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PHILISTINES ,' the See also:general name for the See also:people of Philistia (See also:Ass. Palastu, Pilistu; Eg. p-r-s-t), a See also:district embracing the See also:rich lowlands on the Mediterranean See also:coast from the neighbourhood 1" See also:Philistine," as a See also:term of contempt, hostility or reproach. appears first in See also:English, in a sense See also:equivalent to ` the enemy," as See also:early as the beginning of the 17th See also:century, and later as a See also:slang term for a See also:bailiff or a See also:sheriff's officer, or merely for drunken or vicious people generally. In See also:German See also:universities the townsfolk to See also:Samuel (I Sam. vii. 13), See also:Saul (xiv. 47), and See also:David (2 Sam. viii. 1; for See also:Solomon see x See also:Kings x. 20); but they evidently recovered their See also:independence, and we find that twice within a See also:short See also:time the See also:northern Israelites laid See also:siege to the border fortress of Gibbethon (1 Kings xv. 27, xvi. 15). Although this See also:place has not been identified, it is mentioned in a See also:list of Danite cities with Aijalon, See also:Ekron, Eltekeh and Timnah (See also:Joshua xix. 44, xxi. 23), names of importance for the See also:history. Somewhat later the See also:evidence becomes See also:fuller, and much valuable See also:light is thrown upon the See also:part which the Philistine coast played in the See also:political history of See also:Palestine. See also:Gaza, the most southerly and famous of the Philistine towns, was the See also:terminus of the See also:great See also:caravan-route from See also:Edom and See also:south See also:Arabia, with whose Bedouin it was generally on See also:good terms. It was " the outpost of See also:Africa, the See also:door of See also:Asia " (G. A. See also: 22, see 2 Chron. See also:xxvi. 7) and over See also:Gath, Ashdod and Jabneh (ibid. v. 6) find their sequel in the See also:alliance of See also:Samaria and See also:Damascus against See also:Ahaz, when Edom recovered its independence (so read for " Syria " in 2 Kings xvi. 6), and the Philistines attacked Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Timnath, &c. (2 Chron. See also:xxviii. 17 seq.).4 These notices at least represent natural conditions, and the See also:Assyrian See also:inscriptions now are our authority. Tiglath-pileser IV. (734 B.C.) marched down and seized Gaza, removing its gods and goods. Its See also: But the disturbances continued, and although desert tribes were removed and settled in Samaria in 715, Musri and Philistia were soon in arms again. Ashdod (see Isa. xx.) and Gath were taken and sacked, the people removed, and fresh colonies were introduced. Judah, SAMUEL; SAUL; DAVID). The subjugation of them is ascribed Edom and See also:Moab were also involved, but submitted (711 B.C.). Scarcely ten years passed and the whole of Palestine and Syria was again torn with intrigues. See also:Sennacherib (Sargon's successor in 705) marched to the land of the " See also:Hittites," traversed z See G. A. Smith, Hist. Geog. of the See also:Holy Land, chs. ix. seq. ; and M. A. See also:Meyer, History of the See also:City of Gaza (New See also:York, 1907). For the traditions associating Gaza with See also:Crete, see the latter, See also:Index, s.v. See also:Minos; the resemblance between the Minaeans of South Arabia and Cretan Minos has afforded grounds for all kinds of speculations, See also:ancient (See also:Pliny vi. 157) and See also:modern. a Between the central Judaean See also:plateau and the latter See also:lay the " lowlands " (Shephelah), a district open equally to Judaeans and Philistines alike. 4 Cf. Gaza and Edom against Judah in See also:Amos i. 6, and, for the part played by Damascus, the later vicissitudes under the See also:Nabataeans (See also:Josephus, See also:Ant. xiii. 13. 3). It is difficult to date the alliance of Syria and Philistia against See also:Israel in Isa. ix. Ir seq. (on the See also:text, see the commentaries). of Jaffa (See also:Joppa) to the See also:Egyptian desert south of Gaza (on the subsequent See also:extension of the name in its See also:Greek See also:form Palaestina, see PALESTINE). r. Egyptian Evidence.