Peleshet, the place known as Philistia (Strong’s 6429) and P’lish’tim, the Philistines people (Strong’s 6430) Peleshet Root: ???????? P’lish’tim Root: ?????????????? Etymology of Philistines/Palestinians Egypt: Peleset (name of this particular group of Sea Peoples found in Egyptian inscriptions) Hebrew:...
Peleshet, the place known as Philistia (Strong’s 6429) and P’lish’tim, the Philistines people (Strong’s 6430)
Peleshet Root:
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P’lish’tim Root:
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Etymology of Philistines/Palestinians
Egypt: Peleset (name of this particular group of Sea Peoples found in Egyptian inscriptions) Hebrew: Peleshet/P’lish’tim Assyrian: Pilistu/Palashtu Greek: Phylistieim Roman: Palaestina/PalestineWith what’s going on in Israel these days there’s a lot of discussion about the connection between the ancient Philistine people and what became known as the people of Palestine. Without diving into the world of modern politics, today we are simply going to trace the Philistine footprint in the Bible.
The first mention of the Philistines can be found in Genesis 10 which outlined the genealogy of Noah’s descendants. This chapter is sometimes referred to as the Table of Nations. Here the Philistines were listed as one of the people groups descended from Noah’s son Ham (Genesis 10:14). All the “big bad” enemies of the Israelites descended from Ham, including: the Canaanites, the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians… and the Palestinians.
Abimelech, Philistine King of Gerar
After the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham and Sarah moved to the area of Gerar. There they had a run-in with the Philistine king, Abimelech (king of Gerar). Abraham knew how beautiful Sarah was and feared that they would kill him in order to get to Sarah, so he told them that Sarah was his sister. So Abimelech took Sarah to be one of his wives, but before anything happened God spoke to Abimelech in a dream and revealed Abraham’s deception. Abimelech did not touch Sarah and returned her to Abraham. He chastised Abraham and then said, “Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please” (Genesis 20:15).
And so Abraham and Sarah settled in Philistine territory, in Gerar, South of Gaza. In fact, they were there when their son Isaac was born (Genesis 21).
Another incident arose between Abimelech and Abraham. Abimelech’s servants had seized the water from Abraham’s well. Abraham complained to Abimelech and Abimelech agreed to give ownership of the well to Abraham. Abraham gave seven ewe’s to Abimelech as a covenant sign of peace.
Genesis 21:31-34
Therefore he [Abraham] called that place Beersheba [place of oath], because there the two of them took an oath. So they made a covenant at Beersheba; and Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, got up and returned to the land of the Philistines [P’lish’tim]. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of YHWH, the Everlasting God. And Abraham resided in the land of the Philistines [P’lish’tim] for many days.
After Abraham’s death the Philistines tried to end the oath and they plugged up the wells that Abraham had dug. Isaac, Abraham’s son, re-dug the wells and the herdsmen of Gerar tried to claim the waters for themselves. King Abimelech came and renewed the oath, this time with Isaac.
It’s interesting to note that just before this incident, Isaac tried to pull the same stunt on Abimelech by telling him that Rebekah was his sister, not his wife, but Abimelech would not be fooled again (Genesis 26).
Wilderness Wandering: Avoiding the Philistines
The next mention of the Philistines was after the Hebrew people left Egypt and wandered in the wilderness, heading towards God’s promised land:
Exodus 1:17-18
Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines [P’lish’tim], even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” Therefore God led the people around by way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in battle formation from the land of Egypt.
God did not want them to battle with the Philistines. As Egyptian slaves, their experience with the military would have been minimal. To be suddenly forced into battle would have ruined them, and out of fear they may have returned to their Egyptian captors.
However, in the forty years before entering Canaan they weren’t immune to aggressive battle. They were attacked by the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-16), but as far as I understand, they had no recorded skirmishes with the Philistines at this time.
Eventually they made their way to the promised land. The scroll of Joshua, chapter 13, indicates that the land of the Philistine land was part of Canaan at that time. All of Canaan was to be divided for the tribes of Jacob and that included the territories of the Philistines, specifically “the five governors of the Philistines [P’lish’tim]: the Gazite, the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite, the Ekronite” (Joshua 13:3b).
