Dictionary Summary: Firm-rooted, the most northerly of the five towns belonging to the lords of the Philistines, about 11 miles north of Gath. It was assigned to Judah ([Josh. 13:3](/josh#Josh.13.3)), and afterwards to Dan (19:43), but came again into the full possession of the Philistines ([1 Sam. 5:10](/1sam#1Sam.5.10)). It was the last place to which the Philistines carried the ark before they sent it back to Israel ([1 Sam. 5:10](/1sam#1Sam.5.10); [6:1-8](/1sam#1Sam.6.1)). There was here a noted sanctuary of Baal-zebub ([2 Kings 1](/2kgs#2Kgs.1): 2, 3, 6, 16). Now the small village Akir. It is mentioned on monuments in B.C. 702, when Sennacherib set free its king, imprisoned by Hezekiah in Jerusalem, according to the Assyrian record. ²