In the house of their gods. — Or god, as LXX. Samuel, “house of Ashtaroth,” which the chronicler or his source paraphrases, perhaps from a repugnance to mentioning the idol’s name. Ashtoreth had a great temple at Ascalon, as “Heavenly Aphrodite” (Herod., Hist i. 108). The “Queen of Heaven” (Jeremiah 7:18) was worshipped by the Semitic races generally. Under the name of Ishtar, she was a chief goddess of the Assyrians, and had famous temples at Nineveh and Arbela. The Sabæans worshipped her as Athtâr; and the name Ashtâr is coupled with Chemosh on the Moabite Stone.
Fastened his head in the temple of Dagon. — Literally, and his skull (gulgôleth — comp. Golgotha, Matthew 27:33) they fastened in the house of Dagon. Instead of this, we read in Samuel, “and his corpse they fastened to the wall of Beth-shan.” It is hardly likely that the one reading is a corruption of the other. The chronicler has omitted the statement about Saul’s corpse, which is not mentioned in 1 Chronicles 10:9, and supplied one respecting his head, which has been already spoken of in that verse. He found the fact in his additional source, if the clause in question has not dropt out of the text of Samuel.
The Accadians worshipped Dagon, as we learn from the cuneiform inscriptions: comp. the name Ismi-Dagan (Dagon hears).