Page 77 - Advanced Bible Geography ebook

The Five Royal Cities of the Philistines

Gaza – Situated in south-west corner of Canaan close to the Mediterranean Sea. It was assigned to
Judah but never conquered by them. Samson carried away its gates, and afterwards perished here
amid the ruins of the great temple which he destroyed. It formed a part of the kingdom of David
and Solomon. It was strongly fortified, and withstood Alexander the Great in a siege of five months.
Today the modern city of Gaza lies just beyond the ruins of this ancient place and has a population
of around 15,000 people.

Gath - Gath was famous as being the birthplace or residence of Goliath (I Sam 17:4). David fled
from Saul to Achish, king of Gath (I Sam 21:10). It was eventually conquered by David in 2 Sam 8:1.
It occupied a strong position on the borders of Judah and Philistia (I Chr. 18:1).

Ashkelon – Located 12 miles north of
Gaza. It was within the territory assigned
to the tribe of Judah, was captured and
held a few years, and then relinquished.
It became a great commercial city and
was magnificently built and adorned.
Many prophets denounced it, all
predicting its utter destruction, which has A Bet Shemesh
been fulfilled. It is now a desolate ruin, Jerusalem
yet interesting to see. See Jer. 25:20, Azekah
47:5-7, Amos 1:8, Zeph. 2:4, and Zech. As Tekoa
9:5. Samson went down to this place
from Timnath-serah and slew thirty men
and took their spoil. It was the scene of L
many a bloody battle during the H
crusades.

Ashdod – It was one of the chief seats of
worship of Dagon (I Sam 5:5). It was
given to the tribe of Judah, but they failed
to ever possess it. It is an important city,
as it stood on the highroad from Egypt to
Israel, and hence was strongly fortified (2
Chr. 26:6, Isa. 20:1). King Uzziah took it,
but fifty years later it was captured by
Sargon, the Assyrian, in 711 BC. Philip
returned from Gaza (Acts 8:40) after Tel Gath is the oldest archaeological site in Judah. The city gate from the time when
sharing the Gospel there. Goliath was alive was discovered here in 2015. Some recently uncovered ruins can
be seen in the center of the photo. In the map, red markers indicate Israeli cities.
Gath was an incredibly important fortress for the Philistines, and a constant threat
Ekron – This was the most northerly of for Israel.
the five towns of the Lords of the
Philistines, about 11 miles north of Gath. It was assigned to Judah and afterwards to Dan (Josh

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