A Historical and Biblical Context for Philistine

Who Is Philistine?

A Historical and Biblical Context for Philistine

Joshua 13:1-7

Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess. 2 This is the land that yet remains: all the regions of the Philistines, and all those of the Geshurites 3 (from the Shihor, which is east of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron, it is counted as Canaanite; there are five rulers of the Philistines, those of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron), and those of the Avvim, 4 in the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, to Aphek, to the boundary of the Amorites, 5 and the land of the Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath, 6 all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, even all the Sidonians. I myself will drive them out from before the people of Israel. Only allot the land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you. 7 Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.”

Judges 2:20-23

 Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. 

Judges 3:3-7

3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. 7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.

The Origin of the Philistines

Philistines (פְּלִשְׁתִּים, pelishtim) were a people who emigrated from southern Greece to the coastland of Canaan. The Philistines were enemies of the Hebrew people between the time of the conquest of Canaan until the divided kingdom. The territory of Philistia extended past Gaza in the south to the Mount Carmel range in the north.  According to Joshua 13:3 and 1 Samuel 6:17, the land of the Philistines, called Philistia, was a pentapolis in the southwestern Levant comprising the five city-states of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath, from Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with no fixed border to the east. 

Political Relevance

During the times of the judges and kings of Israel, the Philistines were largely under the leadership of the five lords (סֶרֶן, seren) of the Philistine pentapolis: Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. These rulers both collaborated (1 Samuel 5:8) and disputed with one another (1 Samuel 29:1–11)—none of them exercised authority over all the Philistines. When Samson destroyed the temple of Dagon, all five were killed (Judges 16:27, 30). “Lord” (סֶרֶן, seren) is a non-Semitic word and is thought to be etymologically related to the Greek word for ruler (τύραννος, tyrannos). The Philistine territory and influence extended from Gaza in the south to no further north than Joppa.

Prior to this time, little is known of their political structure, except for the description of Abimelech as “king (מֶלֶךְ, melekh) of the Philistines” in Genesis 26:8.  Biblical context is evidenced by the use of Scripture in Genesis, Judges, and 1 Samuel to create a more complete picture of the Philistines.

Philistine as the Enemy of Israel

The first Israelite—Philistine interaction was between Abraham and King Abimelech in Genesis 20:1–17. Though most of the rest of the Old Testament depicts the Philistines as an aggressive nation, they are not presented as violent during the patriarchal period. The interaction between Abraham and Abimelech, though tense, remained peaceful. Even though Abraham misled the king by passing Sarah off as his sister rather than his wife, violence was avoided. Later, Isaac and Rebekah committed a nearly identical blunder (Genesis 26:1–11), but Abimelech again resolved the situation without using military force. When Isaac then quarrels repeatedly with Abimelech’s servants over water rights (Genesis 26:17–32), the conflict ends with an agreement between Isaac and Abimelech (Genesis 26:26–31).

However, by the time God led Israel out of Egypt, the reputation of the Philistines had drastically changed – they controlled their enemies throughout the region by having the knowledge of refining and smoldering iron and then designing and crafting the iron into weapons and tools. Until David became KIng of Israel, Philistines were the only blacksmiths in the land. Philistines sold farm and agriculture tools at a high price but did not sell the weapons or the knowledge of how to build and master the smoldering process. 

I Samuel 13:19-21

Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” 20 But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle, 21 and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.

This gave Philistine power, and with that power came corruption and evil intent against Israel. The Philistines had now established themselves as a nation to be reckoned with, and were the deciding factor in the route taken in the Israel Exodus from Egypt: “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt’ ” (Exodus 13:17 ESV).  Having historical context provides greater understanding to the biblical context of who the Philistines are, once again illustrating the importance of context in the study of Scripture.

During the initial conquest of Canaan, Israel did not fully displace the Philistines (Joshua 13:2–3). The tribes of Judah and Simeon both had claim to Philistine cities (Joshua 15:10–12, 45–47; Joshua 19:1–9), though it is apparent that neither tribe was able to fully or permanently occupy these cities. In fact, the Old Testament does not tell us if Joshua ever met the Philistines in battle. The Lord described to Joshua the regions of the Israelite inheritance yet to be conquered and included the territory of the Philistines “from the Sihor, which is east of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron” (Joshua 13:3 ESV). 

Judges 1:18 records some initial success of Judah in capturing three of the five Philistine cities. The following verse, however, indicates their inability to complete and maintain their possession of the region. “Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory … and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron” (Judges 1:18–19 ESV). This failure was costly to the nation of Israel—the Philistine foe would rise up time and again to overpower and enslave them. 

The nation of Israel grew in strength as it attempted to take the promised land moving westward from the Jordan River. Simultaneously, the Philistines were growing in power and ambition along the Mediterranean coast and began to attempt to expand eastward. The constant conflict between Philistine and Israel continued until it reached the all-or-nothing stages during the reigns of King Saul and David. While the Philistines declined in power over time, they remained a threat and an enemy throughout the duration of the divided kingdom. Both nations had times of strength and times of weakness, but neither was ever able to completely subdue the other. For example, King Uzziah of Judah conquered Gath, Ashdod, and other Philistine territories, but Ahaz lost territory to the Philistines (2 Chronicles 26:6; 28:18).

Samson and The Ark of the Covenant

A key passage in understanding the conflict between the Hebrews and the Philistines is correct biblical context is Judges 2:19–3:3. This section of biblical history reveals how the true conflict was deepened and would become understood through the eyes of God’s covenant with Israel.

