ellauri155.html on line 521: Today’s passage certainly qualifies as one of the more difficult passages of Scripture. It is easy enough to understand what is going on; however, it is difficult to know how to evaluate it. We see in 1 Samuel 27:1–4 that David decided the best way to escape Saul was to flee to Philistine territory and take up residence in the city of Gath. David had been there before, and he deceived the city’s king, Achish, by pretending to be insane, thereby keeping the Philistines from killing him (21:10–15). This time, David did not have to feign insanity. Achish would have heard of Saul’s war with David, so he probably felt secure in allowing him into the city. This enemy of his enemy—Israel’s King Saul—could be counted on as a friend. Achish gave the country town of Ziklag to David, and it became a royal possession after David ascended the throne (27:5–7).
ellauri155.html on line 523: Little in the narrative tells us what we are to think of David’s actions. Perhaps the very fact that he sought security among the Philistines is enough to make his choice questionable. After all, God had shown Himself able to keep David safe within the boundaries of Israel (chs. 18–26), so David’s seeking refuge in Philistia may indicate a lapse of faith. It could be that David’s raids from Ziklag confirm this. We see how David would go out against enemies of Israel such as the Amalekites (see Ex. 17:8–16) who were in the south of Judah. After defeating them, he would bring spoil back to Achish and lie to the king, telling him that he was conducting raids on the Israelites (1 Sam. 27:8–12). We do not want to make too much of this, for some actions are acceptable in times of war that are not necessarily acceptable in times of peace (for example, industrial espionage). This was a time of war, with both Achish and the peoples David raided being actual enemies of Israel. Still, David’s successful deception put him in a quandary. Achish was so pleased with David’s work that he commissioned David to join him against Israel (28:1–2). What would he do?
ellauri156.html on line 76: Israel is at war with none other than the Ammonites (verse 1), which may come as a surprise to you as it did to me. (Well, to be honest, I thought they were the cretacean mollusks by the same name.) I thought the Ammonites had been defeated in chapter 10. I was wrong. The author is very clear on this matter. In chapter 8, the author tells how David began to engage his enemies in battle, ending the strangle-hold these surrounding nations had on Israel. David subjected the Philistines (8:1), then the Moabites (8:2), and then he took on the king of Zobah (8:3ff.). In the process, other nations became involved and found Israel too formidable an enemy to oppose again. (Notice the similarity of the situation here to the Yom Kippur War.)
ellauri156.html on line 114: 15 Now a day before Saul's coming, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel saying, 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over My people Israel; and he will deliver My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have regarded My people, because their cry has come to Me” (1 Samuel 9:15-16).
ellauri156.html on line 410: David sends word to Joab, ordering him to send Uriah home to Jerusalem. I take it from the context that Uriah is sent to Jerusalem on the pretext that he is needed to report directly to David on the state of the war. I doubt David wants Uriah to know he has ordered Joab to send him. I am certain David does not want Uriah to know the real purpose of his journey to Jerusalem. David is orchestrating this homecoming to appear as though it serves one purpose, while it actually serves David's purpose of concealing his own sin. Even at this level, the order for Uriah to return home has a bad odor. You may remember that when David's father wanted to know how the battle with the Philistines was going (three of his sons were involved), he sent David, the youngest son, as an errand boy to take some supplies and return with word about the war (1 Samuel 17:17-19). One does not need to send a military hero as a messenger (nor is it good practice, the youngest son is more expendable.).
ellauri156.html on line 537: Abner was the son of the witch of En-dor in Mordor, (Pirḳe R. El. xxxiii.), and the hero par excellence in the Haggadah (Yalḳ., Jer. 285; Eccl. R. on ix. 11; Ḳid. 49b). Conscious of his extraordinary strength, he exclaimed: "If I could only catch hold of the earth, I could shake it" (Yalḳ. l.c.)—a saying which parallels the famous utterance of Archimedes, "Had I a fulcrum, I could move the world." (Dote moi pa bo kai tan gan kino.) According to the Midrash (Eccl. R. l.c.) it would have been easier to move a wall six yards thick than one of the feet of Abner, who could hold the Israelitish army between his knees, and often did. Yet when his time came [date missing], Joab smote him. But even in his dying hour, Abner seized his foe's balls like a ball of thread, threatening to crush them. Then the Israelites came and pleaded for Joab's jewels, saying: "If thou crushest them his future kids shall be orphaned, and our women and all our belongings will become a prey to the Philistines." Abner answered: "What can I do? He has extinguished my light" (has wounded me fatally). The Israelites replied: "Entrust thy cause to the true judge [God]." Then Abner released his hold upon Joab's balls and fell dead to the ground (Yalḳ. l.c.).
