A city in the land of the Philistines, between Ashdod and Gaza, on the coast of the Mediterranean. After the death of Joshua, the tribe of Judah took Askelon; but it subsequently became one of the five governments belonging to the Philistines, Judges 1:18; 1 Samuel 6:17. Dr. Richardson thus describes its present state: "Askelon was one of the proudest satrapies of the Philistines; now there is not an inhabitant within its walls; and the prophecy of Zechariah is fulfilled: ‘The king shall perish from Gaza, and Askelon shall not be inhabited’" Zechariah 9:5.