Ken, That was interesting. I knew that Palestine referred to the Philistines and that they were "sea people," much like the Phonecians. However, the author neglects to mention that Palestine was one of the names the Jewish settlers considered when they named their new country. Others were Zion and Judea and one I forget right now. Judea might have been more accurate, as the settlers were descendants of just one tribe, the other 11 having disappeared (despite some interesting theories that they are Japanese or Incas, or, as one church claims, were living in Syria all time, etc.). But there never was much of a contest in the name department.
I wonder what the original Israelites would think about the name, as they never got along all that well with the Judeans and the House of David? Or the Samaritans, good and bad?
The "Christian" Crusaders called it the Kingdom of Jerusalem because they hated Jews with a passion, slaughtering all they found in Jerusalem when they took the city. Of course, they also killed all the Muslims who couldn't buy their freedom and most of the Coptic Christians, who looked funny to them.
The Romans definitely got fed up big time after the Bar Kochba revolt. Another messiah. Another slaughter of Roman troops. Another bloody reprisal. He couldn't put up a wall as he did in England.
Best,
MB |
