Philistine Pottery. These pottery pieces from Ashkelon bear early Philistine decorations. Photo: © The Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon.

The Philistines are best known from the Bible as the Israelites’ enemies, but they were much more than that. Recent archaeological discoveries help inform our understanding of their culture, economy, and even origins. In the Spring 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Daniel M. Master of Wheaton College looks at the biblical and archaeological evidence for the Philistines’ roots in “Piece by Piece: Exploring the Origins of the Philistines.”

Who Were the Philistines?

In the Bible, the Philistines are remembered as an uncircumcised people with advanced technology and a formidable military (Judges 14:3; 1 Samuel 13:19–20; Exodus 13:17). The Philistines frequently encroached on Israelite territory, which led to some battles, including the famous clash between David, the Israelite, and Goliath, the Philistine (1 Samuel 17). They were condemned for being idol worshipers (1 Samuel 5:1–5) and soothsayers (Isaiah 2:6). In short, the Philistines are portrayed quite negatively in the Bible.

They lived in the cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza—the heartland of ancient Philistia on the Mediterranean Sea’s southeastern shore. Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath have been excavated in recent decades. The findings from these cities show that the Philistines had distinct pottery, weapons, tools, and houses. They also ate pork and had vast trade networks.

Philistine culture flourished during the Iron Age (12th through sixth centuries B.C.E.). Similar to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the Philistines lost their autonomy toward the end of the Iron Age. They became subservient and paid tribute to the Assyrians, Egyptians, and then Babylonians, the great superpowers of the region who severely punished rebellion. For example, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar destroyed disloyal Ashkelon and Ekron and carried off many Philistines into exile.

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Where Did the Philistines Come From?

In his article, Daniel Master looks at archaeological and biblical evidence for the Philistines’ origins. He considers the accounts at Ramesses III’s mortuary temple at Medinet Habu. In the 12th century B.C.E., during the reign of Ramesses III, a confederation of tribes from the “islands” of the “northern countries” attacked Egypt—several times, both on sea and land. The Peleset, whom scholars connect with the Philistines, was named as one of these tribes.

Battle Ships. This drawing of a relief at Medinet Habu shows a sea battle between the Egyptians and people from the “islands,” who had invaded Egypt in the 12th century B.C.E. Photo: Public Domain.

On the way to Egypt, the confederation had traveled through the eastern Mediterranean and destroyed numerous cities, including Ugarit on the Syrian coast. Ammurapi, the last king of Ugarit, had written to surrounding kingdoms for help, when the “seven ships of the enemy” had arrived to ransack his kingdom. By the time help had come, though, it was too late: Ugarit lay in ruins.

Egypt defeated the confederation, as recorded on one of the temple walls at Medinet Habu. A relief from that temple also depicts a sea battle between the island tribes and the Egyptians. In it, the islanders wear distinct headdresses, which clearly set them apart from the Egyptians. After being defeated, some of these tribes settled on the southern coast of Canaan—in what would become the land of the Philistines. Egyptian sources, thus, seem to record a migration of people from the “islands” to Philistia.

Philistine Portrait? A confederation of island tribes, including the Peleset (Philistines), attacked Egypt in the 12th century B.C.E. This relief from Medinet Habu records a sea battle between the two forces. Photo: Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Master also examines the evidence for Philistine origins in the Bible. The biblical authors remembered the Philistines as coming from a foreign land, from “Caphtor” (Genesis 10:14; Deuteronomy 2:23; 1 Chronicles 1:12; Amos 9:7; Jeremiah 47:4). Scholars have long drawn a connection between Caphtor and Crete. This is largely based on Egyptian inscriptions and paintings of “Keftiu” from the 15th and 14th centuries B.C.E., wherein the Keftiu are linked to the Minoan civilization, which was centered on Crete.

Migration Map. Who were the Philistines, and where did they come from? New archaeological evidence suggests that many of the Philistines originally came from Crete, called “Caphtor” in the Bible. Map: © Biblical Archaeology Society.

