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This article evaluates the historicity of 1 Sam 7:2-17 in light of renewed analysis of the archaeological remains from Tell en-Nasbeh, other Iron Age I sites in the region of Benjamin, broader literary considerations in 1 Sam 1-10, and the geography of the Central Hill Country. In so doing, a case is made that there is far more going on in vv. 6-7 than what appears to be a miscommunication between the Israelites, who have gathered at the site of Mizpah, and the Philistines, who send troops against the Israelites. A historical reconstruction that considers the narrative form of 1 Sam 7:2-17 and the archaeological remains is offered, as is a new proposal for the identification of the site of Gibeath-elohim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biblical portrayal of the Philistines is largely negative. Their military exploits, depicted extensively in the books of Judges and 1 Samuel—coupled with their religion, unaccustomed to the Israelite cult—have led several commentators to label them a prototypical "other." To put it memorably, the Philistines are what Israel should not be. I attempt to nuance somewhat this overtly negative characterization of the Philistines by focusing on one incident in 1 Sam 6: the Philistines' returning of the ark, accompanied with a peculiar offering of objects made of gold. I compare this ritual to the sacrificial actions of Eli's sons in 1 Sam 2-4 to argue that, at least in 1 Sam 6, and with respect to what lies at the heart of Israel's cult—the approach of the inscrutable and holy deity—the Israelites should be more like the Philistines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article puts forward a new hypothesis concerning the origin of the goddess of Ekron, mentioned in Ekron's royal dedicatory inscription from the early 7th century BCE. Contrary to a widely held view, it is suggested that the origin of the Philistine Goddess of Ekron should not be sought in the Aegean world but rather in northern Syria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The French Egyptologist Emmanuel de Rougé termed the sea-borne foreign invaders who invaded Egypt during the late Bronze Age on the basis of the Great Karnak inscription, "peuples de la mer" or Sea Peoples. Recently however, specialists, in the absence of more direct evidence of the use of this term in antiquity, have called into question its historical provenance and have even declared it a "modern term". Ancient Jewish writings, by contrast, refer to several Peoples of the Sea which notably include the Philistines. Moreover, close examination of the orthography of biblical ethnonyms in the context of migratory sea passages in both the Masoretic text and the Septuagint demonstrates the existence of a previously undescribed productive genitive sea-borne indicator within the very fabric of the biblical text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the late date and dubious veracity of the Deuteronomistic history, and despite the Bible's status as the only Bronze or Iron Age text which indisputably refers to Dagon in a southern Canaanite geographical context, scholars have traditionally accepted 1 Samuel 50--8's portrayal of Philistine cult in the Iron Age 1 as being centered on this deity and his temple at Ashdod. This study marshals archaeological and historical evidence to assess the level of support for the presence of Dagon in Iron 1 Philistia, and for a temple at Ashdod as described in the biblical account. Also considered, through comparison with the materially analogous situation in the Bronze Age Aegean, is the critical role that a textual complement to physical evidence (or, in the case of the Philistines, the lack thereof) plays in cultic analysis and pantheonic reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The patriarchal authority is undermined from the beginning of Samson's story when Manoah is depicted as playing no role in Samson's birth. The erosion of patriarchal authority is augmented by an assault on male identity when Samson is forced to play the role of a woman, or rather to become one. Samson's story thus far may reflect anxiety and fear among men who have lost their male identity and authority in the exile. But the story takes an intriguing and unexpected turn when it questions whether it is fair for the Philistines to gauge both of Samson's eyes. Perhaps the Philistines meted out more than what Samson deserves. If so, how do we account for the extra suffering he endured? The unnecessary violence to Samson's other eye attests to the empire's cruelty and abuse. In Samson's death, the victims have their say. The people acknowledge their sins but also protest against the collective violence of empire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The superscription of the book of Zephaniah places the composition in the 7th century BCE, during the reign of King Josiah of Judah. While some scholars support a monarchic date for composition on the grounds of geopolitical details, others have accepted the book as a post-monarchic composition, in which geopolitical details are merely functions of literary techniques. Critical in the discussions of date and historicity are the oracles found in the book's second chapter. This essay examines the introductory poem found in Zeph 2:4 and argues that the oracle is representative of 7th century Judean sentiments toward the city of Ekron because of a specific pun, which should be read in light of the city's impressive olive oil industry dating to the 7th century BCE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biblical presentation of David's ostensible willingness to fight on the side of the Philistines against Israel (1 Sam. xxvii-xxix) is examined. Through a literary analysis it is shown that David is not depicted as intending to betray Saul and Israel. On the contrary, the narrator provides many hints that the Philistine commanders' assessment of David is correct and that had he not been sent away he would have fought against the Philistines and for Israel. His dismissal, instigated by the Philistine commanders, is compatible with the divine plan for Israel's defeat, the destruction of the House of Saul, and David's succeeding Saul on the throne of Israel (1 Sam. xxviii 16-19). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the historical context and interpretation of the cities of Calneh, Hamath, and Gath in Amos VI 2. Questions raised in the passage; Points of argument regarding the identification of the biblical Gath of the Philistine; Critical points raised by the excavation conducted on the eastern side of the trench in Israel; Possibilities for the identification of the responsible party.

This essay explores the role of story-telling in constructing Judah's border with the Philistines in the shephelah. Judah's struggle to control this frontier involved overcoming social pressures and incentives that naturally pulled Israelites and Philistines living in it toward integration and hybridization. The Samson story, the most famous biblical narrative associated with the shephelah, offers us an opportunity to reconstruct a possible role for story-telling in counteracting this pressure. Drawing on parallels with Greek myth, I argue that the Samson narrative does not merely reflect the ethnic and cultural ambiguities of the shephelah but seeks to assert control over them, doing so in ways that delegitimize Philistine claims to this region and stigmatize border-crossing. What we have in the Samson story, in other words, is an attempt to impose a fictional border between Judah and the Philistines in the shephelah, a border no less inhibitive for being imaginary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Judges 13-16, the saga of Samson, is a text that, in popular imagination, is typically described as depicting the exploits of the heroic Samson against the Philistine barbarians. But, in fact, as commentators have often pointed out, Samson, although endowed with superhuman strength in this tale, is otherwise something of a fool and a boor: posing an unfair riddle at his wedding feast, engaging again and again in acts of violent destruction, and revealing the secret of his uncut hair to Delilah even though she has made clear that she intends to summon the Philistines to seize him after rendering him powerless. Yet however stupid Samson and however forthright Delilah are depicted as being in their interactions together, popular imagination again has almost always remembered Delilah as the evil seductress who leads the helpless Samson astray. Philistine interpreters, though, might well have remembered Delilah as an equivalent of the Israelite hero Jael: as a woman who, in terms of ethnicity, seems to stand outside of the dispute in which she plays a role; as a woman who is not necessarily a part of the household of a father or husband; and as a women depicted in terms of erotic imagery that is primarily maternal in nature. From a Philistine point of view, that is, Delilah might well bear the epithet Israelite tradition awards to Jael in Judg. 5:24: "most blessed of women." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]