MPV Commentary

The lords of the Philistines gathered their captives together to offer a grand sacrifice to Dagon.

This was a common practice in pagan nations during their annual festivals. They would release war prisoners from confinement and subject them to humiliating treatment as an offering to their gods, who they believed had helped them defeat their enemies. Dagon was a sea idol often depicted with human features above the waist and a fish-like body below.