Ashdod in the context of "Sennacherib's campaign in the Levant"

The Shephelah (Biblical Hebrew: הַשְּפֵלָה, romanized: hašŠəp̄ēlā, lit. 'the Lowlands') or Shfela (Modern Hebrew: הַשְּׁפֵלָה, romanized: haŠfelá), or the Judaean Foothills (Modern Hebrew: שְׁפֵלַת יְהוּדָה, romanized: Šfelát Yəhūdá), is a transitional region of soft-sloping rolling hills in south-central Israel stretching over 10–15 km (6.2–9.3 mi) between the Judaean Mountains and the Coastal Plain. The different use of the term "Judean Plain", as either defining just the Coastal Plain segment stretching along the Judaean Mountains, or also including, or only referring to, the Shfela, often creates grave confusion.

Today the Shfela is largely rural with many farms, but the cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Rehovot, Beit Shemesh, and Kiryat Gat roughly surround it.

The Southern District (Hebrew: מחוז הדרום, Meḥoz HaDarom; Arabic: لواء الجنوب) is one of Israel's six administrative districts, the largest in terms of land area but the most sparsely populated. It covers most of the Negev desert, as well as the Arava valley. The population of the Southern District is 1,086,240 and its area is 14,185 km. Its population is 79.66% Jewish and 12.72% Arab (mostly Muslim), with 7.62% of other origins.

The district capital is Beersheba, while the largest city is Ashdod. Beersheba's dormitory towns of Omer, Meitar, and Lehavim are affluent relative to other Israeli cities, while the development towns of Dimona, Sderot, Netivot, Ofakim, and Yeruham and the seven Bedouin cities are lower on the socio-economic scale.

Dagon or Dagan (Sumerian: 𒀭𒁕𒃶, romanized: da-gan; Phoenician: 𐤃𐤂𐤍, romanized: Dāgān) was a god worshipped in ancient Syria, across the middle of the Euphrates, with primary temples located in Tuttul and Terqa, though many attestations of his cult come from cities such as Mari and Emar as well. In settlements situated in the upper Euphrates area, he was regarded as the "father of gods" similar to Mesopotamian Enlil or Hurrian Kumarbi, as well as a lord of the land, a god of prosperity, and a source of royal legitimacy. A large number of theophoric names, both masculine and feminine, attests that he was a popular deity. He was also worshiped further east, in Mesopotamia, where many rulers regarded him as the god capable of granting them kingship over the western areas.

Attestations of Dagan from coastal areas are much less frequent and come mostly from the northern city of Ugarit, where Dagan's cult had a limited scope. According to the Hebrew Bible, Dagan was also the national god of the Philistines, with temples at Ashdod and Gaza, but there is no extrabiblical evidence confirming this. The extrasolar object designated Fomalhaut b is named after Dagon.

Highway 20, more commonly known as the Ayalon Highway, or simply Ayalon (Hebrew: נתיבי איילון, pronounced: Netivei Ayalon, lit. "Ayalon lanes"), is a major inter city freeway in Gush Dan, Israel. The road runs along the eastern border of central Tel Aviv from north to south and connects all of the major highways leading to the city—such as Highway 4 from Ashdod and the Southern regions, Highway 2 from Haifa and the Northern regions, Highway 5 from the East, and Highway 1 from Jerusalem and the Southeast. The Ayalon Highway is heavily used; on an average day, almost 600,000 vehicles enter the freeway. It consists of a multi-lane highway with a multi-track railway located between the opposite travel lanes. Some of the highway's route is along the Ayalon River, hence its name. It is made of primarily asphalt.

Ashdod (Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *ʾašdūd; Hebrew: אַשְׁדּוֹד, romanized: ʾašdōḏ; Arabic: أسدود, romanized: ʾasdūd) or Azotus (Koine Greek: Ἄζωτος, romanized: azōtos) was an ancient Levantine metropolis, the remains of which are situated at Tel Ashdod, an archaeological site located a few kilometers south of the modern Ashdod in present-day Israel.

The first documented urban settlement at Ashdod dates to the 17th century BCE, when it was a fortified Canaanite city, before being destroyed in the Bronze Age Collapse. During the Iron Age, it was one of the five cities of the Philistine pentapolis, and is mentioned 13 times in the Hebrew Bible. After being captured by Uzziah, it was briefly ruled by the Kingdom of Judah before changing hands between the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the later Achaemenid Empire.

Kvutzat Yavne (Hebrew: קְבוּצַת יַבְנֶה) is a religious kibbutz in the Central District of Israel. Located in the coastal plain just east of Ashdod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Yavne Regional Council. In 2023 it had a population of 953.The kibbutz is adjacent to Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh.