General David And the Philistines

Nadene Goldfoot                                        

                                         The Philistines

The name "Philistia" is the root word for "Palestine." Centuries later, following the suppression of Jewish revolts in the region, the Romans utilized a Latin version of the name to rename the province, aiming to sever local Jewish ties to the land.  Why?  They had conquered Jerusalem, its capital in 70 CE/AD.  They used this name of Israel's worst enemy to rub in the fact that they, the Romans, were the most powerful people.

The Philistines were an ancient seafaring people who settled along the southern coast of Canaan (modern-day southern Israel and Gaza) during the 12th century BCE. Best known as the primary rivals of the Israelites in the Hebrew Bible, they established a powerful confederation of five city-states known as the Pentapolis. The Pentapolis: Their territory was concentrated in the cities of Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza. 

                                             

     Samson of the tribe of Dan, son of Manoah, Israelite Judge, (Judg 13-16) Delilah  from Valley of Sorek, lover of Samson, learned the source of his strength (her assignment)  and had his locks shaved and handed him over  to the  Philistines.(Judg 16).  

  Hair grew back ,Strong Samson breaking his ropes

 Biblical Legacy:: Philistines are famous for their appearances in the Hebrew Bible, most notably in the stories of Samson and Delilah.  Delilah is traditionally considered a Philistine, as she lived in the Valley of Sorek near Philistine territory and collaborated with Philistine leaders to capture Samson. Political Allegiance: She worked directly with the "lords of the Philistines" to discover the secret to Samson's strength, and it is highly unlikely they would trust an Israelite woman with such a mission.  

Samson's History: Samson was deeply attracted to Philistine women—he had previously married one from the town of Timnah—making it culturally fitting for his new lover to also be a Philistine.  In picture he is bringing down the Temple.  

King Saul, the first king of Israel, lived and ruled during the 11th century BCE. Historians and biblical scholars generally date his reign to around 1021 to 1000 BCE, with his life concluding around 1010 BCE. King Saul's reign was defined by relentless war against the Philistines. While he won major victories—such as his son Jonathan's daring raid in the pass of Michmash—the conflict ultimately ended in the catastrophic and humiliating defeat of the Israelite army on Mount Gilboa.

Fleeing King Saul, David sought asylum in Philistia with King Achish of Gath. Achish was an unwitting protector and trusted ally. David lived among the Philistines for over a year, balancing loyalty to Israel with surviving a precarious political alliance. Scholars on platforms like Quora discuss the complexity of David's earlier history with Philistine King Achish. While in exile from King Saul, David lived among the Philistines, and though Achish requested David's military aid against Israel, the Philistine commanders ultimately rejected David from their ranks, fearing betrayal.

 David fought the Philistines for King Saul in multiple major campaigns, notably defeating their champion Goliath, launching successful counterattacks, and leading daring commando raids. Saul ultimately made him commander, hoping David would be killed in combat.

 and the battle between David and Goliath. David, when he became King David of Israel ruled from 1010 BCE to 970 BCE. David's conflict with the Philistines spans from his famous youth slaying Goliath in the Valley of Elah to his military campaigns as King of Israel. The Defeat of Goliath (1 Samuel 17): David's first major victory against the Philistines occurred in the Valley of Elah. He struck down their giant champion Goliath with a single sling stone, which caused the Philistine army to retreat in terror. 

His victories definitively subdued the Philistine threat and secured the borders of the kingdom. David had fought the Philistines in two distinct phases of his life: first as a young champion for King Saul's Israelite army, and later as the King of Israel leading his own troops in successful expansion campaigns against them.  

 Historians and archaeologists generally link the Philistines to the broader migrations of the "Sea Peoples" who originated in the Aegean region, with strong ties to Crete. Egyptian records from the time refer to them as the "Peleset."In modern English, the word "philistine" is used as a derogatory term to describe a person who is uncultured, smug, or indifferent to art and intellectual pursuits—a linguistic nod to how the Israelites viewed them in antiquity. I'd say they were thought to be very crude people.  

