This proper noun is the Greek name for the ancient Philistine city Ashdod (Hebrew אַשְׁדּוֹד), located on the Mediterranean coast between Joppa and Gaza. Luke uses it in Acts 8:40 when Philip, after baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch, is miraculously transported to Azotus and preaches in cities from there to Caesarea. The city had a significant history in the Old Testament as one of the five Philistine pentapolis cities and was where the captured ark of the covenant was taken. In New Testament times it remained an important coastal city under its Hellenized name.