Within the Hebrew Bible, the word « Pelishtim » is used many, many times. (Gen. 10:14 — Exod 13:17 — etc, etc, etc)
The « Peleshtim » are the inhabitants of « Peleshet » : One people ; one country. As this region experienced many migrations, I guess that several religions were simultaneously present within ‘’Peleshet’’.
The word « Peleshet » is translated in English by “Palestine”, “Philistia”, or “Palestina” according to the various translators.
But there is only one word in Hebrew in the Bible : « Peleshet ». It is described as the country located between the sea and the Jordan river.
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An hypothesis could be that the « Pelishtim » were in fact the Philistines, which we call Palestinians today.
Anyway, historically, the Israelites arrived in the Canaan area well after the « Pelishtim ».
« The word of YHVH is against you,
O Canaan, land of the Philistines. » (Zeph. 9:7)
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The historian Herodotus ( 485 to 425 before Christ) mentioned Palestine several times, for example :
« The number of the triremes was twelve hundred and seven, and they were furnished by the following: the Phoenicians with the Syrians of Palestine furnished three hundred; for their equipment, they had on their heads helmets very close to the Greek in style; they wore linen breastplates, and carried shields without rims, and javelins. These Phoenicians formerly dwelt, as they themselves say, by the Red Sea; they crossed from there and now inhabit the seacoast of Syria. This part of Syria as far as Egypt is all called Palestine.The Egyptians furnished two hundred ships. They wore woven helmets and carried hollow shields with broad rims, and spears for sea-warfare, and great battle-axes. Most of them wore cuirasses and carried long swords. »
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Much later (4th century) the historian (he was also a Christian bishop) Eusebius of Caesarea mentioned as well the country of ‘’Palaistine’’ in his book Historia Ecclesiastica.
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“The research, and other recent discoveries, suggest the enigmatic Philistines may have been a native Middle Eastern population, rather than invading pirates from the Aegean islands, as traditional scholarship holds.”
read more: https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/1.802928
Jean P. Ciron