                                                     

Turkey is on the Aegean Sea-Israel and Syria on Mediterranean Sea

The Bible connects the Philistines with the island of Crete (‘Caphtor’ in Jeremiah 47:4; Amos 9:7). As it has done many times in the past, archaeological evidence is now proving the Bible to be correct – that they had indeed come to Canaan’s shores from the Greek islands, although it is still unclear whether they were Cretan by origin, or had just been living there. Either way, it is clear to archaeologists that the Philistines were not native to Canaan but were from the Aegean area, as attested by ceramics, architecture, burial customs, and pottery remains with non-Semitic writing on them (including a shard of pottery with a Cypro-Minoan script, dating to around 1150-1000 BCE) [2].

Disappearance: The Philistines lost their autonomy and were gradually absorbed into the broader empires of the region, ultimately vanishing as a distinct cultural group after being conquered by the Babylonians in the 6th century BCE.  In 604 BCE, Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II invaded Philistia, destroying disloyal cities like Ashkelon and Ekron. The Babylonian conquest decimated the Philistine polity, ending their distinct cultural identity and exiling many of their people to Mesopotamia, after which they vanished from historical and archaeological records.

Resource:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

Tanakh, Stone Edition

 

Philistines Meet Israelites

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                 

        Asia Minor in Biblical Days Where Philistines Came From                                       

                       Philistine portrait 

                           

                             

Abraham and his son, Isaac, came into contact with the Philistines.  They were a Mediterranean people, apparently originating from Asia Minor and Greek localities.  They reached Eretz Yisrael in various waves.  Abraham was born in the 2nd millennium, in about 1948 BCE and came in conflict with them as an adult. He would have died in the year 1773 BCE.  "And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many years.(Gen. 21:34)".  Famine moved Isaac from the Negev to the Philistine country.  

The pagan Philistines (Judges 14:3, 1Samuel 14:6), who did not worship or obey the one true God, were a violent race willing to perform sometimes gruesome acts to strike fear into the hearts of their enemy.  After Joshua's death, the tribe of Judah battles the Philistines and takes their major cities of Gaza, Askhelon, and Ekron. The enemy regroups, however, and in a short time retakes its territory (Judges 1:18 - 19, 3:1 - 3).

The political structure of Philistine society was unique. There was no unified Philistine nation-state or even a Philistine kingdom to speak of; the Philistine people were somewhat unified by a confederacy of the five leading cities: Ashdod, Gath, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gaza. Those cities, referred to as the “Pentapolis,” were first referenced in Joshua 13:3. Each of the five cities was ruled by a chieftain known as a seranim, which was probably an Indo-European word closely related to the Hittite word tarwanis and the classical Greek word tyrannous. The individual chieftains set the agenda in their cities, but when it came time for war, then they all met to make a group decision. It is unknown for sure which of the five cities was the most important if any were, but the Old Testament book of I Samuel 6:16 mentions that after the Philistines had taken the Ark of the Covenant from the Israelites and then suffered great calamities. As a result, they decided to return the relic to the Israelites. After the Philistines returned the Ark, “the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.” This passage implies that Ekron was the leading Philistine city, at least in the eyes of the Israelites.

Ekron is mentioned in Assyrian and Egyptian sources as well as in the Bible where the local god is called Baal Zebub.  When Alexander Balas gave Ekron to Jonathan the Hasmonean in 147 BCE, and according to Eusebius, it was a large village inhabited by Jews in the 3rd century CE.  The modern Israel town of Mazkeret Batyah, in the vicinity of what is believed to have been the ancient site, was originally called Ekron. 

                                                    

One group of  Philistines had settled south of Beersheba in Gerar where they came into conflict with Abraham and Isaac. Abraham and Abimelech, Philistine king of Gerar,  had reached an agreement in Beer-sheba, indicating that Abimelech was near his land of the Philistines as he and his General Phicol, the chief captain of the army of Abimelech, returned to the land of the Philistines from there. The Philistines took advantage of the latest technology and used it in battles (Judges 1:19, 1Samuel 13:19 - 20). They were also willing to take military risks and carry out repeated offensives against their foes.   