ellauri156.html on line 643: David, on the other hand, does not even bother to go through the pretense of mourning. He does not even try to be hypocritical. When other mighty men of Israel died, David led the nation in mourning their loss. David mourned for Saul and his sons, killed in the battle with the Philistines (2 Samuel 1). David mourned the death of Abner, wickedly put to death by Joab (2 Samuel 3:28ff.). He even sent a delegation to officially mourn the death of Nahash, king of the Ammonites (2 Samuel 10). But when Uriah is killed “in battle,” not a word of mourning comes from David's lips. He is not sorry; he is relieved. Instead of instructing others to mourn for Uriah, he sends word to Joab not to take his death too seriously.
ellauri185.html on line 79: The Book of Jeremiah lists Tyre among many other nations that would drink from the "cup of the wine of wrath" of God. It also predicted a time when God would destroy the Philistines and every helper from Tyre and Sidon would be cut off.
ellauri185.html on line 97: The book begins with Samuel's birth and Yahweh's call to him as a boy. The story of the Ark of the Covenant follows. It tells of Israel's oppression by the Philistines, which brought about Samuel's anointing of Saul as Israel's first king. But Saul proved unworthy, and God's choice turned to David, who defeated Israel's enemies, purchased the threshing floor where his son Solomon would build the First Temple, and brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Yahweh then promised David and his sucessors an everlasting dynasty.
ellauri185.html on line 102: The Philistines capture the Ark of the Covenant from Shiloh and take it to the temple of their god Dagon, who recognizes the supremacy of Yahweh. The Philistines are afflicted with plagues and return the ark to the Israelites, but to the territory of the tribe of Benjamin rather than to Shiloh. The Philistines attack the Israelites gathered at Mizpah in Benjamin. Samuel appeals to Yahweh, the Philistines are decisively beaten, and the Israelites reclaim their lost territory.
ellauri185.html on line 118: God tells Samuel to anoint David of Bethlehem as king, and David enters Saul's court as his armor-bearer and harpist. Saul's son and heir Jonathan befriends David and recognizes him as the rightful king. Saul then plots David's death, but David flees into the wilderness where he becomes a champion of the Hebrews. David joins the Philistines, but he continues to secretly champion his own people until Saul and Jonathan are killed in battle at Mount Gilboa.
ellauri185.html on line 131: David captures Jerusalem and brings the Ark there. David wishes to build a temple, but Nathan tells him that one of his sons will be the one to build the temple. David defeats the enemies of Israel, slaughtering Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, Syrians, and Arameans.
ellauri213.html on line 331: Had Khaled ever apologized for her role in the hijackings or taken steps to show that she is committed to nonviolent efforts to achieve her desired end of driving the invasive Israeli species from her land, I would not object to her speaking at San Francisco State. People who genuinely learn often make the best teachers. But even after 50 years, Khaled has never expressed remorse or disavowed her actions or those of her comrades. Neither have I for 3000 years of Israeli mass murder of poor Philistines, so there! Never forget, never learn!
ellauri264.html on line 574: In the biblical narrative, Hophni and Phinehas are criticised for engaging in illicit behaviour, such as appropriating the best portion of sacrifices for themselves, and having sexual relations with the sanctuary's serving women. They are described as "sons of Belial" in (1 Samuel 2:12) KJV, "corrupt" in the New King James Version, or "scoundrels" in the NIV. Dom var usla som Sveriges krona, som än kallas skräpvaluta, än skitvaluta. Their misdeeds provoked the wrath of Yahweh and led to a divine curse being put on the house of Eli, and they subsequently both died on the same day, when Israel was defeated by the Philistines at the Battle of Aphek near Ebenezer; the news of this defeat then led to Eli's death (1 Samuel 4:17–18). On hearing of the deaths of Eli and Phinehas, and of the capture of the ark, Phinehas´ wife gave birth to a son whom she named Zaphod (expressing 'departed glory') before she herself died (1 Samuel 4:19–22).
ellauri264.html on line 584: 17 The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”
ellauri370.html on line 204: J) Since 2022, many Jews are now fleeing the Russia-Ukraine war and immigrating to Israel. They are fortunate to have a great country like Israel to go to. They have a Jewish homeland that welcomes them. New accommodations are becoming available as the Philistines are vacating them.
ellauri375.html on line 641: What do you think of the war in Ukraine? Do you think the Israeli are right to commit another genocide on their old enemies the Philistines?
ellauri406.html on line 202: The sad thing, that they learned nothing from history, time has proved that the vitctims of yesterday and their descendants are doing the same now to some other people, including Lebanese and the Philistines!
