Ekron

Ekron (meaning barrenness or torn away) was the most northerly of the five major Philistine cities (the Pentapolis), the others being Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Gath. It lay in the Shephelah (the lowland foothills between the coastal plain and the hill country of Judah) and controlled an important route between the coast and the interior. Ekron is first mentioned in Joshua 13:3 as part of the coastal territory not fully subdued, and it remained a bone of contention between Israel and the Philistines throughout the era of the judges and the early monarchy.

The Philistines brought the captured ark of God to Ekron (1 Samuel 5:10), where it caused a plague that prompted its return to Israel. The god Baal-zebub ("lord of the flies") was worshipped at Ekron, and Ahaziah king of Israel sent to consult him — earning prophetic rebuke from Elijah (2 Kings 1:2–16). Ekron was allotted to Judah (Joshua 15:11) and later to Dan (Joshua 19:43), though Philistine control made these allotments largely theoretical. Prophets including Zephaniah (2:4) and Zechariah (9:5–7) pronounced judgment against the city.