—The name is derived from the Purasati, one of a great confederation from north Syria, Asia See also:Minor and the See also:Levant, which threatened Egypt in the XXth See also:Dynasty. They are not among the hordes enumerated by See also:Rameses II. or Merneptah, but in the eighth See also:year of Rameses III. (c. 1200—1190) the Purasati hold a prominent place in a widespread See also:movement on land and See also:sea. The Syrian states were overwhelmed and the advance upon Egypt seemed irresistible. Rameses, however, collected a large See also:fleet and an See also:army of native troops and mercenaries and claimed decisive victories. The Egyptian monuments depict the See also:flight of the enemy, the heavy ox-carts with their See also:women and See also:children, and the confusion of their See also:ships. But the sequel of the events is not certain. Even if the increasing weakness of the Egyptian See also:Empire did not invite a repetition of the incursion, it could have allowed the survivors to See also:settle down, and about a century later one of the peoples formerly closely allied with the Purasati is found strongly entrenched at Dor, and together with the more northerly See also:port of Byblos treats with scant respect the traditional See also:suzerainty of Egypt). That some definite political changes ensued in this See also:age have been inferred on other grounds, and the See also:identification of the Purasati with the Philistines may permit the See also:assumption that the latter succeeded in occupying the district with which they have always been associated. The Egyptian monuments represent the Purasati with a very distinctive See also:feather See also:head-See also:dress resembling that of the Lycians and Mycenaeans. Their general See also:physiognomy is hardly Cilician or Hittite, but See also:European. Their arms comprise two short swords, a longer See also:spear, a See also:round See also:shield, and they sometimes See also:wear a coat of See also:mail; a curious feature is their See also:tactics of fighting in a circle of protecting See also:shields. The chariots resemble the Hittite with two crossed receptacles for the weapons, but obviously these were not used by the Purasati alone. On archaeological grounds the Purasati have been connected with the people of Keftiu, i.e. Mycenaeans of Crete, although a wider application of this term is not to be excluded. See further, G. See also:Maspero,. Struggle of the Nations, pp. 461 sqq. ; W. M. See also: See also:Soc. Bibl. See also:Arch. xxxi. (19o9) passim; R. Weill, Rev. archeol., i. 52 sqq. (1904); R. Dussaud. Rev. de l'hist. See also:des relig., ii. 52 sqq. (1905). More recently, A. See also:Wiedemann, Orient. lit. Zeit. (1910), cols. 49 sqq. disputes the identification of Keft with Crete. 2. History. — Biblical tradition, too, has recognized the Philistines as immigrants from Caphtor (Amos ix. 7). They appear in the pre-See also:Mosaic age (Gen. xxi. 32, 34, xxvi.), at the See also:Exodus of the Israelites (Ex. xiii. 17, xv. 14), and the invasion of Palestine. They are represented as a confederation of five cities (Ashdod, Ascalon [Ashkelon], Ekron, Gath and Gaza) which remained unconquered (Joshua xiii. 2 seq., See also:Judges iii. 3; contrast Joshua xv. 45-47, xfx. 43). The institution of the See also:Hebrew See also:monarchy (c. r000 B.C.) follows upon periods of Philistine oppression (Judges iii. 31, X. 7, 11, xiii. i—5; see See also:SAMSON; See also:ELI; were called by the students Philister; they were " outsiders," the enemy of the chosen people. It is supposed that this use arose in 1693 in See also:Jena after a " See also:town and See also:gown " See also:row in which a student had been killell and a See also:sermon preached on the text " the Philistines be upon you, Samson " (see Quarterly See also:Review, See also:April 1899, 438, See also:note, quoted in the New English See also:Dictionary). " Philistine " thus became the name of contempt applied by the cultured to those whom they considered beneath them in See also:intellect and See also:taste, and was first so used in English by See also:Carlyle, and See also:Matthew See also:Arnold (Essays in See also:Criticism, " Heinrich See also:Heine," 1865) gave the word its See also:vogue and its final See also:connotation, as signifying " inaccessible to and impatient of ideas."