Abimelech (in Hebrew, melekh means king) and Aba means father, so Abi must mean my father; Abraham had just finished a pact of friendship (Gen 21).  The account of Abraham's relations with Abimelech (Gen. 20) resembles, in some respects, the story of the latter's relations with Abraham's son, Isaac.  (Gen 26). Because of his friendly association with both Abraham and Isaac, the rabbis accorded Abimelech a place in paradise among the Pious Heathens.  Abraham is said to have pitched his tent among the Canaanite and Philistine people of Eretz Yisrael.  He visited Egypt, and returned to live in Hebron.  He fought to deliver Lot, his nephew, from Chedorlaomer, King of Elam, Amraphel, King of Shinar, and their allies.  It is said that he lived until age 175.  

Another group of Philistines came from Crete after being repulsed from Egypt by Rameses III in 1194 BCE who seized the southern coastal area of Eretz Yisrael where they founded 5 principalities:  Gaza, Ascalon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath.  By nature a fighting people, they dominated parts of Judah in the period of the Judges. 

The Philistine cities of Gaza, Gath and Ashdod housed giant enemy warriors known as the children of Anak (Anakim, Numbers 13:28, 33, Joshua 11:22).                                                     

                                            

Gath was one of the 5 Philistine cities in the southern coastal plain.  It was the home of Goliath.  Gath  was captured by David, fortified by King Rehoboam, but lost to the Assyrian king, Sargon in the 8th century BCE.                                          

Goliath, either said to be 6'9" or 9'9",  the Philistine giant from Gath was slain by David in single combat.  (I Sam. 17:21:10). Goliath, who lived in Gath, was conservatively 9 feet 6 inches tall (2.9 meters), wore a battle coat weighing 80 pounds (36.2 kilograms) and threw a spear with a 17-pound (7.7 kilogram) head! David and his men fought these giants on several occasions (1Samuel 17, 2Samuel 21:15 - 20).

 According to another tradition, Goliath was killed by Elhanan, the Bethlehemite. (II Sam. 21-19). David hurls a stone from his sling and hits Goliath in the center of his forehead, Goliath falls on his face to the ground, David cuts off his head. The Philistines flee and are pursued by the Israelites "as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron". David puts the armor of Goliath in his own tent and takes the head to Jerusalem, and Saul sends Abner to bring the boy to him. The king asks whose son he is, and David answers, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."

David impressed Saul with his military prowess in war with the Philistines by being able to marry Saul's daughter, Michal.  However, Saul became jealous of this great warrior's ability, causing David to run for his life and seek refuge with Achish, king of Gath, a Philistine king. Saul and 3 of his sons were later killed at the battle of Mt. Gilboa.   David then succeeded in breaking the Philistine military power and annexed the entire coastal belt. David was fighting against other groups as well at this time, like the Edomites, Ammonites, and Moabites as well as Aram (Syria); and signed treaties with Sidon and Tyre and extended the Israelite frontiers to an extent never again attained.  

Achish, this Philistine king, David had sought asylum with him because of the proximity of his realm to the frontier of Judah.  Other refugees would do this, too.  Achish led the Philistine army at the battle of Mt. Gilboa in which Saul was killed.  He continued to reign after David's conquest of Philistia. 

 David and his men battle the Philistines an astonishing thirteen times (1Samuel 17, 18:17 - 27, 19:8, 23:1 - 5, 2Samuel 5:17 - 25, 21:15 - 20, 23:9 - 16). His victories destroy their ability to make war (1Chronicles 18:1) for at least 130 years. In 843 B.C., however, they and their Arab allies fight their way to Jerusalem, capture royal prisoners and then ransack the palace (2Chronicles 21:16 - 17).                                 

 The Philistines' pagan fish god, Dagon.  Shrines are mentioned at Gaza (Judg. 16:12).  Ashdod (I Sam. 5:1-7) and Beth Shean (I chron. 10:10).  Dagon occupied an important place in the Ugaritic pantheon.  He was a god of the soil and plant growth and widely worshiped in the Middle Eastern countries.  This cult was adopted by the Philistines when they entered Canaan.  

