Digging Up the Bible: The Ekron Inscription

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
pdf
Dr. Paul Manuel—2017
 

Ekron Inscription
(Early 7^th century BC)

The Ekron Inscription to dedicate the royal temple is a partial account in Phoenician script on a limestone block unearthed in situ that lists the line of rulers for the Philistine city-state:

The temple (which) he built, 'kys son of Padi, son of
Ysd, son of Ada, son of Ya'ir, ruler of Ek-
ron, for Pt[]yh his lady, may she bless him, and
prot[ec]t him, and prolong his days, and bless
his [l]and

The inscription mentions the goddess Pt[]yh to whom the temple is dedicated, but that name does not appear in any other extant literature.
 

Ekron had one of the main concentrations of Philistines who were originally part of the Sea Peoples migration to settlements inland from the Mediterranean Sea:

The five Philistine rulers in Gaza [were] Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. (Josh 13:3)

 

This is the first Philistine temple inscription archaeologists have uncovered, but each village may have had its own shrine. The Bible mentions two others, Gaza and Ashdod:

The Philistines seized [Samson], gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza.... The rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, "Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands." (Judg 16:21a, 23)

After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! (1 Sam 5:1-3a)

Perhaps other Philistine enclaves will someday yield similar finds as the dedicatory plaque at Ekron.

 

A later battle between the forces of King Saul and the Philistines occurs on a mountain range overlooking the Jezreel Valley. It ends with Saul's death and the transfer of his body (head) to an unspecified temple of Dagon, the closest being at Ekron.

They...hung up [Saul's] head in the temple of Dagon. (1 Chr 10:10)

Significance for Biblical Studies: The Ekron Inscription to dedicate the royal temple attests to a pagan religious presence in the land competing with worship of the true God. It illustrates the common practice of devoting space to a particular deity, as Solomon later did for the temple in Jerusalem. The difference is that Dagon, being represented by an idol, needed multiple locations; whereas the LORD, having no such representation, needed no location:

Will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. (1 Kgs 8:27-28)

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