Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB BLB AICNT OEB WEB WMB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE MOF JPS ASV DRA YLT DBY RV WBS KJB BB GNV CB TNT WYC SR-GNT UHB Related Parallel Interlinear Dictionary Search
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XY Z
EKRON, EKRONITES*
Most northerly city among the major Philistine settlements. During the Hebrew conquest of Palestine, Ekron was not taken by Joshua (Jos 13:3). When the land was divided among the 12 tribes, Ekron was given first to Judah and then to Dan (15:11, 45-46; 19:43). It was eventually taken by Judah (Jgs 1:18), but it subsequently fell back to the Philistines.
Ekron played a prominent role in the story of the capture of the ark of the covenant. After the ark brought disaster to Ashdod and Gath, it was taken to Ekron (1 Sm 5:1-10). The Ekronites did not want the ark, so they consulted with the “lords of the Philistines” and proposed that the ark be sent back to Israel (v 11).
After David killed Goliath, the Israelites pursued the Philistines to the gates of Ekron, which at that time apparently was the nearest walled city in which fugitives could take refuge (1 Sm 17:52).
Ekron was apparently the center of the worship of the god Baal-zebub. When Ahaziah injured himself and lay ill, he preferred to consult with Baal-zebub rather than with God. Elijah was sent by God to denounce Ahaziah and tell him that he would die (2 Kgs 1:2-18). Baal worship may have been increasing in Israel at this time. Ekron is included in the denunciations of several prophets: Jeremiah (25:20), Amos (1:8), Zephaniah (2:4), and Zechariah (9:5-7).
Assyrian records inform us that Ekron revolted against Sennacherib in 701 BC. The rebels deposed Padi, the ruler of Ekron, who was loyal to Assyria, and handed him over to Hezekiah in Jerusalem for imprisonment. Sennacherib moved against Ekron, and Ekron called for aid from the king of Mutsri (either Egypt or a district of northwestern Arabia). Sennacherib lifted his siege of Ekron long enough to defeat the army of Mutsri, and then returned to take Ekron. He executed the rebels, made captives of their followers, forced Hezekiah to release Padi, and restored Padi as ruler of the city. Padi also received some territory taken from Judah. Padi’s successor, Ikausu, was not so fortunate. He, along with Manasseh of Judah, was forced to pay heavy tribute to both Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal.
In 147 BC the king of Syria, Alexander Epiphanes, gave Ekron to Jonathan Maccabeus as a reward for his loyalty (1 Macc 10:89). In the fourth century AD it still had a large Jewish population.
See also Philistia, Philistines.