—[ED.] 1 So the See also:Papyrus first published by W. Gol6nischeff (Rec. de travaux, xxi. 74 sqq.), on which see A. See also:Erman, Zeit. f. aegypt. Sprache, pp. 1—14 (1900); W. M. Muller, Mitteil. d. vorderasiat. Gesell. pp. 14 sqq. (1900); J. H. Breasted, Hist. of Eg. pp. 513 sqq.; See also:Historical Records, iv. 294 sqq. ; H. W. See also:Hogg, in the Theolog. See also:Series I. of the publications of university of See also:Manchester, p. 90 seq. the coast and, descending from See also:Sidon, took Jaffa, Beth-See also:dagon, Beneberak, Ekron and Timnah (all in the district ascribed to the southern See also:Dan). At Eltekeh (also in Dan) the See also:allies were defeated. Farther south came the turn of Ascalon, Lachish and Libnah; Judah under See also:Hezekiah suffered severely, and its western cities were transferred to the faithful vassals of Ekron, Ashdod and Gaza. The immediate subsequent events are obscure (see further HEZEKIAH). In the 7th century Gaza, Ascalon, Ashdod and Ekron were Assyrian vassals, together with Judah, Moab and Edom—in all, twenty-two kings of the " Hittites "—and the See also:discovery of Assyrian See also:contract-tablets at See also:Gezer (c. 650) may indicate the presence of Assyrian garrisons. But as the Assyrian See also:power declined Egyptian monarchs formed plans of aggrandizement. See also:Herodotus mentions the Scythian invasion and See also:sack of the See also:temple of See also:Aphrodite Urania (See also:Astarte) at Ascalon, also the prolonged siege of Ashdod by See also:Psammetichus, and the occupation of Kadytis (? Gaza) by Necho (i. 105, ii. 157 sqq., iii. 5). But the Babylonian Empire followed upon traditional lines and thrust back Egypt, and Nabonidus (553 B.C.) claims his vassals as far as Gaza. The Persians took over the See also:realm of their predecessors, and Gaza See also:grew in importance as a seat of See also:international See also:commerce. See also:Nehemiah speaks not of Philistines, but of Ashdodites (iv. 7), speaking an " Ashdodite " See also:dialect (xiii. 24); just as See also:Strabo regards the See also:Jews, the Idumaeans, the Gazans and the Ashdodites as four cognate peoples having the See also:common characteristic of combining See also:agriculture with commerce. In southern Philistia at least, Arabian See also:immigration became more pronounced. In the time of See also:Cambyses See also:Arabs were settled at Jenysos south of Gaza (See also:Herod. iii. 5), and when See also: 21 seq., contrast xiii. 3), but were driven out from See also:Hebron by See also:Caleb (Joshua xv. 14, cf. Num. xiii. 22, 28). The Philistines themselves are called the remnant of the Anakim (Jer. xvvii. 5, so the See also:Septuagint), or as Caphtorim replace the earlier Avvim 1 See also:Peters and See also:Thiersch, Painted Tombs in the See also:Necropolis of Marissa (1905). 2 Thus, the capture of Gezer by Egypt (1 Kings ix. 16) was presumably only part of some more extensive operations, but their relation to Shishak's great Palestine See also:campaign is uncertain; see A. Alt, Israel u. Aegypten, pp. 19-38 (See also:Leipzig, 1909). It would be unsafe to infer much from the Eg. reference to the " messenger (wpty, meaning ambiguous)" of See also:Canaan and Philistia (See also:Bull. See also:Mus. See also:Cairo, i. 98).(Dent. ii. 23, see Joshua xiii. 3). Samuel's great defeat of the Philistines leads to " See also:peace between Israel and the See also:Amorites (r Sam. vii. 14) ; and the See also:migration of the Danites is placed after Samson's conflicts with the Philistines (Judges xviii. seq.), or is due to the pressure of Amorites (i. 34). Even in David's fights with the Philistines in Judah, See also:Jerusalem is Jebusite, neighbouring non-Israelite cities are Hivite or Amorite (Joshua ix. 7, 2 Sam. xxi. 2), and his See also:strange adversaries find a See also:close parallel in the semi-mythical sons of Anak (2 Sam. xxi. 16, 18, 20, 22). This fluctuation, due partly to the different circles in which the biblical narratives took shape, and partly to definite reshaping of the traditions of the past, seriously complicates all attempts to combine the early history of Israel with the See also:external evidence. The history of the Philistine district goes back See also:long before the time of the