ellauri412.html on line 177: Asherah, or Ashtoreth, was the name of the chief female deity worshiped in ancient Syria, Phoenicia, and Canaan. The Phoenicians called her Astarte, the Assyrians worshiped her as Ishtar, and the Philistines had a temple of Asherah. Asherah was a fertility goddess, and considered a high deity by the Canaanites on the level of their god Baal. God wasn't crazy about Asherah worship and warned Israel about it several times, commanding them repeatedly to tear down the symbols of Asherah worship, the Asherah pole, also known as Asherim or Asherah Groves:
xxx/ellauri148.html on line 416: 29 November International Day of Solidarity with the Philistines
xxx/ellauri193.html on line 408: I was ready to chuck Nadine until I read that she was a commie and sided with the Philistines on the Arab-Israeli conflict. But she didn't boycott the pen pal meeting dammit! The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) strongly criticized South African author Nadine Gordimer for ignoring calls to boycott the Israeli-hosted International Writers' Festival. Oh Nadine, why can't you be true! She went to this pen pal meeting in Israel 2009 and said:
xxx/ellauri202.html on line 403: But sometimes there is no rhyme or reason behind such things. Well, the chosen people killed and still kill droves of Philistines without any personal animus. Natasha Ishak is a staff writer at All That´s Interesting. She is a Jewess. Now that´s interesting!
xxx/ellauri250.html on line 860: And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span [more than 9 feet tall]. 5 He had a helmet of bronze [Why bronze and not iron? Was the iron one in the wash?] on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail [bronze scale armor] [same question], and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze [about 125 pounds]. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron [15 pounds]. And his shield-bearer went before him. [No wonder, he was pretty encumbered with all the other bronze on him.]
xxx/ellauri380.html on line 299: A lot of hate coming from you not just anger hate. In reality the Jews occupied that land thousands of years ago first. It was THEIR god who promised the Philistines' premises to them, so there!
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 487:

History of the Philistines

xxx/ellauri416.html on line 493: The most breathtaking art from ancient Canaan came not from the Israelites but rather from the Philistines. Until the Jews barged in, that is.
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 494: Like David and Goliath, the story of Samson and Delilah are well-known stories of right and wrong, good and evil, goys and jews. These findings help tell the story of the Philistines on their own terms, in a way that complements (rather than negating) what the biblical writers said about them. Think of them as ancient Vikings. According to the Bible, the Philistines were polytheists. Polytheist means you worship multiple gods, unlike the Nazirite Samson. The biblical story of Samson suggests that he destroyed the temple of Dagon in Gaza. Present-day Samsons specialize in childrens' hospitals.
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 497: Philistines originated from the island of Crete
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 503: do the Philistines hate Israel? Although the
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 505: Philistines and Israelites was the age-old
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 513: Philistines. The two men first proposed the
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 514: theory, which is now a consensus among Israelite scholars, that the Philistines were
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 519: Philistines were part of the wave of migrations
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 522: Age. In particular, the Philistines were part
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 528: thought that the Philistines were driven to the
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 532: Philistines as the “Peleset," which over time
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 549: After Egypt had repelled them, the Philistines settled in the area of the modern-day Gaza Strip. So our scrappy band of survivors settled and set up a pentapolis of five interconnected cities states: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath.
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 554: mentions that after the Philistines had taken
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 558: Israelites. After the Philistines returned the
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 559: Ark, “the five lords of the Philistines had
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 569: Philistines and their primary god, Dagon after
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 577: worshipping Dagon. The Philistines and their
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 582: The first contact between the Philistines and Israelites were violent with the Philistines quickly gaining the upper hand. In the book of Judges, the Philistines are ascendant with the men of Judah even offering to bind the hero Samson, asking him: “Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us?" Philistine dominance continued for over fifty years until King David unified Israel and Judah and finally drove the Philistines from Israelite territory in 980 BC. Get off my property! they said like the fiddler on the roof.
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 584: The primary reason why the Philistines and Israelites were enemies was due to both peoples desiring to put the Levant under their political hegemony. The Philistines got the upper hand first, but then the Israelites became the primary force in the region by the early tenth century. In the end, both sides were eventually defeated when the mighty Assyrian Empire overwhelmed the entire Levant and made them both vassals. In fact, a common insult, particularly during the Victorian Age, was to refer to someone as a Philistine. Philistine pottery was beautiful and practical.
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 593: The patriarch Abraham lived several hundred years before the twelfth century (so he got there first, nyaah nyaah nyaah), and the biblical narrative attests that he and his sons had contact with the Philistines. There are several possible explanations for this discrepancy. One is that another people group was known as the Philistines, and the migrants from the Aegean who arrived in the twelfth century took on its moniker and called themselves Philistines. Another possible explanation is that there was a steady flow of migrants from the Aegean, all of whom were related and called themselves Philistines.
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 594: Who were the real Philistines, well we really don’t know a whole lot.
xxx/ellauri416.html on line 599: The Philistines were first recorded by others between 1185-1152 BCE. The Peleset, as they were called by the Egyptians, were first depicted as captives on a wall relief at Medinet Habu during the reign of Ramesses III. The Peleset were one of the several groups commonly referred to as the Sea People that were part of a serious of events that lead to the Bronze Age Collapse. The Egyptians identified ten ethnic groups as raiders and pirates that came ashore to plunder during this tumultuous time. The Peleset were one of those people. There were opportunistic mercenaries and desperate people willing to take on the greatness of Egypt, but it was probably more complex. There were certainly also refugees looking for safety.
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