Philistines  sought to exploit any weakness or distraction on the part of their enemy. For example, they launched an invasion of Israel when King Saul was foolishly pursuing David in the wilderness (1Samuel 23:24 - 28).  The Philistines, after years of battling Israel's King Saul, were finally able to overcome and kill both him and three of his sons on Mount Gilboa. They celebrated their greatest success by chopping off Saul's head and sending this gruesome war trophy on a victory tour throughout their land. When the head completed its tour, they hung it in up in their temple dedicated to Dagon.  In order to further advertise the victory they felt Dagon gave them, they fastened Saul's headless corpse, along with the bodies of his sons (one of which was David's close friend Jonathan), to the wall surrounding Beth-shan (1Chronciles 10:8 - 10, 1Samuel 31:8 - 13).

Saul at first repelled the danger but was ultimately defeated.  David, however, ended the era of Philistine domination and overran Philistia. 

                                                                

Samson, an Israelite judge,  fell in love with a Philistine woman. He had been a fighter of the Philistines and won many feats.  He fought for the desire to be free of the Philistine suzerainty.  He fell into the Philistine hands as a result of the deceit of Delilah who betrayed the secret of is superior strength as lying in his hair; She cut off his hair.    How brutal was this enemy of God's people? When the Philistines finally discovered Samson's weakness, they overpowered and arrested him. They then proceeded to gouge his eyes out from their sockets and made him (no doubt in excruciating pain) grind grain in a prison (Judges 16:21).  The efforts of Samson significantly weaken Philistine aggression (Judges 14 - 16). In just a few years after his death, however, they humiliatingly defeat Israel's army on two separate occasions. They kill 34,000 Israelites, including the High Priest's two sons, and capture the Ark of the Covenant (1Samuel 4).

When the Israelite kingdom dissolved in 920 BCE when King Solomon died, the Philistines re-established their independence but were never thereafter a serious factor. Between the days of Abraham and David were 763 years.  The Philistines had become hostile after having a peaceful beginning with the Israelites.  

In  (Joel 3:4 - 8). it tells how the Philistines kidnapped Judeans and sold them to the Greeks.  

The Philistines came to the Levant from the Aegean and brought with them a religion that was very different than that practiced by the Israelites, or even than what was practiced by their Canaanite neighbors for that matter. The Philistines were by nature an aggressive and expansionist people, which was ultimately the primary reason why the two peoples clashed. The Philistines expanded their influence in the region until they collided with the Israelites in the middle of the eleventh century BC. The two peoples then fought a series of wars that lasted for nearly a century, which ultimately decided who would be the dominant group in the region.

Thus says the Lord God, "Because the Philistines have taken vengeance; yes, have taken vengeance with spite in their heart, to destroy it (His people) with never ending hatred . . . Behold, I will stretch out My hand on the Philistines . . . and will destroy the rest of the sea coast. And I will execute great vengeance on them . . ." (Ezekiel 25:15 - 17, HBFV).

Israelites were descendants of Shem, the sons being Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram(Syria). Their dwelling place extended from Mesha going toward Sephar, the mountain to the east. 

What happened to the Philistines?  In the Persian and Greek Periods, foreign settlers, chiefly from the Mediterranean islands, overran the Philistine districts.  The Philistines had become ancient Israel's longest and greatest enemy. They had become the feared foe of the Israelites for close to 700 years.  

                                                    

Constant rocket fire coming from Gaza into Israel has caused retaliation.Gaza has been warned time and time again that Israel will respond.  One conflageration on the Temple Mount started by Palestinians caused them to rain more than 4,369 rockets were launched toward Sderot, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Jerusalem and neighboring communities. Ten Israelis were killed. More than 90 percent of projectiles heading toward populated areas were intercepted by Iron Dome. Roughly a third of the rockets landed inside the Gaza Strip. Most of the others landed in open fields.  This attack brought Israel to a standstill in their bomb shelters closing down work and school. It happened from May 10-20, 2021.  

