Philistine vs. Israeli: The Bible and Archaeology

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Philistine vs. IsraeliThe Bible and Archaeology

• Katie McCulloch

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According to the Bible

• The Philistines were enemies of Gods chosen
  people, the Israelites.
• The Bible claims the Philistines to be from
  Capthor.
• The phrase philistine appears 288 times in the
  Old Testament.
• Philistines were considered to be boorish and
  were often referred to as uncircumcised.

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Philistine Biblical Appearances

• Judges 13-16 Samson has his encounters with the
  Philistines, resulting in the destruction of a
  temple and his death.
• 1 Samuel 4-6 Philistines capture the Ark in a
  disastrous battle.
• 1 Samuel 17 David slays the giant Goliath from
  Gath with a slingshot.

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Philistine Biblical Appearances

• 1 Samuel 27-29 David lives in Gath, a city of
  Philistia.
• 1 Samuel 31 Philistines are victorious in battle
  Saul and all his sons are killed.
• 2 Samuel 21 Goliath is slain here again, but not
  by David.
• 2 Kings Philistines seem to have lost power.
• 1 Chronicles contains repeats of stories already
  mentioned.

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Philistines in Prophecy

• Isaiah 9, 11 Philistines will reign then be
  conquered by the Israelites.
• Jeremiah 47 Philistines will be ruined by Egypt
  and their power is gone.
• Ezekiel 16 Israels conduct will disgust even the
  Philistine women.
• Amos 1 God promises the destruction of the cities
  of Philistia.

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• BUT WHO WERE THE PHILISTINES REALLY?

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Philistine Origin

• The Philistines were part of the Sea Peoples, who
  came to Canaan from the Aegean region.
• Their migration was in roughly 1200 B.C.E. which
  was before the arrival of the Hebrews.

Map of Philistine origin
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Locating the Philistines

• Ramses III of Egypt recorded fighting the Sea
  Peoples on both land and sea.
• One faction was the Pelesets, who are now
  considered to be the Philistines.
• Ramses III allowed these people to settle in
  southwestern Canaan.
• The five principal cities of Philistia were
  Ekron, Ashdod, Gath, Askalon, and Gaza.

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Map of Philistia
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Philistines and Battle

• The Philistines brought iron weapons and tools
  with them and had a monopoly on them (everyone
  else was still in the late Bronze Age).
• Philistias leaders were also thought to have
  better military techniques, leading to the losses
  of the Hebrews.

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Philistines and Religion

• Many aspects are similar to Canaanite religions
  because the Philistines were highly adaptive.
• Male god Dagon
• Female goddess Ashtoreth
• Ekrons god was Baal-zebul, who was
  condescendingly referred to as Baal-zebub in the
  Bible, meaning lord of the flies.

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Philistine Daily Life

• Archaeological sites reveal that Philistia was a
  nation of traders.
• The production of olive oil was a large source of
  wealth for the Philistines.
• The architecture of the cities is odd for Canaan
  but seen in the Aegean region.

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Philistine Downfall

• The Philistines were highly adaptive and while
  this allowed them to survive, they lost their
  core culture.
• Under David and Solomon, the Philistines were a
  conquered people.
• In 604 B.C.E. Ashkelon was torched by the
  Babylonians and the other four cities fell soon
  after.
• After 600 years as a civilization, the
  Philistines were gone.

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Bibliography

• Baird, Rod. Philistia Ancient Routes 2002. 20
  Jan. 2003 lthttp//ancientroute.com/empire/philisti
  a.htmgt.
• Balter, Michael. Bibles Bad Boys Werent Such
  Philistines After All. Science 285 (1999)
  36-38.
• Ben-David, Calev. Tell it in Gath. The Internet
  Jerusalem Post 13 Aug 2001. 20 Jan 2003
  lthttp//www.biu.ac.il/Spokesman/Stories/aug_13_200
  1.htmgt.
• Gitman, Seymour. Last Days of the Philistines.
  Archaeology 45 (May 1992) 26-31.
• Grant, Michael. The History of Ancient Israel.
  New York Charles Scribners Sons, 1984.

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Bibliography

• Howard, David Jr. Philistines and Israel. 1997.
  20 Jan 2003 lthttp//www.bethel.edu/seminary_academ
  ics/gemsem/dhoward/articles/PH2NID.htmgt.
• MacAlister, Robert. The Philistines. London
  Oxford University Press, 1914.
• Philistia. Map. The People of Dagon 29 Jan.
  2003 lthttp//www.home.earthlink.net/neatoguy/dago
  n.htmgt.
• Philistine Origin. Map. Postmodern Bible-Amos
  20 Jan. 2003 lthttp//www.bible.gen.nz/amos/philist
  ine.htmgt.