Purasati (c. 1200 B.C.), and if the references to Philistines in pre-Mosaic times are treated as anachronisms, those which can be applied to the I2th–11th century do not at once acquire an historical value.3 The references of the time of the Exodus, the Invasion and the " Judges " —whatever See also:chronological See also:scheme be adopted—must be taken in connexion with a careful examination of all the evidence. It is inherently not improbable that a recollection has been preserved of Philistine oppressions in the Iith century, but it is extremely difficult to See also:sketch any adequate sequence of events, and among the conflicting traditions are situations equally applicable to later periods of hostility. Biblical history has presented its own views of the Israelite and Judaean monarchies; Israel has its enemies who come pouring forth from the south (r Sam. xiii. 17, ,8), while the founder of the Judaean dynasty has intimate relations with a Philistine king Achish (or Abimelech, Ps. xxxiv.), or, from another point of view, clears the district of a prehistoric See also:race of giants. In the stories of Samson and Samuel, the Philistines are located in the maritime See also:plain, whereas, in the See also:oldest traceable account of Saul's rise (apparently shortly before See also:I000 B.C.) they hold Israel (I Sam. ix. 16, xiii. 3 seq., 7, xiv. 1, 11, 21). But there is no historical continuity between the two situations, and the immediate prelude to the achievements of Saul and See also:Jonathan is lost. The biblical evidence does not favour any continued Philistine domination since the time of Rameses III., who indeed, later in his reign, made an expedition, not against the Purasati, but into North Syria, and, as appears from the Papyrus See also:Harris, restored Egyptian supremacy over Palestine and Syria. Upon the (incomplete) external evidence and upon a careful criticism of the biblical history of this See also:period, and not upon any promiscuous See also:combination of the two See also:sources, must depend the value of the plausible though broad reconstructions which have been proposed.4 Considerable stress is often laid upon See also:Goliath's See also:armour of See also:bronze and his See also:iron weapon, but even David himself has See also:helmet, See also:sword and coat-of-mail at his disposal (r Sam. xvii.), and suits of armour had already been taken from See also:Mesopotamia by Tethmosis III. Chariots of iron are ascribed to the Canaanites (Joshua xvii. 16, 18, Judges i. 19, iv. 3); but if early references to iron are treated as unhistorical (Gen. iv. 22, Num. xxxi. 22,See also:xxxv. to, Dent. iv. 20, viii. 9, xix. 5, See also:xxvii. 5, xxviii. 48, xxxiii. 25, Joshua vi. 19, 24) Goliath's iron spear-head must be judged together with the whole narrative in the light of a consistent historical criticism.5 3 The inhabitants of Ascalon besieged by Rameses II. are represented as Hittites. For an See also:attempt to treat the pre-Mosaic references as historical, see A. Noordtzij, De Filistijnen (See also:Kampen, 1905). 3 See on these, W. M. Muller, Mitteil. d. vorderasiat. Gesell. P. 39 seq. ; G. F. See also:Moore, Ency. Bib., See also:art. " Philistines," See also:col. 3720 seq., and cf. H. W. Hogg, op. cit. p. 91. For the See also:suggestion that the " Philistines " have in certain cases taken the place of another ethnic, see S. A. See also:Cook, Crit. Notes on 0. T. History, pp. 43 seq., 127 seq., 131 seq., 136 seq., 144; cf., from another point of view, T. K. See also:Cheyne, Decline and' Fall of Kingdom of Judah (1908), pp. xx. sqq. 5 The introduction of iron has been ascribed to about woo B.C. (Macalister, Quart. Statem. p. 321 [1905], as against p. 122 [1904] ; H. See also:Vincent, Canaan d'apres l exploration recente, p. 2J5 seq.). It need hardly be said that the height and might of Goliath must be regarded in the same way as Num. xiii. 32 ; Deat. ii. 11. The men of the heroic age are giants, as were the 'Ad and Thamud to the later Arabs. 4. Conclusions.