We shall not here enter into that other hotly discussed question of the nationality of the Phi listines '—that is, whether they are of Indo-German or of Shemitic stock. Considering that the whole sum and substance of their language that has come down to us consists of about a dozen words, which, for all we know, probably exhibit but very muti lated forms, and which, if they be Semitic, as they seem to be, may have been acquired in Palestine : nothing remains but the item of their being called ignominiously uncircumcised,' and the fact that the greater part of their vocabulary has also been traced* to the Sanscrit. Further, that the Caph torim are supposed to be connected with the (Egyptian) Ludim (called both Hamites and Shem ites in Gen. x. 13, 22) ; and that, finally, Arabic writers call the Philistines Amalekites. That a variety of conclusions have been drawn from these different points in favour of either of these opinions, we need hardly add.
But the fact is, that, save the vague traditions and the still more vague allusions to their being a mixed race (cf. the Crethi' Caphtorim and Plethi' Casluhim, Homer's 'Erc6Kpnres and lIeXao--yot, etc.), and the historical item of the Caphtorim originally holding the Negeb, while the Philistines proper held the Shephelah—absolutely nothing is k;eown about the previous history, kindred, abode, etc., of the two or more tribes and their primitive names, which went to the composition of this people, and speculation has not succeeded in satis factorily filling up this gap in our knowledge.
Their history as a people, or rather those few fragments biblical records contain of it—chiefly as far as they came in contact with the Israelites—need not be told here at length. The date of their first immigration into Palestine, or that part of it be fore them held by the Avvim, is, as we have said, most uncertain. It must, however, have taken place after that of the Canaanites, whose posses sions at one time (Gen. x. 19) extended to Gerar and Gaza. At the time of Abraham we find the land of the Philistines mentioned, and Abimelech, king of Gerar, is in the history of Isaac called king of the Philistines.t At the time of the Exodus they held the country to the frontiers of Egypt, and had become so powerful already that Moses led Israel not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near, for God said, lest perad venture they see war, and they return to Egypt.' At the time of Joshua they are found as a con federation of the five states of Gaza, Ashdod, Askalon, Gath, and Ekron, ruled by Princes ; and such was their prowess, that about that period they simultaneously engaged in a war by land with the Sidonians, and at sea with the Egyp tians. Yet what had not been done in the days of Moses was done in those of Joshua—the Philis tines were numbered among the peoples to be conquered, and their land was disposed of for the benefit of the tribe of Judah, although Joshua never in reality seems to have gone to war with them. Not long after his death, however, we find them holding the Israelites in bondage, until Shamgar, the son of Anath, slew of the Philistines 600 men with an ox-goad,'—a feat strangely enough not re corded by Josephus—` and thus delivered Israel.' But their deliverance was of but brief duration. Their guerilla raids continued under J ephthah, and still more under Samson, when they, in conjunction with the Ammonites, kept the Israelites in subjec tion for forty years. In the battle of Aphek they carried away the ark itself. Samuel first put an end to this period of national humiliation. In the battle of Mizpah the Philistines not only lost their sway over Israel, but had to yield to them their own territories of Ekron and Gath. This, how ever, seems to have been only a partial victory, and of short duration. Saul had to contend with them during the whole period of his reign. The valiant support of Jonathan and David gained for him the battles of Michmash, where the Philistines were completely routed and pursued to Ajalon, and of Socho (the place of the episode of Goliath), which ended in the Philistines being driven to flight and pursued to the gates of Gath and Ekron with a loss, according to Josephus, of 30,000 killed and twice that number wounded. They subsequently suffered several other defeats, chiefly at the hand of David, until the latter was himself obliged to seek refuge with Achish, Xing of Gath. Thus, at this time—perhaps induced by the recent disasters— the Philistines appear to have returned again to the primitive monarchical form in which we find them at the time of the patriarchs ; nay, the primeval regal title of father-king (Abimelech) itself was resumed by the monarch. His power, however,
seems to have been considerably circumscribed by his Princes, who, for instance, forced him to send David back from Gilboa against his own will. At this place it was where the Israelites suffered one of the heaviest reverses at their hands, and where Saul himself and his sons fell. When, after Ish bosheth's death, all Israel and Judah had sub mitted to David,' the Philistines, who hitherto had left him undisturbed, renewed their hostilities, but were repeatedly beaten—at Baal-Perazim, with the loss of their gods, and at Rephaim, where they suf fered an immense slaughter. Nevertheless the war was not at an end yet. Many more times had David to march against them—his arms being always vic torious—before their horn was broken asunder,' and he was able to leave to his son Solomon their territory as a conquered domain (1 Kings iv. 21 ; 2 Gluon. ix. 26). The schism between Israel and Judah, and the civil war that ensued, was probably taken advantage of by the Philistines. Nadab, the second king of Israel, is found besieging one of their cities (Gibbethon) situated in the territory of Dan, and the siege was renewed again under Omri. Jehoshaphat made them, or part of them, tributary, but under his son Joram they, in conjunction with the Arabs, invaded Judah (according to Chronicles only) and carried all the treasures together with the whole royal family captive. Uzziah (again according to Chronicles only) soon afterwards car ried war into their own territory, dismantled Gath —which in the time of Jehoash had been taken by Hazael king of Syria—Jabneli, and Ashdod, and erected strongholds on their land. Under A haz again 2 L they revolted successfully, adding a large portion of western Judah to their own domain. This acqui sition, however, did not remain long in their hands. Hezekiah overran their whole country, and gained several important advantages. About the same time, Sargon, king of Assyria, the smoke of the north,' sent Tartan his general against Palestine, the possession of which became, during the conti nuous contest between Egyptians and Assyrians, matter of highest import to both, and he took Ashdod, the frontier fortress, after a three years' siege. Under Sennacherib the greater part, if not all, of the strongholds, fell under Assyrian sway. Whether, after their defeat before Jerusalem, they were still able to hold Ashdod, is at least doubtful : at all events we find Psammetichus, king of Egypt, besieging it some time afterwards, for twenty-nine years, and finally taking it. About this period, it would appear, marauding Scythian hordes traversed Philistia on their way to Egypt, and spread desola tion around them ; spoiling even the temple of Venus at Askalon. In the course of the endless struggles for supremacy between the Egyptians and the Asiatic conquerors, Philistia, the butt of both, gradually sank into ruin and comparative insig nificance, politically and otherwise, although the Chaldman conquerors (to judge from the fierce de nunciations of Zechariah, ix. 5) still seem to have left them a shadow of independence. At the de struction of Jerusalem the old hostility flamed up once more, for the last time. After the exile the once bitter enemies had so far forgotten their time hallowed feud, that even intermarriages took place between them. And also, by this time, their very name of Philistines seems lost or forgotten. Nehe miah speaks of Ashdodite, not of Philistine, women, and the corrupt Hebrew which the off spring of these intermarriages spoke was Ashdodite and not Philistine. There is then no longer such a country as Philistia, but special cities of it are named. The inhabitants of the Pi) as, in the Maccabwan reawakening of the old traditions, the country is named once more (i Maccab. iii. 24), are themselves but dX7t.6151)1we, strangers, and were gradually lost among the nations that from time to time overran and held for a period the territory of their fathers, a territory which henceforth shared the general name of Palestine with the entire country between the Lebanon and Egypt. Alex ander Balas annexed part of ancient Philistma to Judaea. Pompey incorporated some of its cities with Roman Syria ; further portions fell to Herod's and to Salome's share. Its subsequent fortunes will be found noticed under PALEsTINE.