Excavations have shown that the Philistines had a distinct assemblage of artifacts. Master notes parallels between some early Philistine objects, especially from the 12th and 11th centuries B.C.E., and Aegean and Cypriot artifacts. Elements of Philistine material culture, then, also hint at an Aegean or Mediterranean origin for the Philistines.

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New evidence from Ashkelon further supports this connection. The Leon Levy Expedition excavated at Ashkelon from 1985–2016 under the direction of the late Lawrence Stager at Harvard University; for the last decade, Daniel Master co-directed excavations. They found some infant burials from the 12th century B.C.E., as well as a Philistine cemetery with burials from the 11th through eighth centuries B.C.E. Teaming up with scientists at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, they were able to analyze DNA from seven of these individuals. When they looked at the 12th-century infants’ DNA, they discovered that the infants had some European ancestry. Crete proved to be one of the best matches for the infants’ heritage—when considering all of their genetic material. Yet other places in the western Mediterranean, such as Iberia, also provided a good match.

Interestingly, in the later individuals from Ashkelon’s cemetery, this European ancestry had been so diluted to barely register. Master explains that, by the tenth century B.C.E., enough intermarriage had taken place between the Philistines and the local Levantine population that the Philistines looked a lot like their neighbors:

While there was some evidence of the same Western European Hunter-Gatherer genetic input, for all statistical purposes, it could not be identified for certain. The best models showed that these people [the tenth- and ninth-century individuals buried in Ashkelon’s cemetery] were descendants of both the 12th-century inhabitants and the earlier Bronze Age inhabitants. It appears from these results that so much intermarriage had taken place between the original immigrants and the people around them that the genetic makeup of Ashkelon’s inhabitants had lost its immigrant distinctiveness.

Yet Master clarifies that, at this point in history, the Philistines still thought of themselves as distinct, as evident in a seventh-century inscription from the Philistine city of Ekron. The inscription names Ekron’s king as Ikausu, which means “Achaean” or “Greek.” The name Ikausu (or Achish) also appears in 1 Samuel 21:10 as Gath’s king.

The Philistines remembered their foreign origins

Master concludes that the new DNA evidence, coupled with the biblical and archaeological testimonies, suggests that the Philistines originated in Crete. That is not to say that the Philistines were a homogenous group, all coming from the Aegean world, but it seems that many Philistines did indeed migrate from there, bringing with them vestiges of Minoan culture. Learn more about this ancient people in Daniel M. Master’s article “Piece by Piece: Exploring the Origins of the Philistines,” published in the Spring 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Subscribers: Read the full article “Piece by Piece: Exploring the Origins of the Philistines” by Daniel M. Master in the Spring 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

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This article first appeared in Bible History Daily on March 23, 2022.

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Illuminating the Philistines’ Origins

Who Were the Philistines?

The Philistines Are Coming!

The “Philistines” to the North

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

The Philistines

Piece by Piece: Exploring the Origins of the Philistines

What We Know About the Philistines

The Other “Philistines”

Exploring Philistine Origins on the Island of Cyprus

The post Who Were the Philistines, and Where Did They Come From? appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

Egyptian fortress wall in the Sinai near Gaza. Courtesy Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

The Way of Horus was a critical trade route connecting ancient Egypt to the greater Near Eastern world. It was so important, in fact, that during the New Kingdom period (c. 1570–1069 BCE), the route was heavily guarded by a series of Egyptian fortresses. Excavating at the site of Tell el-Kharouba near the modern border with Gaza, archaeologists from Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities have uncovered one of the largest such fortresses ever discovered.

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Defending the Way of Horus

The Way of Horus—the Sinai portion of the famous Via Maris—played a critical role in Egyptian trade throughout history. As one of the few routes across the Sinai Peninsula, this road, which ran along the Mediterranean coast, would have also been vital in connecting the Egyptian empire to its Levantine territories during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550–1200 BCE). Given the road’s importance, the Way of Horus was heavily defended during the New Kingdom period and served to strengthen Egypt’s eastern border.