—The Philistines appear in the Old Testament Israelite monarchy. There is a fairly continuous intercourse as a Semitic or at least a thoroughly Semitized people. Their with external culture (Cypriote, early and See also:late Greek), and, if proper names show that before and even during the See also:Persian 1 Gath be identified with Tel es-Safi, See also:Bliss and Macalister, who age their See also:languages differed only dialectically from Hebrew. excavated it, found no trace of any interruption in its history. Among the exceptions must be reckoned Achish (See also:Sept. t ovs), with which has been compared Ikausu, a king of Ekron (7th century) and the " Keftian" name Akashau of the XIXth Egyptian dynasty. Names in -See also:ath (Goliath; Ahuzzath, Gen. xxvi.) are not restricted to Philistines, and Phicol (ibid.) is too obscure to serve as evidence. The See also:religion is not novel. The male See also:god Dagon has his partner Astarte (qq.v.), and See also:Baal-zebub, a famous See also:oracle of Ekron (2 Kings i.) finds a parallel in the See also:local " baals " of Palestine.' Even when the region seems to be completely Hellenized after the Persian age, it is not so certain that Greek culture pervaded all classes (see G. F. Moore, Ency. Bib. col. 3726), although a certain amount of See also:foreign See also:influence probably made itself See also:felt upon the coast-towns at all times. The use of the term aXXb4vXoi in Maccabaean and later writings (cf. the contemptuous hatred of See also:Ben Sira, See also:Ecclesiasticus 1. 26, and the author of See also:Jubilees See also:xxiv. 30 sqq.) correctly expresses the conditions of the Greek age and the Maccabaean See also:wars, and naturally any allusion to the situations of many centuries previously is quite unnecessary. Similarly, the biblical evidence represents the traditions in the form which they had reached in the writer's time, the true date of which is often uncertain. Antagonism between Philistines and Israelites was not a persisting feature, and, although the former are styled " uncircumcised " (chiefly in the stories in the book of Samuel), the term gained new force when the See also:expulsion of uncircumcised aliens from the See also:sanctuary of Jerusalem was proclaimed in the writings ascribed to See also:Ezekiel (ch. xliv.).2 In fact the question arises whether the history of the Philistines is not that of a territorial designation, rather than that of the lineal descendants of the Purasati, who, if one of the peoples who took part in the events of the XXth Dynasty, may well have bequeathed their name. The Mediterranean coast-land was always exposed to incursions of aliens, and when Carians appear as royal and temple See also:guards at Jerusalem (2 Kings xi. 4), it is sufficient to recall old Greek traditions of a Carian sea-power and relations between Philistia and Greek lands .3 Even the presence of Carians and See also:Ionians in the time of Psammetichus I. may be assumed, and when these are planted at Defneh it is noteworthy that this is also closely associated with a Jewish See also:colony (viz. Tahpanhes, Jer. xliii. seq.). Although the Purasati appear after the 15th-14th centuries, now illuminated by the Amarna tablets, their own history is perhaps earlier.' But there is no See also:reason at See also:present to believe that their entrance caused any break in the archaeological history. The apparently " See also:Aegean " influence which enters into the general " Amarna " period seems to begin before the age of the Amarna tablets (at Lachish), and it passes gradually into later phases contemporary with the ' See further, F. Schwally, Zeit. Wissens. Theol. xxxiv. 103–108. A few Hebrew words have been regarded as Philistine See also:loan-words, so notably pillegesh, " concubine " (iraXXa,o , aaXXaKis, See also:Lat. pellex), and seren (ripavvos) the See also:title applied to the five lords of the Philistine confederation; seren otherwise means " See also:axle," and may have been applied metaphorically like the Arab. kolb (W. R. Smith). On the other See also:hand, a common origin in Asia Minor is also possible for these words. 2In the prophetical writings the Philistines are denounced (with See also:Ammon, Moab and Edom) for their vengeance upon Judah (Ezek. See also:xxv. 15-17). With See also:Tyre and Sidon they are condemned for plundering Judah, and for See also:kidnapping its children to sell to the Greeks (See also:Joel iii. 4–8; cf. Amos i. 6–12; 1 See also:Mace. iii. 41). They are threatened with a foe from the north (Jer. xxv. 2o; Isa. xiv. 29–31; see ZEPHAti1An), as also is Phoenicia (Jer. xlvii. 