Ekron, one of the five principal Philistine cities, located in southwestern Canaan.
Also known as Ekronites
Ekron was one of the five major cities of the Philistines, along with Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Gaza. It was located in the western part of Canaan, near the Mediterranean coast. The city was originally assigned to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:11,45-46) and then to Dan (Joshua 19:43), but the Israelites failed to conquer it (Judges 1:18-19).
During the time of Samuel, the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant and moved it to Ashdod, then Gath, and finally Ekron (1Sa.5.10). However, God afflicted the Ekronites with tumors, so they sent the Ark back to Israel (1Samuel 6). Later, David killed Goliath, and the Israelites pursued the Philistines as far as Ekron (1Sa.17.52).
The prophets Amos (1:8), Zephaniah (2:4), and Zechariah (9:5,7) all foretold Ekron's destruction as part of God's judgment on the Philistines. King Ahaziah of Israel sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, regarding his illness, showing the city's religious influence (2Ki.1.2-3,16).
Approximate location: 31.778, 34.852 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
Firm-rooted, the most northerly of the five towns belonging to the lords of the Philistines, about 11 miles north of Gath. It was assigned to Judah (Josh. 13:3), and afterwards to Dan (19:43), but came again into the full possession of the Philistines (1 Sam. 5:10). It was the last place to which the Philistines carried the ark before they sent it back to Israel (1 Sam. 5:10; 6:1-8). There was here a noted sanctuary of Baal-zebub (2 Kings 1: 2, 3, 6, 16). Now the small village Akir. It is mentioned on monuments in B.C. 702, when Sennacherib set free its king, imprisoned by Hezekiah in Jerusalem, according to the Assyrian record.
(torn up by the roots; emigration), one of the five towns belonging to the lords of the Philistines, and the most northerly of the five. (Joshua 13:3) Like the other Philistine cities its situation was in the lowlands. It fell to the lot of Judah. (Joshua 15:45,46; Judges 1:18) Afterwards we find it mentioned among the cities of Dan. (Joshua 19:43) Before the monarchy it was again in full possession of the Philistines. (1 Samuel 5:10) Akir, the modern representative of Ekron, lies about five miles southwest of Ramleh . In the Apocrypha it appears as Accaron. 1Macc 10:89 only.
EK'RON (emigration), the most northerly of the five cities of the Philistines, Josh 13:3; in the lowlands of Judah, Josh 15:11; conquered by Judah, Josh 15:45; allotted to Dan 19:43; reconquered by Samuel, 1 Sam 5:10; 1 Sam 7:14 again a Philistine city, 1 Sam 17:52 2 Kgs 1:2; Jer 25:20; Am 1:8; Zech 9:5; now called Akir, on a hill 12 miles south-east of Joppa, a wretched village of about 50 mud hovels. The prophecy has been fulfilled, "Ekron shall be rooted up." Zeph 2:4.
EK'RON (emigration), the most northerly of the five cities of the Philistines, Josh 13:3; in the lowlands of Judah, Josh 15:11; conquered by Judah, Josh 15:45; allotted to Dan 19:43; reconquered by Samuel, 1 Sam 5:10; 1 Sam 7:14 again a Philistine city, 1 Sam 17:52 2 Kgs 1:2; Jer 25:20; Am 1:8; Zech 9:5; now called Akir, on a hill 12 miles south-east of Joppa, a wretched village of about 50 mud hovels. The prophecy has been fulfilled, "Ekron shall be rooted up." Zeph 2:4.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
20 verses in 8 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H6138
from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites;
Then it went out to the northern slope of Ekron, curved toward Shikkeron, proceeded to Mount Baalah, went on to Jabneel, and ended at the Sea.
Ekron, with its towns and villages;
from Ekron to the sea, all the cities near Ashdod, along with their villages;
Elon, Timnah, Ekron,
And Judah also captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron—each with its territory.
So they sent the ark of God to Ekron, but as it arrived, the Ekronites cried out, “They have brought us the ark of the God of Israel in order to kill us and our people!”
And when the five rulers of the Philistines saw this, they returned to Ekron that same day.
As a guilt offering to the LORD, the Philistines had sent back one gold tumor for each city: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.
The cities from Ekron to Gath, which the Philistines had taken, were restored to Israel, who also delivered the surrounding territory from the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between the Israelites and the Amorites.
Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. And the bodies of the Philistines were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.
Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers and instructed them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.”
But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are on your way to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’
They replied, “A man came up to meet us and said, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him that this is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending these men to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not get up from the bed on which you are lying. You will surely die.’”
And Elijah said to King Ahaziah, “This is what the LORD says: Is there really no God in Israel for you to inquire of His word? Is that why you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not get up from the bed on which you are lying. You will surely die.”
all the mixed tribes; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines: Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;
I will cut off the ruler of Ashdod and the one who wields the scepter in Ashkelon. I will turn My hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” says the Lord GOD.
For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon left in ruins. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted.
Ashkelon will see and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, as will Ekron, for her hope will wither. There will cease to be a king in Gaza, and Ashkelon will be uninhabited.
I will remove the blood from their mouths and the abominations from between their teeth. Then they too will become a remnant for our God; they will become like a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.