Philistia
Scripture first
Loading the passage…
Israel is given into the hand of the Philistines for forty years; the oppression frames the Samson stories and the whole era before the .
The Philistines settled the southern coast in five fortified cities: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath. Their iron working and chariots made them militarily superior on the plain, and they pushed Israel out of the lowlands until David broke their power.
The Sea Peoples of the southern coastal plain, Israel's most persistent enemy in the days of the judges and Samuel.
- Philistia, the land of the Philistines, Peleshet
- Palestina (the later regional name derives from this people)
Philistia held the coastal highway and the best farmland. Israel's strength was the hill country; every Philistine war was a contest between the plain and the hills, and the Valley of Elah was one of the passes between them.
The Philistines had iron; Israel, early on, did not (1 Samuel 13:19-22). The geography of smithing is stated plainly in the text.
- Judges 13:1 Israel is given into the hand of the Philistines for forty years; the oppression frames the Samson stories and the whole era before the kings.
- 1 Samuel 4:10-11 The ark captured by the Philistines at Aphek
- 1 Samuel 17:4-51 David and Goliath in the Valley of Elah
- 1 Samuel 31:8-10 Saul's body fastened to the wall of Beth-shan by the Philistines
- Amos 1:6-8 Amos against Gaza
What we know
Certain
- Scripture names the five Philistine cities, and excavations at Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath (Tell es-Safi) have confirmed Philistine material culture.
Probable
- The Philistines are identified with the Sea Peoples of Egyptian records.