Peoples of the Bible: The Philistines

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The Philistines were an ancient people of uncertain origins. They settled in the southern coastal region of ancient Canaan around the 12th century BCE. They formed a confederation of five coastal cities: Gath, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gaza, and Ashdod. The modern-day equivalent of their former territory covers most of the Gaza Strip and coastal Israel.

Archaeologists would love to excavate ancient Philistia, but that has not been feasible over the last couple of decades under Hamas rule. However, as we learn about the complex web of underground tunnels crisscrossing Gaza, I wonder how many Philistine artifacts the Palestinian laborers lost or destroyed.

Surely, they came across Philistine material remains, even if they did not know it. Maybe one day, there will be a Gaza version of the Temple Mount Sifting Project in Israel, where they can wet sift all the debris from the Gaza tunnels. Of course, that is in the unforeseeable future.

Back to ancient Philistia. The five cities are called the Philistine Pentapolis. Each city had their own political leader, which meant they each enjoyed a combination of independence and alliance. On the west, the Mediterranean Sea bordered their territory, and their eastern border was the Shephelah, or the Judean hill country. The way their five cities ran up and down the coast meant they shared a long border with Judah. Keep that in mind when you read the biblical story of Samson. Samson frequently went back and forth between Judean and Philistine territory with little trouble (Judges 14-16). Before David became king, he also took advantage of the porous border between Philistia and Judah when he was trying to hide from King Saul (1 Sam. 27).

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