 From the time of Herodotus, Greeks called Palestine after the Philistines with the name, Syria Palaestina, and under Emperor Hadrian, the Romans gave the name officially to the former land of Judah.  Living in the same place, Gaza, of many Philistines, are the Palestinians; a branch   of Hamas, who have become most war-like.  I don't believe that Israel of today has the patience to wait for another 700 years to end this problem.    

Egypt, by comparison, has a history of going back for almost 30 centuries—from its unification around 3100 B.C.E. Ancient Egypt was the preeminent civilization in the Mediterranean world. 

Resource:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achish

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliath

https://www.biblestudy.org/maps/why-are-philistines-greatest-israel-enemy.html

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/palestinian-rocket-and-mortar-attacks-against-israel

GAZA- All the People Who Tried to Live There BESIDES A 2,000 YEAR HISTORY OF THE JEWS

Nadene Goldfoot                                     

In Nabatean times, the very  ancient days,  Gaza was a place noted for its black pottery.  It had become noted as a trading center passing from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.
                                                                 

It's mentioned in Egyptian documents of the 15th to 13th centuries BCE as a base for Egyptian expeditions to the North.
                                                                       

In the 12th century BCE it was captured by the Philistines and was the most important of their 5 coastal cities.   It is where their temple of Dagon was built. Dagon was a Semitic god whose cult was adopted by the Philistines when they entered Canaan. 
                                                      

Dagon

 Dagon was an important god in the Ugaritic pantheon of gods.  He was the god of the soil and plant-growth and widely worshiped in the Middle Eastern countries.  "While Dagan is recorded as the father of the west Semitic deity Ba'al at Ugarit, Ba'al is also known as the son of El, and some scholars, therefore, have suggested a syncretism of Dagan and El l"  The prominence of Dagan on the eastern Mediterranean of the first millennium BCE comes mainly from the Hebrew Bible and the Second Temple literature, which associate Dagan (Heb. Dāgōn) with the temples of the Philistinesl."  In some traditions the spouse of Dagan was Šalaša, in others Išhara.

Moses led the Exodus back to Canaan which had become a land of farming after the 400 years of being away.  The Israelites were originally shepherds-then turned into builders in Egypt.  

The earliest deity recognized by the peoples of the ancient Near East was the creator god El. His mistress, the fertility goddess Asherah, gave birth to many gods, including a powerful god named Baal ("Lord"). There appears to have been only one Baal, who was manifested in lesser Baals at different places and times. Over the years, Baal became the dominant deity, and the worship of El faded.

"Baal won his dominance by defeating the other deities, including the god of the sea, the god of storms (also of rain, thunder, and lightning), and the god of death. Baal's victory over death was thought to be repeated each year when he returned from the land of death (underworld), bringing rain to renew the earth's fertility. Hebrew culture viewed the sea as evil and destructive, so Baal?s promise to prevent storms and control the sea, as well as his ability to produce abundant harvests, made him attractive to the Israelites. It's hard to know why Yahweh's people failed to see that he alone had power over these things. Possibly, their desert origins led them to question God's sovereignty over fertile land. Or maybe it was simply the sinful pagan practices that attracted them to Baal.

Baal is portrayed as a man with the head and horns of a bull, an image similar to that in biblical accounts. His right hand (sometimes both hands) is raised, and he holds a lightning bolt, signifying both destruction and fertility. Baal has also been portrayed seated on a throne, possibly as the king or lord of the gods."  This pantheon is almost an exact copy of the Greek and Roman religions.  

 The temptation of Baal was a constant problem for the leaders of the Israelites.  There was no room for anything but one G-d; THE G-D.  So while they had to fight Philistines and other groups, they had this cult to fight against as well.  It wasn't all that easy keeping the Israelites kosher in following their new unseen G-d.                                                                   

The Temple of Dagon was destroyed by Samson

From Moses and Joshua, it was allotted to the tribe of JUDAH.  It remained in Philistine hands and was where SAMSON was imprisoned and died.

