Accaron

B11 on the Map

(Ekron). Khirbet: el-Muqanna. 1 Macc. 10. 89. Accaron is the Greek name of Ekron. Ekron "extermination" was a city of the Philistines, about 11 miles from Gath. It belonged successively to Judah (Josh 13:3) and Dan (19:43) and to the Philistines (1 Sam 5:10). Here the Ark was carried (5:10; 6:1-8). Baal-zebub was worshiped here (2 Kings 1:2).

Ekron is now located at Tel Miqne (el-Muqanna), near Revadim, about 25 miles W of Jerusalem. Excavations at the site demonstrate that Miqne (el-Muqanna) was occupied during the Early, Middle, and Late Bronze ages (3000-1200 BC); and around 1200 BC the Philistines founded the first urban settlement there. The last fortified city was probably destroyed by Sennacherib of Assyria during his 701 B.C. campaign in Judah.

Smith's Bible Dictionary (Ekron)

Ekron: (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. Jos 13:3 Like the other Philistine cities its situation was in the lowlands. It fell to the lot of Judah. Jos 15:45,46; Jud 1:18 Afterwards we find it mentioned among the cities of Dan. Jos 19:43 Before the monarchy it was again in full possession of the Philistines. 1Sa 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.

Smith's Bible Dictionary (Ekron)

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - ACCARON and EKRON

ACCARON
ak'-a-ron (Akkaron): Mentioned in 1 Macc 10:89 the King James Version; a town of the Philistines, known as Ekron (`eqron) in Old Testament, which King Alexander gave to Jonathan Maccabeus as a reward for successful military service in western Palestine. It is also mentioned in the days of the Crusades.

EKRON; EKRONITE
ek'-ron, ek'-ron-it 'eqron, "migration," "rooting out"; Akkaron:

The most northerly of the chief cities of the Philistines. It was not subdued by Joshua (13:3) but was allotted, in the division of the land, first to Judah and then to Da ( Jos 15:11,45,46; 19:43 ). It was taken by Judah ( Jud 1:18 ). The people of Ekron are prominent in the story of the ark in the land of the Philistines. It was they who proposed to have it sent back to Israel ( 1Sa 5:10; 6:16,17 ). After the defeat of the Philistines, when David killed Goliath, the Israelites pursued them to the gates of Ekron, which was evidently the nearest walled town in which the fugitives could take refuge ( 1Sa 17:52 ). It was the seat of the worship of the god Baalzebub, as appears in the account of the sickness and death of Ahaziah ( 2Ki 1:2,3,6:16 ). It is included among other cities in the denunciations of Amos (1:8) and of Jeremiah (25:20). Zephaniah declares that it shall be rooted up (2:4), and Zechariah speaks of its consternation at the fall of Tyre (9:5,7).

From the Assyrian records we learn that it revolted against Sennacherib and expelled Padi, the governor he had placed over it, and sent him to Hezekiah, at Jerusalem, for safe keeping. Sennacherib marched against it and Ekron called in the aid of the king of Mutsri, formerly supposed to be Egypt but now regarded by some scholars as a district of Northwestern Arabia. Sennacherib raised the siege of Ekron to defeat this army, which he did at Eltekeh, and then returned and took the city by storm and put to death the leaders of the revolt and carried their adherents into captivity. He then compelled Hezekiah to restore Padi, who was once more made governor. This affair led to the famous attack of Sennacherib on Hezekiah and Jerusalem (Rawl., Anc. Mon., II, 159). Ekron is mentioned in 1 Macc 10:89 as being given by Alexander Balas to Jonathan Maccabeus, and it appears in the accounts of the first Crusade.

Ekronite:

An inhabitant of Ekron, used in plural in Jos 13:3 and 1Sa 5:10 .

H. Porter

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - ACCARON and EKRON