The Philistines in the time of the Judges
After they entered Canaan, the Hebrew people started interacting with the Philistines and other combatants. They quickly learned the skills of warfare:
Judges 3:1-7
Now these are the nations that YHWH left, to test Israel by them (that is, all the Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan; only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it previously). These nations are: the five governors of the Philistines [Ph’lish’tim] and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath.
They were left to test Israel by them, to find out if they would obey the commandments of YHWH, which He had commanded their fathers through Moses. The sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and they took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods. So the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of YHWH, and they forgot YHWH their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
And so began the constant flip-flopping of the Israelites. Sometimes they were loyal to YHWH and sometimes they turned to the gods of their enemies.
What may have really started the violent rivalry between these two people groups was a single event mentioned in one sentence in the Bible:
Judges 3:31
Now after him [Ehud] came Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck and killed six hundred Philistines [P’lish’tim] with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.
From that point on, war between the Israelites and the Philistines was a common occurrence.
However, occasionally the Hebrew people sided with the Philistines and turned to their gods. When this happened God turned them over to the people of the gods they now worshipped:
Judges 10:6-7
Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of YHWH, and they served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines [elohey P’lish’tim]; so they abandoned YHWH and did not serve Him. And the anger of YHWH burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines [P’lish’tim], and into the hands of the sons of Ammon.
After 18 years of oppression under the Philistines and the Ammonites, the people cried out to YHWH:
Judges 10:10-16
Then the sons of Israel cried out to YHWH, saying, “We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have abandoned our God and served the Baals.”
And YHWH said to the sons of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the sons of Ammon, and the Philistines [P’lish’tim]? And when the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you, you cried out to Me, and I saved you from their hands. Yet you abandoned Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” Then the sons of Israel said to YHWH, “We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to You; only please save us this day.” So they removed the foreign gods from among them and served YHWH; and He could no longer endure the misery of Israel.
And so God saved them from the Philistines, but not long afterwards they returned to idolatry AGAIN:
Judges 13:1
Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of YHWH, and YHWH handed them over to the Philistines [P’lish’tim] for forty years.
It was during this forty year oppression that Samson stood as a mighty warrior against the Philistines. Originally, however, Samson wanted to marry into the Philistine clan, but when they dismissed him, he took it very personally and vowed to destroy them. Eventually the Philistines captured him and blinded him. Samson, now a prisoner, continued his fight as he used his chained force and brought the walls down in Gaza, crushing about 3000 Philistine citizens, and ensuring his own death. (Read Judges 13-16).
Of course Samson’s actions did nothing to repair Israelite-Philistine relations. These two nations remained in battle for centuries to come.
Trying to find a new way to attack the Philistines, the Israelites made the fatal mistake of deciding to march the Ark of the Covenant into battle against the Philistines. Without consulting YHWH they marched His Presence into their war, as if God was their poster-boy. They lost. Not only did they lose the battle, the Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Philistines and placed in the Philistine temple at Ashdod.
This is one of my personal favourite stories in the Tanakh. The Presence of YHWH, in the Ark of the Covenant, was placed in the pagan temple. The following morning the Philistine priests found the statue of their god, Dagon, laying prostrate in front of the Ark, like it was bowing in submission to YHWH. When it happened a second time, and after tumours started ravaging the people, the Philistines no longer wanted the Ark in their vicinity. The Ark was quickly sent back to the Hebrew people. (Read 1 Samuel 4-7). [This was the subject of one of my sermons from last year. For more details on this story, you can view it here.]
Israelite Kingship and the Philistines
Eventually the Hebrew people decided they wanted to have a king like the other nations, and Saul became the first king of the Israelites. Saul was supposed to be the king who would deliver the people from the Philistines (1 Samuel 9:15-17) and certainly most of his reign was spent in battle with this troublesome enemy. (Read 1 Samuel 13 & 14). Saul acted foolishly, more than once, and his attempts at taking the Philistines down were largely unsuccessful… at least until a young man from Bethlehem offered to lend a helping hand.
