In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “palestinian arab village situated approximately to mi southeast of jaffa”. Today it says “palestinian arab village situated approximately 6 kilometers”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2025
Arab village southeast of Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine This article is about the destroyed Palestinian village near Jaffa. Place in Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine Bayt Dajan ( Arabic : بيت دجن , romanized : Bayt Dajan ; Hebrew : בית דג'ן ), also known as Dajūn , was a Palestinian Arab village situated approximately 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) southeast of Jaffa . It is thought to have been the site of the biblical town of Beth Dagon , mentioned in the Book of Joshua and in ancient Assyrian and Ancient Egyptian texts. In the 10th century CE, it was inhabited mostly by Samaritans . In the mid-16th century, Bayt Dajan formed part of an Ottoman waqf established by Roxelana , the wife of Suleiman the Magnificent , and by the late 16th century, it was part of the nahiya of Ramla in the liwa of Gaza . The villagers, who were all recorded as Muslim, paid taxes to the Ottoman authorities for property and agricultural goods and animal husbandry conducted in the villages, including the cultivation of wheat, barley, fruit, and sesame, as well as on goats, beehives and vineyards. In the 19th century, the village women were locally renowned for their intricate, high quality embroidery designs, a feature of traditional Palestinian costumes . During the British Mandate , the village housed two elementary schools, a library and an agronomic school. After an assault by the Alexandroni Brigade during Operation Hametz on 25 April 1948 in the lead up to the 1948 Arab–Israeli war , the village was entirely depopulated. The Israeli town of Beit Dagan was founded at the same site in October 1948. Another Bayt Dajan , not to be confused with this one, is located southeast of Nablus . Also gives cause(s) of depopulation.
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 1276381390.
The opening as it stood in 2010
It is thought to have been the site of the biblical town of Beth Dagon , mentioned in the Book of Joshua and in ancient Assyrian and Egyptian texts. In the mid-16th Century, Bayt Dajan formed part of an Ottoman waqf established by Roxelana , the wife of Suleiman the Magnificent , and by the late 16th century it was part of the nahiya of Ramla in the liwa of Gaza . Villagers paid taxes to the Ottoman authorities for property and agricultural goods and animal husbandry conducted in the villages, including the cultivation of wheat, barley, fruit, and sesame, as well as on goats, beehives and vineyards. In the 19th Century, the village women were also locally renowned for the intricate, high quality embroidery designs, a ubiquitous feature of traditional Palestinian costumes . By the time of the British Mandate in Palestine , the village housed two elementary schools, a library and an agronomic school. After an assault by the Alexandroni Brigade during Operation Chametz on 25 April 1948 in the lead up to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war , the village was entirely depopulated. The Israeli locality of Beit Dagan was founded at the same site in October 1948.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 364434666.
The opening as it stood in 2015
It is thought to have been the site of the biblical town of Beth Dagon , mentioned in the Book of Joshua and in ancient Assyrian and Ancient Egyptian texts. In the mid-16th century, Bayt Dajan formed part of an Ottoman waqf established by Roxelana , the wife of Suleiman the Magnificent , and by the late 16th century, it was part of the nahiya of Ramla in the liwa of Gaza . Villagers paid taxes to the Ottoman authorities for property and agricultural goods and animal husbandry conducted in the villages, including the cultivation of wheat, barley, fruit, and sesame, as well as on goats, beehives and vineyards. In the 19th Century, the village women were also locally renowned for the intricate, high quality embroidery designs, a ubiquitous feature of traditional Palestinian costumes . By the time of the Mandatory Palestine , the village housed two elementary schools, a library and an agronomic school. After an assault by the Alexandroni Brigade during Operation Hametz on 25 April 1948 in the lead up to the 1948 Arab–Israeli war , the village was entirely depopulated. The Israeli locality of Beit Dagan was founded at the same site in October 1948. Another Bayt Dajan , not to be confused with this one, is located southeast of Nablus .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 655884275.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Place in Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine Bayt Dajan ( ; ), also known as Dajūn , was a Palestinian Arab village situated approximately 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) southeast of Jaffa . It is thought to have been the site of the biblical town of Beth Dagon , mentioned in the Book of Joshua and in ancient Assyrian and Ancient Egyptian texts. In the mid-16th century, Bayt Dajan formed part of an Ottoman waqf established by Roxelana , the wife of Suleiman the Magnificent , and by the late 16th century, it was part of the nahiya of Ramla in the liwa of Gaza . Villagers paid taxes to the Ottoman authorities for property and agricultural goods and animal husbandry conducted in the villages, including the cultivation of wheat, barley, fruit, and sesame, as well as on goats, beehives and vineyards. In the 19th Century, the village women were also locally renowned for the intricate, high quality embroidery designs, a ubiquitous feature of traditional Palestinian costumes . By the time of the Mandatory Palestine , the village housed two elementary schools, a library and an agronomic school. After an assault by the Alexandroni Brigade during Operation Hametz on 25 April 1948 in the lead up to the 1948 Arab–Israeli war , the village was entirely depopulated. The Israeli town of Beit Dagan was founded at the same site in October 1948. Another Bayt Dajan , not to be confused with this one, is located southeast of Nablus . Also gives cause(s) of depopulation.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 946198593.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Place in Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine Bayt Dajan ( ; ), also known as Dajūn , was a Palestinian Arab village situated approximately 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) southeast of Jaffa . It is thought to have been the site of the biblical town of Beth Dagon , mentioned in the Book of Joshua and in ancient Assyrian and Ancient Egyptian texts. In the 10th century CE, it was inhabited mostly by Samaritans . In the mid-16th century, Bayt Dajan formed part of an Ottoman waqf established by Roxelana , the wife of Suleiman the Magnificent , and by the late 16th century, it was part of the nahiya of Ramla in the liwa of Gaza . The villagers, who were all recorded as Muslim, paid taxes to the Ottoman authorities for property and agricultural goods and animal husbandry conducted in the villages, including the cultivation of wheat, barley, fruit, and sesame, as well as on goats, beehives and vineyards. In the 19th Century, the village women were also locally renowned for the intricate, high quality embroidery designs, a ubiquitous feature of traditional Palestinian costumes . By the time of the Mandatory Palestine , the village housed two elementary schools, a library and an agronomic school. After an assault by the Alexandroni Brigade during Operation Hametz on 25 April 1948 in the lead up to the 1948 Arab–Israeli war , the village was entirely depopulated. The Israeli town of Beit Dagan was founded at the same site in October 1948. Another Bayt Dajan , not to be confused with this one, is located southeast of Nablus . Also gives cause(s) of depopulation.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1157236460.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “palestinian arab village situated approximately to mi southeast of jaffa”. Today it says “palestinian arab village situated approximately 6 kilometers”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
palestinian arab village situated approximately to mi southeast of jaffa
Now
palestinian arab village situated approximately 6 kilometers
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.