Demonstrating the historical reliability of the Bible through archaeological research and related apologetic investigation.

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Research Articles: All posts tagged 'philistines'

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The Philistines Enter Canaan: Were They Egyptian Lackeys or Invading Conquerors? 7/12/2010 - by Bryant G. Wood PhD

At very beginning of the 12th century B.C. - the beginning of the period archaeologists call Iron Age I - the Sea Peoples swept out of the Aegean to make their appearance in the archeological record and in ancient literary references. The Philistines ultimately settled on and dominated some of the choicest land in Canaan - the agriculturally rich coastal strip from Gaza in the south to Tell Qasile, near modern Tel Aviv, in the north - through which passed one of the world's most important international trade routes. Soon the Philistines began exerting pressure on the Israelite tribes farther inland. This conflict prompted the Israelites to form a monarchy in the mid - 11th century in order to meet the Philistine threat more effectively. After about 150 years of dominance in the area, the Philistines faded from the scene - overpowered by the Israelites under King David - and thereafter played only a minor role in events until, in about 600 B.C., they disappeared altogether.

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Between the Pillars: Revisiting "Samson and the House of Dagon" 7/24/2008 - by John Roskoski PhD

The historicity of this heroic account has been long debated among scholars. Indeed, many scholars seem hesitant to comment on the historicity of the Samson narratives at all. From the scholarly debate over the destruction of the Gaza temple two diametrically opposed viewpoints have emerged...

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David Rohl's Revised Egyptian Chronology: A View From Palestine 5/23/2007 - by Bryant G. Wood PhD

David Rohl purports to have produced a better correlation between the findings of archaeology and the Bible by revising Egyptian chronology. Rohl, however, cannot so easily be brushed aside...

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The Genesis Philistines 5/31/2006 - by Bryant G. Wood PhD

The Philistines we encounter in the books of Judges and 1 and 2 Samuel are well known to us. However, skeptics have claimed that references to the Philistines in the book of Genesis are a fictional anachronism. According to the Bible, the Philistines originated in “Caphtor” identified as the island of Crete...

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