ACCARON (Hebrew 'Egron'; Assyrian Amqarruna). — The northernmost of the five Philistine cities (Jos. 13, 3), Beelzebub (v.) (II Reg. 1, 2-16). It is commonly identified (after E. Robinson, 1838) with the present-day 'Agir', 10 km southwest of Ramle; J. Garstang (Jeshua, Judges, London 1931, pp. 330-36) instead identifies it with Qatra, 7 km southwest of 'Agir'.
After the Israelites occupied Canaan, Accaron first marked the northwest boundary of the tribe of Judah (Jos. 15, 45), which had captured it (Jude. 1, 18); but shortly afterward it was ceded to the neighboring tribe of Dan (Jos. 19, 43). In Samuel’s time, Accaron was again under Philistine control (I Sam. 5, 10; 6, 16 sg.; 17, 52), remaining so during the monarchy. In 702, when Padi, king of Accaron, refused to join the anti-Assyrian league, he was delivered as a prisoner to Hezekiah, king of Jerusalem; but the following year he was released and restored to his throne by Sennacherib during his march against Egypt (E. Schrader, Keilinschr. Bibliothek, II, Berlin 1890, pp. 92, 94).
The Prophets mention Accaron together with Gaza, Ascalon, and Azotus, foretelling its ruin (Am. 1, 8; Jer. 25, 20; Soph. 2, 4; Zach. 9, 5-7). In 147 Alexander Bala, king of Syria, gave Accaron with its district to Jonathan Maccabeus (I Mach. 10, 8g).