Young David, a shepherd from Bethlehem, and the youngest son of Jesse, offered to kill the Philistine giant, Goliath from Gath. He took down the snake-like enemy with a small stone and a sling-shot (1 Samuel 17).
The Philistines were commonly known as the “uncircumcised” people and so Saul, threatened by David’s military success, offered his daughter’s hand in marriage if David produced the foreskins of 100 Philistines, thinking that David would die in the pursuit. David took the challenge and delivered 200 foreskins (1 Samuel 18).
David became a key soldier in Saul’s army against the Philistines (1 Samuel 19). He was a bold and risky soldier. When he found himself captured in Gath he acted insane in order to be dismissed by the Philistines (1 Samuel 21). He wrote a Psalm about his experience of being captive in Philistia:
Psalm 56 (full)
For the music director; according to Jonath elem rehokim. A Mikhtam of David, when the Philistines [Ph’lish’tim] seized him in Gath.
Be gracious to me, God, for a man has trampled upon me; fighting all day long he oppresses me. My enemies have trampled upon me all day long, for they are many who fight proudly against me.
When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? All day long they distort my words; all their thoughts are against me for evil. They attack, they lurk, they watch my steps, as they have waited to take my life. Because of their wickedness, will there be an escape for them?
In anger make the peoples fall down, God! You have taken account of my miseries; put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? Then my enemies will turn back on the day when I call; this I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in YHWH, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can mankind do to me?
Your vows are binding upon me, God; I will render thanksgiving offerings to You. For You have saved my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling, so that I may walk before God in the light of the living.
After leaving Gath, David reclaimed the sword of Goliath as his own ( Samuel 22:10) and fought in the battle between Keilah and the Philistines. David was successful against the Philistines and saved Keilah.
Regardless of David’s success, Saul grew to hate David even more, and David realized he was in danger. So David fled from Keilah and took refuge in the land of his enemies (1 Samuel 27). David, ironically, sought refuge in the Philistine city of Gath, which had been the hometown of Goliath:
1 Samuel 27:1-7
Then David said to himself, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to safely escape into the land of the Philistines [P’lish’tim]. Then Saul will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.”
So David set out and went over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. And David lived with Achish in Gath, he and his men, each with his own household—David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow. Now it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.
Then David said to Achish, “If now I have found favour in your sight, have them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, so that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”
So Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines [P’lish’tim] was a year and four months.
Achish, king of Gath, grew to trust David, but the Philistine officials were not as trusting of the man who once killed their great warrior, Goliath, and David had to leave.
Eventually king Saul and his sons were killed by the Philistines (1 Samuel 31 & 1 Chronicles 10) and David was able to live without the constant death threat initiated by Saul. Regardless, David was saddened by the death of Saul and his sons, in particular Jonathan, his best friend:
2 Samuel 1:17-20
Then David sang this song of mourning over Saul and his son Jonathan, and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the mourning song of the bow; behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar.
“Your beauty, Israel, is slaughtered on your high places! How the mighty have fallen! Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, or the daughters of the Philistines [P’lish’tim] will rejoice, the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate.”
After David was anointed as king, his first military act wasn’t to attack the Philistines. He chose, instead, to attack the Jebusites and take Jerusalem as his home base. David had well-established relations with the Philistines. At first he did not seek combat with his neighbours to the West, but when the Philistines heard that David had been crowned as king of the Israelites things changed:
2 Samuel 5:17-19
Now when the Philistines [Ph’lish’tim] heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines [kal P’lish’tim] went up to seek out David; and when David heard about it, he went down to the stronghold. And the Philistines [u-Ph’lish’tim] came and overran the Valley of Rephaim. So David inquired of YHWH, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines [P’lish’tim]? Will You hand them over to me?” And YHWH said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly hand the Philistines [et ha-P’lish’tim] over to you.”
