Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any who come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, to this day.
The following night the symbol of Dagon toppled again before the ark, the symbol of Yahweh. This time Dagon’s head, suggestive of his sovereign control, and his palms, suggesting his power, broke off (1 Samuel 5:4). In the ancient Near East, warring armies cut off and collected the heads and hands of their enemies to count accurately the number of their slain (cf. 1 Samuel 29:4; Judges 8:6). [Note: Antony F. Campbell, The Ark Narrative, p. 86, n. 1.] Earlier Samson’s defeat had involved the cutting of the hair of his head and the weakening of his hands (Judges 16:18-21). Later David would cut off Goliath’s head (1 Samuel 17:51), and the Philistines would cut off King Saul’s head (1 Chronicles 10:10).