Page 75 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies

The Five Royal Cities of the Philistines

Gaza – Situated in the south-west corner of Canaan, close to the Mediterranean Sea. It was
assigned to Judah but was 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 for 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 A Bet Shemesh
destruction, which has been fulfilled. It is Jerusalem
now a desolate ruin, yet interesting to Azekah
see. See Jer. 25:20, 47:5-7, Amos 1:8, As Tekoa
Zeph. 2:4, and Zech. 9:5. Samson went
down to this place from Timnath-serah
and slew thirty men and took their spoil. L
It was the scene of many a bloody battle H
during the 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
19:43), but neither controlled it long, as it was taken by the Philistines (I Sam 5:10). It was the last

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