Who Were the Philistines in the Bible?
The Philistines in the Bible always had struggles with the Israelites. Initially, you see them mentioned in Genesis. Throughout the Bible, they are at war with the people of God. They battle with some of the notable characters of the Bible. They occupied the land of Canaan. It is said that they were destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylonia. Saul was defeated by the Philistines and died (1 Chronicles 10: 1-8). They were relentless people. They removed the Ark of the Covenant (Samuel 5:1). Then, they set the Ark of the Covenant into the house of their god Dagon. Each time that they set the Ark by their god Dagon, their god fell on its face. A final time, their god’s head and hands were cut off. God punished the Philistines for taking the Ark. Read more in I Samuel 5:1-12. They eventually took the Ark of the Covenant to Joshua.
What Is the History and Origin of the Philistines?
Record of the Philistines starts around 12 B.C. They are believed to have settled along the coast of Palestine and made their arrival at the same time as the Israelites. History shows that they invaded Egypt around 1190 B.C. during the reign of Ramses III. They were driven back by the Egyptians and settled along the coastal plains of Palestine. Today this area is Tel Aviv.
What Does the Bible Say about the Philistines?
The Philistines are mentioned many times in the Bible. To list each mention of the Philistines in Scripture would be compared to writing a book. The first mention of the Philistines occurs in Genesis 21: 32. “Thus they made a covenant at Beer-sheba: then Ambilech rose up, Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.” For this article, we will focus on major appearances of the Philistines.
Isaac has an encounter with the Philistines in Genesis 26. He was in Gerar at the time. He told them that Rebekah was his sister. He feared that if he told them that she was his wife they would kill him (Genesis 26:11). One day the Abimelech, King of the Philistines, saw Isaac flirting with Rebekah. Abimelech knew then that was Isaac’s wife. He questioned Isaac’s motives. Isaac told him that he feared for his life. Abimelech feared that someone would have touched Rebekah and guiltiness would be on their hands.
Apparently, the Philistines were known as a people of war. When God delivered Israel from Egypt, God did not send them through the land occupied by the Philistines (Exodus 13:17). He did not want them to regret leaving Egypt because they had to war with the Philistines. Instead, God sent them through the wilderness and by the Red Sea.
Shortly after David was anointed king to replace Saul, Saul and his men battled against the Philistines (I Samuel 16-17). Out of the Philistines camp came a champion by the name of Goliath. Goliath was six cubits and a span. That is about nine and a half feet tall. The Philistine giant presented a challenge to Saul and his men. If the Philistines won, Saul’s men would serve them. If Saul and his men won, the Philistines would be their servants.
David, son of Jesse, offered to fight against Goliath. His father Jesse sent him to take some food to his brothers who were in a war against the Philistines. After explaining to his brothers why he was there, they told Saul. David told Saul how he had slain a bear and lion. The young man was convinced that he could do the same in this situation. Saul’s men were fearful of Goliath. He allowed David to suit up and fight against the giant. David was victorious.
You may have heard the story of Samson and Delilah. Delilah betrayed Samson. She was sent by the Philistines to lure him. (Judges 16) Samson had great strength that was foretold to his parents before his birth. “For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5).
Samson had a longing for Philistine women early in his life. His parents tried to convince him to choose a woman from a different tribe. Throughout the book of Judges, you will see that Samson is always betrayed by women. These women were manipulated by the Philistines. They always sought to find out the secret of his strength. Unfortunately, he chose to share this information with one woman.
The Philistines were determined to make an end to Samson after this incident. Samson was upset because his wife’s father gave her to someone else. She was not able to get the information that the Philistines needed out of him. They wanted to know the secret to his great power. He left and went to his father’s house. He returned to his wife sometime later. Her father would not let him go into her. He offered Samson her sister instead. This did not sit well with Samson (Judges 15).
“And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives. Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.” (Judges 15:4-6).
It was not over yet. Samson still loved to deal with Philistine women. He fell in love with Delilah (Judges 16:4) As expected the Philistines came to Delilah and asked her to betray Samson.
“And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee” (Judges 16:5-6).
Samson lied to her. And the Philistines came in but were not able to contain him. For some odd reason, he still toyed with her. She tricked him once again. The Philistines came unto him and were not able to contain him. Delilah told Samson that he mocked her and did not love her. She persisted daily trying to find the secret of his strength until one day he caved in.
“That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him” (Judges 16:17-19).
Read more of Judges to find out the end of the story.
Who Did the Philistines Worship?
The Philistines did not worship our God. They worshipped idol gods. We do know from Scripture that they worshipped Dagon. “Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand” (Judges 16:23).
Why Does This Matter for Christians Today?
Many times, Philistines are referenced when speaking about people who like to fight or war. If a person is always amidst conflict, they are referred to as Philistine. We as Christians should strive to be as peaceful as we possibly can. We are taught to avoid strife. Proverbs 3:30 says “Strive not with a man without cause if he hath done you no harm. Envy thou not the oppressor and chose none of his ways” (Proverbs 3:30-31).
This article is timely because of events in the Middle East. Israel and one of their enemies have been at odds. The word Palestinian is derived from Philistines. Whether they are direct descendants of the Philistines, I do not know. It does not hurt to study the Bible and know the enemies of Israel. You will then have a better understanding of what is happening today and why fighting continues in that part of the world.
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