Excavations at Tell el-Kharouba revealed part of one such fortress. Among the discoveries was the fortress’s southern wall, which measures nearly 350 feet long and 8 feet thick. Along the wall, archaeologists identified 11 defensive towers, although more are expected to be uncovered. The excavators also uncovered portions of the fortress’s northern and western walls. In total, the fortress was likely around 86,000 square feet and would have housed a large number of soldiers. One of the site’s more interesting features is a 250-foot-long winding wall that surrounded a residential area.

Jar handle stamped with the name of Pharaoh Thutmose I. Courtesy Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Other discoveries included numerous pottery vessels and sherds, volcanic stones from the Aegean islands, a large bread oven, and preserved fragments of ancient dough. One pottery handle from the site was even stamped with the name of Pharaoh Thutmose I (r. 1506–1493 BCE). Preliminary studies of the fortress show that it underwent several stages of restoration and modification over its period of occupation. In previous excavation seasons, a much smaller fortress had been found around half a mile to the southwest, and it is hoped that future excavations will reveal a military port that connected to the Tell el-Kharouba fortress.

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The well-preserved mortuary temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu celebrated the pharaoh’s earthly achievements and allowed priests to nourish his soul so he could live forever as a god. The temple is best known for wall carvings providing information about the Philistines, nemeses of the ancient Israelites.

Wall at Medinet Habu Showing Ramses III Battling the Sea People
Photo by Don Knebel

Ramesses III ruled Egypt from 1186 B.C. until his death in 1155 B.C. Colorful columns in the hypostyle hall of his 150-meter-long temple near Luxor show Ramesses III among the gods. Statues in a courtyard portray him as Osiris, god of the afterlife. Wall carvings show him delivering enemies to Amun, Egypt’s highest god at the time.The most famous carvings are on the north exterior wall. They portray Ramesses, bow stretched, and his troops battling a confederation of invading “sea people,” predominantly people the Egyptians called Pelesets and the Bible calls Philistines. The carvings show the Philistines riding three-man chariots pulled by two horses, wielding double edged swords and long spears, carrying round shields and wearing feathered headdresses. According to the hieroglyphic account, Ramesses defeated the invaders, taking many of them prisoner. The carvings also show women and children in ox carts, suggesting an entire population on the move.

Most scholars believe the sea people described at Medinet Habu left the Aegean Sea area in about 1200 B.C. for reasons unknown and sought to settle in Egypt. After Ramesses III beat them back, they moved into nearby areas. The Philistines took what is now the Gaza Strip area along the eastern Mediterranean coast. According to the Bible, as the Israelites entered their Promised Land they stayed clear of the Philistines, apparently because of their superior iron weapons and fighting skill. The Philistines later moved aggressively into Israel’s heartland until young David killed their champion Goliath and they retreated to five cities along the coast.

The Philistines are remembered today in the name “Palestine,” first used by Herodotus in the fifth century B.C. to describe the area that is now Israel. They are also remembered on the wall at Medinet Habu for battles that help shed light on much more recent events.

Flushed with Curiosity; 101 Travel Tales with a Twist

From the author’s website:

For years, Don Knebel, an Indianapolis attorney, law professor, speaker and civic leader, has traveled with his wife Jen to interact with the world’s people and learn about their customs and their religions. The idea for this book came when he discovered that not all people find western bathroom plumbing an improvement. From that exposure of his cultural bias, he began looking in the places he visits for stories and pictures reflecting our common humanity and the beliefs and traditions that both divide and unite us. Some of the stories describe people we can never forget. A few are about bodies that end up in more than one place. Some of the stories are quirky, some are inspirational and some contradict common assumptions. All help show our connections to each other and only one is about toilets. The 101 stories are arranged in roughly chronological order, providing a quick and fascinating tour through the 10,000-year history of western and near eastern civilization. If you plan to travel, this book can suggest where to go. If you don’t plan to travel, this book can tell you what you’ll miss.

Related content in Bible History Daily:

The “Philistines” to the North

Where Did the Philistines Come From?

Philistine Cemetery Unearthed at Ashkelon

Adornment in the Southern Levant

The Philistine Marketplace at Ashkelon

The post Medinet Habu: Philistines in Egypt appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.