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Ekron (Philistine: 𐤏𐤒𐤓𐤍 *ʿAqārān, עֶקְרוֹן, عقرون), in the Hellenistic period known as Accaron (Akkarōn) was a Philistine city, one of the five cities of the Philistine Pentapolis, located in present-day Israel. In 1957, Ekron was first identified with the mound of Tel Miqne (Hebrew) or Khirbet el-Muqanna (Arabic), near the depopulated Arab village of 'Aqir, on the basis of the large size of the Iron Age archaeological remains; the judgement was strengthened by the discovery in 1996 of the Ekron inscription. The tel lies west of Jerusalem, and north of Tel es-Safi, the almost certain site of the Philistine city of Gath, on the grounds of Kibbutz Revadim on the eastern edge of the Israeli coastal plain. In the Hebrew Bible, Ekron is mentioned initially in : This is the land that still remains: all the regions of the Philistines and all those of the Geshurites from Shihor, which is east of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron. counts it the border city of the Philistines and seat of one of the five Philistine city lords, and mentions Ekron's satellite towns and villages. The city was reassigned afterwards to the tribe of Dan (), but came again into the full possession of the Philistines. It was the last place to which the Philistines carried the Ark of the Covenant before they sent it back to Israel ( and ), and the city lords returned here once they had seen that the Ark reached the Israelites in Beth Shemesh (). There was a noted sanctuary of Baal at Ekron. The Baal who was worshipped was called Baal Zebub, which some scholars connect with Beelzebub, known from : [King] Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber at Samaria and was injured. So he sent messengers whom he instructed: "Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury." (JPS translation) The prophet Elijah repeatedly condemned Ahaziah for turning to Baal-zebub for assurance: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.

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Related concepts (16)

Archaeology of Israel

The archaeology of Israel is the study of the archaeology of the present-day Israel, stretching from prehistory through three millennia of documented history. The ancient Land of Israel was a geographical bridge between the political and cultural centers of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Despite the importance of the country to three major religions, serious archaeological research only began in the 15th century.

Gath (city)

Gath or Gat ( גַּת‎; Geth, Philistine: 𐤂𐤕 *Gīt) was one of the five cities of the Philistine pentapolis during the Iron Age. It was located in northeastern Philistia, close to the border with Judah. Gath is often mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and its existence is confirmed by Egyptian inscriptions. Already of significance during the Bronze Age, the city is believed to be mentioned in the El-Amarna letters as Gimti/Gintu, ruled by the two Shuwardata and 'Abdi-Ashtarti.

Goliath

Goliath (ɡəˈlaɪəθ ) is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant defeated by the young David in single combat. The story signified King Saul's unfitness to rule, as Saul himself should have fought for Israel. Some modern scholars believe that the original slayer of Goliath may have been Elhanan, son of Jair, and that the authors of the Deuteronomic history could have changed the original text to credit the victory to the more famous character David.