Philistines

                                     

Sargon of Assyria

By 720 BCE, Gaza was annexed by Sargon of ASSYRIA and in 521 BCE, by Cambyses of Persia.
Alexander the Great recolonized it as a hellenistic city in 332BCE, but after his death, it was argued over by the Egyptian Ptolemies and the Syrian Selencids until annexed by Antiochus III of Syria in 198 BCE.   It was independent in 110 BCE only to be captured by Alexander Yannai in 96 BCE, but declared a free city again by Pompey in 61 BCE.
                                                                   

David (1010-970 BCE) , as a teenager, slew Goliath with a slingshot.  Goliath was a giant of a man and a Philistine soldier.  David had outwitted him.  Of course Goliath had been over-confident that nobody could ever beat him.  David continued fighting Philistines.  It was Israel's 1st king, Saul, who had to fight them constantly till he died in battle against them.  David later was able to break the Philistine military power and annexed the entire coastal belt for Israel.

 "Jews finally conquered it in the Hasmonean era c160 BCE onward, and continued to live there. Notable residents include Dunash Ibn Labrat, and Nathan of Gaza,  advisor to false messiah Shabtai Zvi.(1626-1676)"

A Jewish population lived there throughout the Middle Ages from 476 CE to 1492, as well as a Samaritan community until its capture by Napoleon in 1799.  Gaza was a center of Sabbetaism in the 17th century, so over 2,000 years Jews had lived in Gaza.    It's Jewish people left in 1917, at the end of World War I.  The few returning left again during the 1929 Arab riots, led by Haj Amin al-Husseini.  It became the main city in the GAZA STRIP.  By 1949, the population was 30,000 being the place for refugees.

Gaza before the war 

                                                                     

UN forces guarding Gaza on border  1957

Gaza was captured in November 1956 by Israel forces who stayed there until March 1957, for 4 months.  It passed under Israel rule during the Six-Day War in June 1967.  A census taken later that year showed that the population had grown to 119,000.
                                                                             

Gaza along the seacoast

THE GAZA STRIP includes the town of Gaza.  It runs along the coast for 22 miles and is about 8 miles wide.  It is the result of the Egyptian advance into the Negav in May 1948 and the Israel offensives from October to December of 1948 which drove them out of the whole area with the exception of the Gaza Strip.  It continued to be under Egyptian control as of the Armistice Agreement of 1939.  By 1955 it was under political tension and by November 1956 was captured by Israel during the Sinai Operation but Israel returned it in March 1957 with Egyptians taking control with a UN Emergency Force along the border with Israel.
                                                                               

City of Gaza

In May 1967, U Thant, the UN secretary general  gave in to the demand by Nasser of Egypt to withdraw the UN force which led to the Six Day War. when the Gaza Strip again passed under Israel control.  It has been the place of constant unrest.  In 1967, the census found 352,260 people living in there of whom 172,520 were refugees.  By comparison, the population of Portland, Oregon in 2016 was  639,863 twice that of the Gaza Strip. Salem, Oregon's population in 2016 was 167,419, near that of the refugees.  

  Therefore, the Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt from 1949 until 1967. Israel's army captured the strip only during the Six Day War in 1967.  "Gaza is within the boundaries of Shevet Yehuda in Biblical Israel (see Genesis 15, Joshua 15:47, Kings 15:47 and Judges 1:18) and therefore some have argued that there is a Halachic requirement to live in this land. The earliest settlement of the area is by Avraham and Yitzhak (Abraham and son Isaac) , both of whom lived in the Gerar area of Gaza. In the fourth century Gaza was the primary Jewish port of Israel for international trade and commerce. Israel left Gaza, lock, stock and barrel, in the name of the trade-off for peace.  Instead they've been rained on by Palestinian rockets, mortars, missiles and now fire.  This was not what you would call a good deal or even a fair deal.  This was a rotten deal.  

Resource The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
http://www.jewishmag.com/176mag/jewish_gaza/jewish_gaza.htm
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/history-of-jewish-settlements-in-gaza
https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagon
http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/dagan/index.html
https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/fertility-cults-of-canaan