These verses describe God’s faithfulness to keep the punitive elements of His covenant with the nation of Israel. When the Israelites refused to honor God alone and began to practice the idolatry of the surrounding nations, He no longer drove the nations out ahead of them. He left the Philistines and several other nations to test Israel, to teach them to walk with the Lord, and to teach them how to do battle (Judges 2:22; 3:2).

The Philistines and their gods are briefly mentioned in Judges 3:31; 10:6, but it is not until Samson’s marriage in Judges 14:1–20 that they take center stage as an enemy of Israel. Based on where the battles with Samson occurred, the Philistines had significantly expanded their territory inland into Israel’s territory. In 1 Samuel 4:1–10, the Philistines defeated Israel in successive battles and captured the Ark of the Covenant in the second battle. For the next seven months, they carried the ark around Philistia, from the battle site at Ebenezer to Ashdod first, then to Gath, and finally to Ekron. While in Ashdod, they placed the ark in the temple as an offering to the god Dagon (1 Samuel 6:1). The image of Dagon twice fell before the ark, breaking off the head and arms the second time (1 Samuel 5:4). When the people of Ashdod began to suffer physical problems (Kethiv, עֹפֶלִים, ophelim; Qere, טְחֹרִים, techorim) they attributed the afflictions to Yahweh and sent the Ark on to Gath. When the people of Gath began experiencing the same problems, they sent the ark to Ekron.

The people of Gath sent it back to Israel after they, too, began to suffer. While the specific malady is unknown, the linking of plagues and illness of tumors/boils and mice (1 Samuel 6:4) may indicate that it was the type of bubonic plague spread by fleas on rodents.

Much of the rest of 1 Samuel refers to the Philistines and their conflicts with Saul, Jonathan, and David. This includes the famous battle between David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17:1–58). Saul then turns on David, and he flees during the time Saul was pursuing him to the Philistine city of Gath for refuge (1 Samuel 27:1–4). Achish, king of Gath, gave David the town of Ziklag, which became a base from which to launch his many raids against the surrounding peoples (1 Samuel 27:8). It is interesting that when David returns to Israel and becomes enthroned as king over Israel, 2 Samuel reports some of his final battles over the Philistines. Under King David’s leadership, they expanded Israelite territory into the land of the Philistines, and began the weakening of the nation. The weapons capabilities of Israel have now equaled the design and manufacturing prowess of the Philistines. Without deep study of God’s Word in biblical context, much of the profound meaning would be lost.  Because we have the context,  the question can now be asked, “What secrets did David learn while he spent time in hiding among the Philistines”?

What is often overlooked in the Philistine—Hebrew relationship is the biblical record of occasional cooperation between the Israelites and the Philistines. As Jonathan and his armor-bearer initiated the battle against the Philistines at Michmash, chaos and confusion turned the Philistines against each other. Some Hebrews had previously predicted a Philistine victory in this battle and had switched sides to fight for the Philistines against their own people. But as the tide began to turn, “the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines before that time and who had gone up with them into the camp, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan” (1 Samuel 14:21 ESV).

Religion and Myth

Biblical evidence for Philistine religious beliefs and practices are limited primarily to three deities, all of which ironically, bear Semitic names. At least part of their worship included portable images and idols. In 2 Samuel 5:21, David and his army defeated the Philistines and carried away their idols. 1 Samuel 5:5 is our only biblical information regarding Philistine clergy.

(Dagon דָּגוֹן, dagon)

The Canaanites were already worshiping Dagon, a grain god, when the Philistines arrived. The Philistines assimilated Dagon into their pantheon, and over time he became their chief god (Healey, “Dagon,” 409). They built temples to him in Ashdod (1 Sam 5:1–2), Gaza (Judg 16:21–23), and possibly Beth Shan as well (1 Chr 10:10; 1 Sam 31:10). After Saul was killed in battle, the Philistines “put his armor in the temple of their gods and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon” (1 Chronicles 10:10 ESV).

(Ashteroth עַשְׁתֹּרֶת)

Ashteroth was another Canaanite god adopted by the Philistines. She is mentioned in 1 Kings 11:5 as a goddess of the Sidonians and is also known by the names Ashtoreth and Astarte. The Philistines had a temple to her in Beth-shan, and when Saul was killed in battle, the Philistines put his armor in her temple (1 Sam 31:9–10). “She was later worshipped as the Aramaic Athtarati, the fish-bodied, human-headed patroness of Ashkelon” It was common for nations to combine gods or goddesses with different names but similar features, so she may have been a goddess the Philistines brought with them and later gave a Semitic name. Ashteroth was a goddess of war and fertility, and worship of her seems to have included ritual sex acts.

(Beelzebul בַעַל זְבוּב, va’al zevuv)

Beelzebul is originally a Semitic god who was taken on by the Philistines at Ekron and incorporated into their worship. II Kings 1:1–16 provides our only Old Testament reference, under the name Baal-zebub. Hebrew authors later changed his name to Baal-zebub, “Lord of Flies.”

Follow this blog for more of the powerful teaching series, “Philistine”,  as Dr. Stephen Isaac digs deeply into biblical context as well as historical, cultural, and linguistic insights to bring to light the full picture of “Who is Philistine?”  Watch the teaching series live on Sunday mornings at 10:30 AM at our Peoria, AZ campus or streaming live on YouTube, as well as the recorded sermons.