Philistines
The Philistines (Hebrew: פְּלִשְׁתִּים, romanized: Pəlīštīm; LXX: Koinē Greek: Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: Philistieím; Latin: Philistaei) were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia.
This article is about the ancient people. For their polity, see Philistia. For the derogatory term, see Philistinism. For other uses, see Philistines (disambiguation).
The Philistines originated as a Greek[1][2][3] immigrant group from the Aegean that settled in Canaan circa 1175 BC during the Late Bronze Age collapse. Over time, they gradually assimilated elements of the indigenous Levantine Semitic societies while preserving their own unique culture.[4]
In 604 BC, the Philistine polity, after having already been subjugated for centuries by the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC), was finally destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.[5] Subsequently, the Philistines were compelled into exile in Babylonia, where over time, they lost their unique ethnic identity. By the late fifth century BC, they vanished from both historical and archaeological records as a distinct group.[6][7]
The Philistines are known for their biblical conflict with the Canaanite peoples of the region, in particular, the Israelites. Though the primary source of information about the Philistines is the Hebrew Bible, they are first attested to in reliefs at the Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu, in which they are called the Peleset (𓊪𓏲𓂋𓏤𓏤𓐠𓍘𓇋𓍑), accepted as cognate with Hebrew Peleshet;[8] the parallel Assyrian term is Palastu, Pilišti, or Pilistu (Akkadian: 𒉺𒆷𒀸𒌓, 𒉿𒇷𒅖𒋾, and 𒉿𒇷𒅖𒌓[9]) They also left behind a distinctive material culture.[4]
Etymology[edit]
The English term Philistine comes from Old French Philistin; from Classical Latin Philistinus; from Late Greek Philistinoi; from Koine Greek Φυλιστιειμ (Philistiim),[10] ultimately from Hebrew Pəlištī (פְּלִשְׁתִּי; plural Pəlištīm, פְּלִשְׁתִּים), meaning 'people of Pəlešeṯ' (פְּלֶשֶׁת). There are cognates in Akkadian Palastu and Egyptian Palusata;[11] the term Palestine has the same derivation.[12] The native Philistine endonym is unknown.
The Hebrew term Pəlištīm occurs 286 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible (of which 152 times are in 1 Samuel). It also appears in the Samaritan Pentateuch.[13] In the Greek version of the Bible, called Septuagint, the equivalent term Phulistieím (Φυλιστιείμ) occurs 12 times, again in the Pentateuch.[14]
In secondary literature, "Philistia" is further mentioned in the Aramaic Visions of Amram (4Q543-7), which is dated "prior to Antiochus IV and the Hasmonean revolt," possibly to the time of High Priest of Israel Onias II; Jubilees 46:1-47:1 might have used Amram as a source.[15]
Outside of pre-Maccabean Israelite religious literature, evidence for the name and the origins of the Philistines is less abundant and less consistent. In the remainder of the Hebrew Bible, ha-Pəlištīm is attested at Qumran for 2 Samuel 5:17.[16] In the Septuagint, however, 269 references alternately use the term allophylos ('of another tribe').[17]
Biblical accounts[edit]
Origins[edit]
In the Book of Genesis, 10:13-14 states, with regard to descendants of Mizraim, in the Table of Nations: "Mizraim begot the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim, the Pathrusim, the Casluhim, and the Caphtorim, whence the Philistines came forth."[44] There is debate among interpreters as to whether Genesis 10:13-14 was intended to signify that the Philistines were the offspring of the Caphtorim or Casluhim.[45] Some interpreters, such as Friedrich Schwally,[46] Bernhard Stade,[47] and Cornelis Tiele[48] have argued for a third, Semitic origin.
According to rabbinic sources, the name Philistines designated two separate groups; those said to descend from the Casluhites were different from those described in the Deuteronomistic history.[49][50] Deuteronomist sources describe the "Five Lords of the Philistines"[a] as based in five city-states of the southwestern Levant: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath, from Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north. This description portrays them at one period of time as among the Kingdom of Israel's most dangerous enemies.[17] In the Septuagint, the term allophiloi (Greek: ἀλλόφυλοι), which means simply "other nations", is used instead of "Philistines".
Theologian Matthew Poole suggests that Casluhim and Caphtorim were brother tribes who lived in the same territory. However, the Capthorim enslaved the Cashluhim and their Philistine descendants, forcing the latter to flee to Canaan, according to Amos 9:7.[51]
Torah (Pentateuch)[edit]
The Torah does not record the Philistines as one of the nations to be displaced from Canaan. In Genesis 15:18-21,[52] the Philistines are absent from the ten nations Abraham's descendants will displace as well as being absent from the list of nations Moses tells the people they will conquer, though the land in which they resided is included in the boundaries based on the locations of rivers described.[53] In fact, the Philistines, through their Capthorite ancestors, were allowed to conquer the land from the Avvites.[54] However, their de-facto control over Canaan appears to have been limited. Joshua 13:3 states that only five cities, Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron, were controlled by Philistine lords. Three of these cities were later overtaken by the Anakim, making them a target for Israelite conquests as seen in Judges 3:3 and 2 Samuel 21:20.
God also directed the Israelites away from the Philistines upon their Exodus from Egypt, according to Exodus 13:17.[55] In Genesis 21:22-17,[56] Abraham agrees to a covenant of kindness with Abimelech, the Philistine king, and his descendants. Abraham's son Isaac deals with the Philistine king similarly, by concluding a treaty with them in chapter 26.[57]
Unlike most other ethnic groups in the Bible, the Philistines are almost always referred to without the definite article in the Torah.[58]