Ashkelon

Ashkelon (also spelled Askelon) is one of the five chief cities of the Philistine pentapolis, named alongside Gaza, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron. It sits on the seacoast of the land assigned to Judah, and across the historical books and the prophets it appears as a Philistine stronghold — first as territory unsubdued in the conquest, then as the scene of Samson's slaughter, then as a recurring object of prophetic judgment.

A Philistine Capital

When Joshua is old and the conquest is incomplete, Ashkelon is named in the catalog of land yet to be possessed: "from the Shihor, which is before Egypt, even to the border of Ekron northward, [which] is reckoned to the Canaanites; the five lords of the Philistines; the Gazites, and the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avvim" (Jos 13:3). The same five-city grouping is the standing frame for Ashkelon throughout the rest of the canon. After Joshua's death, Judah does take the city in the opening sweep of Judges: "Also Judah took Gaza with its border, and Ashkelon with its border, and Ekron with its border" (Jud 1:18) — a hold that does not last.

The city stands again for Philistine power when the captured ark is sent home. As one of the five trespass-offering tumors of gold, Ashkelon is enumerated with its sister cities: "for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one" (1Sa 6:17).

Samson at Ashkelon

In the Samson cycle, Ashkelon is where the riddle is paid for in blood. Defeated at his own wedding-feast wager, Samson takes his wages from its men: "And the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and struck thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave the changes [of raiment] to those who declared the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house" (Jud 14:19).

Daughter of the Philistines

In David's lament over Saul and Jonathan, Ashkelon is paired with Gath as the place where Philistine triumph must not be allowed to sound: "Don't tell it in Gath, Don't proclaim the news in the streets of Ashkelon; Or else the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, Or else the daughters of the uncircumcised will triumph" (2Sa 1:20). The streets of Ashkelon stand by metonymy for the whole Philistine populace.

Prophecies Concerning

Ashkelon's most sustained appearances are in the prophets, where it figures repeatedly in oracles against the Philistines.

Jeremiah includes it in the cup of wrath passed to the nations: "and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod" (Jer 25:20). His dedicated oracle against the Philistines drives the judgment to its end: "Baldness has come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is brought to nothing, the remnant of the Anakim: how long will you cut yourself?" (Jer 47:5). The oracle closes by tying the destruction directly to Yahweh's commission: "How can you be quiet, seeing Yahweh has given you a charge? Against Ashkelon, and against the seashore, there he has appointed it" (Jer 47:7).

Amos puts Ashkelon among the rulers to be cut off: "And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; and I will turn my hand against Ekron; and the remnant of the Philistines will perish, says the Sovereign Yahweh" (Am 1:8).

Zephaniah reaches the same verdict in the same five-city frame: "For Gaza will be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation; they will drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron will be rooted up" (Zep 2:4).

Zechariah carries the picture into his own oracle, where Ashkelon both witnesses and shares the judgment falling on its neighbors: "Ashkelon will see it, and fear; Gaza also, and will be very pained; and Ekron, for her expectation will be put to shame; and the king will perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon will not be inhabited" (Zec 9:5).

Reversal for the Remnant

Zephaniah does not leave Ashkelon as desolation only. Beyond the ruin, the depopulated city becomes pasture for the people of God: "And the portion will be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they will feed [their flocks] thereupon; in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening; for Yahweh their God will visit them, and bring back their destiny" (Zep 2:7). The same houses that the prophets see emptied are the houses where Judah's flocks finally lie down.