sultry or sandy, a town and harbour of Phoenicia, in the tribe of Asher, but never acquired by them ( Judges 1:31 ). It was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans by the name of Ptolemais, from Ptolemy the king of Egypt, who rebuilt it about B.C. 100. Here Paul landed on his last journey to Jerusalem ( Acts 21:7 ). During the crusades of the Middle Ages it was called Acra; and subsequently, on account of its being occupied by the Knights Hospitallers of Jerusalem, it was called St. Jean d'Acre, or simply Acre.
close; pressed together
(the PTOLEMAIS of the Maccabees and New Testament), Now called Acca , or more usually by Europeans St. Jean dAcre , the most important seaport town on the Syrian coast, about 30 miles south of Tyre. It was situated on a slightly projecting headland, at the northern extremity of that spacious bay which is formed by the bold promontory of Carmel on the opposite side. Later it was named Ptolemais, after one of the Ptolemies, probably Soter. The only notice of it in the New Testament is in ( Acts 21:7 ) where it is called Ptolemais .