Smith's Bible Dictionary

Philis'tines. (immigrants). The origin of the Philistines is nowhere expressly stated in the Bible; but as the prophets describe them as "the Philistines, from Caphtor," Amo 9:7,, and "the remnant of the maritime district of Caphtor" Jer 47:4, it is prima facie probable that they were "the Caphtorim which came out of Caphtor" who expelled the Avim, from their territory and occupied it; in their place, Deu 2:23, and that these, again, were the Caphtorim mentioned in the Mosaic genealogical table, among the descendants of Mizraim. Gen 10:14.

History. -- The Philistines must have settled in the land of Canaan, before the time of Abraham; for they are noticed in his day as a pastoral tribe in the neighborhood of Gerur. Gen 21:32; Gen 21:34; Gen 26:1; Gen 26:8. Between the times of Abraham and Joshua, the Philistines had changed their quarters, and had advanced northward into the plain of Philistia. The Philistines had, at an early period, attained proficiency in the arts of peace. Their wealth was abundant, Jdg 16:5; Jdg 16:19, and they appear, in all respects, to have been a prosperous people. Possessed of such elements of power, they had attained, in the time of the judges, an important position among eastern nations.

About B.C. 1200, we find them engaged in successful war with the Sidonians. Justin xviii. 3. The territory of the Philistines having been once occupied by the Canaanites, formed a portion of the Promised Land, and was assigned the tribe of Judah. Jos 15:2; Jos 15:12; Jos 15:45-47. No portion of it, however, was conquered in the lifetime of Joshua, Jos 13:2, and even after his death, no permanent conquest was effected, Jdg 3:3, though we are informed that the three cities of Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron were taken. Jdg 1:18.

The Philistines soon recovered these, and commenced an aggressive policy against the Israelites, by which they gained a complete ascendancy over them. Individual heroes were raised up from time to time, such as Shamgar, the son of Anath, Jdg 3:31, and still more, Samson, Judges 13-16, but neither of these men succeeded in permanently throwing off the yoke. The Israelites attributed their past weakness to their want, of unity, and they desired a king, with the special object of leading them against the foe. 1Sa 8:20.

Saul threw off the yoke; and the Philistines were defeated with great slaughter at Geba. 1Sa 13:3. They made no attempt to regain their supremacy for about twenty-five years, and the scene of the next contest shows the altered strength of the two parties. It was no longer in the central country, but in a ravine leading down to the Philistine plain, the valley of Elah, the position of which is about 14 miles southwest of Jerusalem. On this occasion, the prowess of young David secured success to Israel, and the foe was pursued to the gates of Gath and Ekron. 1Sa 17:1.

The power of the Philistines was, however, still intact on their own territory. The border warfare was continued. The scene of the next conflict was far to the north, in the valley of Esdraelon. The battle, on this occasion, proved disastrous to the Israelites; Saul himself perished, and the Philistines penetrated across the Jordan and occupied the, forsaken cities. 1Sa 31:1-7. On the appointment of David to be king, he twice attacked them, and on each occasion, with singular success, in the first case, capturing their images, in the second, pursuing them, "from Geba until thou come to Gazer." 2Sa 5:17-25; 1Ch 14:8-16. Henceforth, the Israelites appear as the aggressors.

The Assyrians under Tartan, the general of Sargon, made an expedition against Egypt, and took Ashdod, as the key of that country. Isa 20:1; Isa 20:4-5. Under Senacherib, Philistia was again the scene of important operations. The Assyrian supremacy was restored by Esarhaddon, and it seems probable that the Assyrians retained their hold on Ashdod until its capture, after a long siege, by Psammetichus. It was about this time that Philistia was traversed by vast Scythian horde on their way to Egypt.

The Egyptian ascendancy was not as yet re-established, for we find the next king, Necho, compelled to besiege Gaza on his return from the battle of Megiddo. After the death of Necho, the contest was renewed between the Egyptians and the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar, and the result was specially disastrous to the Philistines. The "old hatred" that the Philistines bore to the Jews was exhibited in acts of hostility, at the time of the Babylonish captivity, Eze 25:15-17, but on the return, this was somewhat abated, for some of the Jews married Philistine women, to the great scandal of their rulers. Neh 13:23-24. From this time, the history of Philistia is absorbed in the struggles of the neighboring kingdoms. The latest notices of the Philistines as a nation occur in 1 Maccabees 3-5.

Institutions, religion, etc. -- With regard to the institutions of the Philistines our information is very scanty, The five chief cities had, as early as the days of Joshua, constituted themselves into a confederacy, restricted however, in all probability, to matters of offence and defence. Each was under the government of a prince, Jos 13:3; Jdg 3:3; etc.; 1Sa 18:30; 1Sa 29:6, and each possessed its own territory.

The Philistines appear to have been deeply imbued with superstition: they carried their idols with them on their campaigns, 2Sa 5:21, and proclaimed their victories in their presence. 1Sa 31:9. The gods whom they chiefly worshipped were Dagon, Jdg 16:23; 1Sa 5:3-5; 1Ch 10:10; 1Ma 10:83, Ashtaroth, 1Sa 31:10, Herod. I. 105, and Baalzebub. 2Ki 1:2-6.