To: tejek who wrote (797260 ) 7/26/2014 2:59:28 PM From: longnshort Read Replies (1) | Respond to According to Joshua 13:3 and 1 Samuel 6:17 , the land of the Philistines (or Allophyloi), called Philistia , was a Pentapolis in south-western Levant comprised the five city-states of Gaza , Ashkelon , Ashdod , Ekron and Gath , from Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with no fixed border to the east. [2] The Bible portrays them at one period of time as among the Kingdom of Israel 's most dangerous enemies. [2] Biblical scholars have connected the Philistines to other biblical groups such as Caphtorim and the Cherethites and Pelethites , which have both been identified with Crete , and leading to the tradition of an Aegean origin, [3] although this theory has been disputed. [4] [5] Since 1822, scholars have connected the Biblical Philistines with the Egyptian "Peleset" inscriptions, [6] and since 1873, they have both been connected with the Aegean " Pelasgians ". [7] [8] Whilst the evidence for these connections is etymological and has been disputed, [8] [9] this identification is held by the majority of egyptologists and biblical archaeologists . [8] Biblical archaeology has focused on identifying archaeological evidence for the Philistines. According to Israel Finkelstein , archaeological research to date has been unable to corroborate a mass settlement of Philistines during the Ramesses III era. [10] Archaeological references in Egyptian texts, and later in Assyrian texts, to "Peleset" or "Palashtu" appear from c.1150 BCE, just as archaeological references to "Kina??u" or "Ka-na-na" ( Canaan ) come to an end. [11]