With YHWH’s support David led the charge to attack the Philistines. The Philistines were often described as giants. Goliath was giant in stature and his brother, Lahmi, was no exception:
1 Chronicles 20:4-8
Now it came about after this, that war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines [P’lish’tim]; then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the giants, and they were subdued. And there was war with the Philistines [P’lish’tim] again, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. Again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot; and he also was descended from the giants. When he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him. These were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
Finally, it’s worth noting that the Philistines had a garrison at Bethlehem (only 8 kms outside of Jerusalem). This was David’s hometown and David longed to return and taste the waters of Bethlehem (2 Samuel 23:13-17, 1 Chronicles 11).
Image of David (Florence, Italy) by Sean Robertson (Unsplash.com)
Philistines after David
It appears that David was predominantly successful in his battles against the Philistines. By the time Solomon became king there seemed to be relative peace between the Philistines and the Israelites:
1 Kings 4:21
Now Solomon was ruling over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines [P’lish’tim] and to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
The Philistine kingdoms appeared to be vassal states under Solomon’s rule. They paid tribute to Solomon in order to keep the peace and guarantee their protection.
After the reign of David and Solomon, the land of the twelve tribes of Israel was split into two kingdoms, the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel. In this rather chaotic time period, the Philistines picked up their swords again and became a dominant opponent of Judah.
According to 2 Chronicles 17:11, the Philistines were still bringing tribute during the years of king Jehosaphat of Judah (approx. 875-845 BCE), but during the next king’s reign, the Philistines rebelled against Judah and captured the king Jehoram’s sons and wives (except his youngest son, Jehoahaz) (2 Chronicles 21:16)
King Uzziah (approx. 785-740 BCE) warred against the Philistines and was successful against them (2 Chronicles 26:6-7), but king Ahaz of Judah (approx 735-715 BCE) lost a lot of territory to the Philistines:
2 Chronicles 28:16-19
At that time King Ahaz sent word to the kings of Assyria for help. For the Edomites had come again and attacked Judah, and led away captives. The Philistines [u-Ph’lish’tim] had also invaded the cities of the lowland and of the Negev of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, and Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they had settled there. For YHWH had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had brought about a lack of restraint in Judah and was very unfaithful to YHWH.
King Hezekiah (approx. 725-685 BCE) was recorded as defeating the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory (2 Kings 18:8). At this time the greater threat to Judah, Israel and Philistia was the Assyrians, who vowed to destroy all of them.
Philistine and the Prophets
Being one of Israel’s greatest enemies meant that the prophets had a few things to say about the Philistines. Isaiah lamented that Israel were “soothsayers like the Philistines [ka-P’lish’tim]” (Isaiah 2:5-6) and that the Philistines would “devour Israel with gaping jaws” (Isaiah 9:12). But Isaiah also offered a vision of hope, when one day Israel (Ephraim) and Judah would reunite and collectively defeat their enemies, including the Philistines:
Isaiah 11:12-14
He will lift up a flag for the nations and assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, and those who harass Judah will be eliminated; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim. They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines [P’lish’tim] on the west; together they will plunder the people of the east; they will possess Edom and Moab, and the sons of Ammon will be subject to them.
Other prophets had similar Philistine destruction visions:
Jeremiah 47:1, 4-7 (see also Jeremiah 25:17-27)
The word of YHWH that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines [P’lish’tim], before Pharaoh conquered Gaza…
…Because of the day that is coming,
To destroy all the Philistines [P’lish’tim], to eliminate from Tyre and Sidon every surviving ally; for YHWH is going to destroy the Philistines [et P’lish’tim], the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor. Baldness has come upon Gaza; Ashkelon has been destroyed. Remnant of their valley, how long will you gash yourself? Ah, sword of YHWH, how long will you not be quiet? Withdraw into your sheath; rest and stay still. How can it be quiet, when YHWH has given it an order? Against Ashkelon and against the sea shore— there He has summoned it.”
