day it was a mixed Jewish and Gentile town.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.