Emmanuel de Rougé's translation of the North wall of the mortuary temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu This famous scene shows what has come to be known as the Battle of the Delta.
The Philistines: Ancient Records, Archaeological Remains, and Biblical Traditions
The current scholarship about the identity of the Philistines, who they were, when they came to the Levant, and why.
Published: April 30, 2015
|
Last Updated: September 7, 2026
Amurru are known from the Bible as “Amorites.”
Of all the inhabitants of Canaan, it is the Philistines who are consistently referred to as “the uncircumcised (ערלים).” See, for example, Judg 14:3, 1 Sam 14:6.
Recent studies have identified traces of plant oils that were burned in these chalices, some of them of hallucinogenic qualities.
Further Suggested Reading
“Sea-Peoples” and the end of the Late Bronze Age:
Cline, E. H. 2014. 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Killebrew, A. E. and Lehmann, G. (eds.), The Philistines and Other “Sea Peoples” in Text and Archaeology. Atlanta.
Cline, E. H. and O’Connor, D. B. 2003. The Mystery of the “Sea Peoples.” In: O’Connor, D. B. and Quirke, S. (eds.), Mysterious Lands (Encounters with Ancient Egypt). London: 107–138.
Egyptian empire in the Levant:
Morris, E. F. 2005. The Architecture of Imperialism: Military Bases and the Evolution of Foreign Policy in Egypt’s New Kingdom (Probleme der Ägyptologie 22). Leiden and Boston.Philistine migration and culture:
Maeir, A. M. 2015. Micro-Archaeological Perspectives on the Philistine Household Throughout the Iron Age and Their Implications. Pp. 307–19 in Household Studies in Complex Societies. (Micro) Archaeological and Textual Approaches, ed. M. Muller. Oriental Institute Series 10. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.Yasur-Landau, A. 2010. The Philistines and Aegean Migration at the End of the Late Bronze Age. New York.
Philistine settlement process:
Bietak, M. 1993. The Sea Peoples and the End of Egyptian Administration in Canaan. In: Biran, A. and Aviram, J. (eds.), Biblical Archaeology Today. Proceedings of the Second International Congress on Biblical Archaeology, Jerusalem, June-July, 1990. Jerusalem: 292–306.Finkelstein, I. 2000. The Philistine Settlements: When, Where and How Many? In: Oren, E. D. (ed.), The Sea Peoples and Their World: A Reassessment (University Museum Monograph 108; University Museum Symposium Series 11). Philadelphia: 159–180.
Philistines in the Bible:
Finkelstein, I. 2002. The Philistines in the Bible: A Late Monarchic Perspective. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 27(2): 131–167.Singer, I. 2013. The Philistines in the Bible: A Short Rejoinder to a New Perspective. In: Killebrew, A. E. and Lehmann, G. (eds.), The Philistines and Other “Sea Peoples” in Text and Archaeology. Atlanta: 19–27.
Philistines in the northern Levant:
Singer, I. 2012. The Philistines in the North and the Kingdom of Taita. In: Galil, G., Gilboa, A., Maeir, A. M. et al. (eds.), The Ancient Near East in the 12th–10th Centuries BCE: Culture and History. Proceedings of the International Conference held at the University of Haifa, 2–5 May, 2010 (Alter Orient und Altes Testament 392). Münster: 451–471.