Ezekiel 25:15-17
“This is what the Lord YHWH says: ‘Because the Philistines [P’lish’tim] have acted in revenge, and have taken vengeance with malice in their souls to destroy with everlasting hostility,’ therefore this is what the Lord YHWH says: ‘Behold, I am going to reach out with My hand against the Philistines [P’lish’tim] and eliminate the Cherethites; and I will destroy the remnant of the seacoast. I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes; and they will know that I am YHWH, when I inflict My vengeance on them.’”
Amos 1:8
“I will also eliminate every inhabitant from Ashdod, as well as him who holds the scepter, from Ashkelon; and I will direct My power against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines [P’lish’tim] will perish,” says the Lord YHWH.
Zephaniah 2:3-7
Seek YHWH, all you humble of the earth who have practiced His ordinances; seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will remain hidden on the day of YHWH’s anger.
For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon will become a desolation; the inhabitants of Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted. Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of YHWH is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines [P’lish’tim]; and I will eliminate you so that there will be no inhabitant.
So the seacoast will become grazing places, with pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks. And the coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah, they will drive sheep to pasture on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening; for YHWH their God will care for them and restore their fortunes.
The last mention of the Philistines in the Tanakh came with a promise of hope of a Messiah-King who would bringing salvation:
Zechariah 9:3-9
Tyre built herself a fortress, and piled up silver like dust, and gold like the mud of the streets. Behold, the Lord will dispossess her and throw her wealth into the sea; and she will be consumed with fire.
Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; also Ekron, because her hope has been ruined. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon will not be inhabited. And a people of mixed origins will live in Ashdod, and I will eliminate the pride of the Philistines [P’lish’tim]. And I will remove their blood from their mouth and their detestable things from between their teeth.
Then they also will be a remnant for our God, and be like a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like a Jebusite. But I will camp around My house because of an army, because of him who passes by and returns; and no oppressor will pass over them anymore, for now I have seen with My eyes.
Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
When Yeshua (Jesus) rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, endowed with salvation, the Philistines were no longer a threat to Israel. They had been captured and removed to Babylon centuries earlier, along with the Israelites. Some of the Jewish people returned to Israel seventy years later, but there is no record that the Philistines ever returned. More than likely, they amalgamated with the Babylonian culture and were lost to history. [For more on the history of the Philistines and their connection to Palestine, check out my recent sermon, here].
Although the Philistines were no longer a force to be reckoned with, Rome, on the other hand, was a dominant foe and Israel was under their command. About forty years after Yeshua was executed, the Jewish people tried to rise up against the Romans but they failed in their attempt to push Rome out of Jerusalem. In response, the Romans annihilated the Jewish people. They tore down the temple, burned Jerusalem, and exiled any people who had survived. Eventually they renamed Jerusalem, Aelia Capitolina, and the 10th Legion Fretensis set up base in what was left of the city. The general area, once called the Province of Judea, was now to be called Syria Palaestina. It was meant to be an insult, renaming Israel after their domineering historical enemies, the Philistines, even though the Philistines had long since disappeared from Israel.
There have been many enemies of YHWH’s followers throughout history. For Moses it was the Egyptians. After they passed safely through the Red Sea and escaped Pharaoh’s army, Moses sang the following song which recognized that YHWH was in control of everything:
Exodus 15:11-18
[Moses:] “Who is like You among the gods, YHWH? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders? You reached out with Your right hand, the earth swallowed them.
In Your faithfulness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; in Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation. The peoples have heard, they tremble; anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia [P’lashet]. Then the chiefs of Edom were terrified; the leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; all the inhabitants of Canaan have despaired.
Terror and dread fall upon them; by the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone, until Your people pass over, YHWH, until the people pass over whom You have purchased. You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, the place, YHWH have made as Your dwelling, the sanctuary, Lord, which Your hands have established. YHWH shall reign forever and ever.”
The enemies of YHWH will freeze in terror and we will pass by them in safety. We will, one day, find ourselves at home, in peace, living in sanctuary with YHWH. While we wait for that day, our job on earth is to reflect God’s love and compassion to those around us. YHWH will take care of the rest.
Next week: GREED