Place Old Testament
Ekron
Also known as Ekronites =KJV; Ekron ESV, NIV
Ekron, one of the five principal Philistine cities, located in southwestern Canaan. Mentioned in 20 verses across 8 books, first at Joshua 13:3.
Why it matters. One of the five major Philistine city-states
- Primary passages
- Location
- 31.778, 34.852 (approximate, within about 2 km)
Coordinates from STEPBible TIPNR (palopenmaps.org link). Approximate; not independently verified.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Ekron
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).
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 20 verses across 8 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.