2–7) upon whom they depend (cf. Zech. ix. 3–8). Judah is promised See also:reprisals (Zeph. ii. 7; Obad. 19), and a remnant of the Philistines may become worshippers of Yahweh (Zech. ix. 7). The historical backgrounds of these passages are disputed. ' See J. L. Myres, See also:Journal of Hellenic Studies, xxvi. 84 sqq. (1906) ; especially pp. 1o8, 127 sqq. ' This is suggested by the recent discovery at Phaestos in Crete of a disk with evidence for a native script; see A. J. See also:Evans, Scripta Minoa (See also:Oxford, 1909), pp. 22 sqq. ; E. Meyer, Sizungsberichte of the See also:Berlin See also:Academy for the 21st of See also:October 1909. Only at Gezer—perhaps Philistine, 2 Sam. v. 25—has there been found evidence for a strange race with several distinctive features. Bricked vault tombs were discovered containing bodies outstretched (not contracted); the deposits were of an unusually See also:fine See also:character and comprised silve , See also:alabaster and even iron. The culture appears to find Carian and Lydian See also:parallels, and has been ascribed provisionally to the 13th-loth centuries. So far, however, of the cities lying within or immediately exposed to Philistine influence, the discoveries at Gezer are unique.' According to the biblical traditions the Philistines are the remnant of Caphtor (Jer. xlvii. 4, Amos ix. 7), and the Caphtorim drove out the aboriginal Avva from Gaza and district, as the Horites and Rephaim were displaced by Edom and Ammon (Deut. ii. 23). These Caphtorim, together with Ludim (Lydians) and other See also:petty peoples, apparently of the Delta, are once reckoned to Egypt (Gen. x. 14).6 By Caphtor the Septuagint has sometimes understood See also:Cappadocia, which indeed may be valid for its age, but the name is to be identified with the Egyptian K(a)ptar, which in later Ptolemaic times seems to mean Phoenicia, although Heftiu had had another connotation. The Cherethites, associated with the Philistine district (I Sam. See also:xxx. 14, 16, Ezek. xxv. 16, Zeph. ii. 5 seq.), are sometimes recognized by the Septuagint as Cretans, and, with the Pelethites (often taken to be a rhyming form of Philistines), they form part of the royal See also:body-guard of Judaean kings (2 Sam. viii. 18, xv. 18. xx. 7, I Kings i. 38, 44; in 2 Sam. xx. 23 the Hebrew text has Carites). However adequate these identifications may seem, the persistence of an independent See also:clan or tribe of Cherethites-Cretans to the close of the 7th century would imply an unbroken See also:chain of nearly six See also:hundred years, unless, as is inherently more probable, later immigrations had occurred within the See also:interval. But upon the ethnological relations either of the south Palestinian coast or of the Delta it would be unsafe to dogmatize. So far as can be ascertained, then, the first mention of the Philistines belongs to an age of disturbance and See also:change in connexion with movements in Asia Minor. Archaeological evidence for their influence has indeed been adduced,' but it is certain that some account must be taken also of the influence by land from North Syria and Asia Minor. The influences, whether from the Levant or from the north, were not confined to the age of Rameses III. alone, and the biblical evidence, especially, while possibly preserving some recollection of the invasion of the Purasati, is in every See also:case late and may be shaped by later historical vicissitudes. It is impossible that Palestine should have remained untouched by the external movements in connexion with the Delta, the Levant and Asia Minor, and it is possible that the course of See also:internal history in the age immediately before and after See also:rood B.C. ran upon lines different from the detailed popular religious traditions which the biblical historians have employed. (See further PALESTINE: History.) For older studies, see F. See also:Hitzig, Urgeschichte der Philister (1845), with the theory of the Pelasgic origin of the Philistines; K. See also:Stark, Gaza u. d. philist. Kslste (1852), and (with See also:special reference to earlier theories) W. See also:Robertson Smith's art. in Ency. Brit., 9th ed. (S. A. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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