Jeremiah against the nations;- Philistia

Jeremiah and Ezekiel are the prophets of the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. To balance out their prophesies of judgement, both prophets have a collection of compensating prophesies against the enemies of Israel, with promises of hope for the future.

The Philistines had been very troublesome to Israel before the foundation of the kingdom. The maps at the back of Bibles tend to incorporate them into David’s kingdom, but they still existed as a people. At the time of the fall of Jerusalem, the coastal cities were among the neighbours who exploited the weakness of Judah and earned the indignation of the prophets. See Psalm 60 v8; “Moab is my washbasin, upon Edom I cast my shoe, over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

Jeremiah ch47 is another prophecy of judgement coming at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. The main thrust of the warning is against Gaza. V1 advises us that this warning was given before Pharaoh temporarily pre-empted it by taking Gaza for himself. That was the sequel of the battle of Carchemish in the far north, where Pharaoh was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar in the fourth year of king Jehoiakim, The Babylonian army is described as “waters rising out of the north”, with the stamping of hooves of his stallions and the rushing of his chariots. Fathers will run away without stopping to pick up their children. “Baldness has come upon Gaza”- their long hair has been cut.

The last three verses bring in Ashkelon. The prophet addresses Nebuchadnezzar as “the sword of the Lord". He asks the sword rhetorically why it does not return to the scabbard and rest quiet, and receives the answer that the Lord has given it a mission against Ashkelon and “the sea-shore”.

The general statement is made that the day “is coming to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper that remains”. It is a little surprising to find these two cities being dismissed with one line in a general prophecy about the coastlands. Whereas, if we look in the parallel prophecies of Ezekiel, we find two complete chapters of gloating about the expected fall of Tyre (chs27 and 28). But this chapter was given before Jerusalem fell, so Tyre’s ability to make a large profit from selling Jewish slaves has not yet been discovered.

In agreement with Amos ch9 v7, the Philistines are called “the remnant of the coastlands of Caphtor”. This was traditionally located in Egypt, but modern historians tend to think that the Philistines originated in the Cyprus/Crete area. Perhaps they landed in Egypt first and moved along the coast, explaining the confusion.

The Greek version of v5 apparently calls them “remnant of the Anakim”. But the RSV is the only translation on my bookshelves to incorporate that word into the text.

I had always thought that the Philistines were related to the Phoenicians.

interesting how so many Old Testament peoples are now gone. Philistines, Hittites, Ammonites, Moabites, Midianites, many more, all gone, but the Jewish people remain. Divine intervention perhaps?

The Philistines Were Likely of Greek Origin, According to DNA

It amuses me that "Philistine" is frequently used as an epithet, suggesting uncultured stooge. Whereas Greek classical culture is upheld as the font from which European Intellectual culture sprung.

Note that the Philistine(-Greeks) would have been Mycenaean-Minoan type greeks -- the culture which was destroyed circa 1200BC in the Bronze-Age-Collapse. What with the "Sea-Peoples" on the move all about the mediterranean, it's no great hop to get from Crete or Cyprus to the Levant.

The classical Greeks date more to 700BC (following the Greek Dark Age), and arguably reached their cultural zenith around 400-200 BC.

Just to further confuse the issue:
(Phoenician) Cadmus founded (Greek city) Thebes
(Lizzid-person) Cecrops founded (greek city) Athens

a reply to: trombleforth
But they were uncultured, in the sense that they were not actually classical Greeks at the time they migrated. In the end, they must have received classical Greek cutlure at the same time as their new neighbours did.

And the Greek version calls them a remnant of a race of giants? (The Anakim)

A race born out of the battle between Uranus and Kronos ( both planets?)

That’s a strange thing to slip through the cracks and remain in the text.

mythology.net...

The Gigantes were a race of giants borne out of the battle between Uranus and Kronos. They were warriors and wielded great shields and spears and wore gleaming, primitive armor made of animal skins interwoven with rocks and flaming brands. In terms of their appearance, the Gigantes looked partially human, but enormous in size and wild looking. Rather than having legs like a human mortal, their legs consisted of many intertwined serpents.

I don’t intend to lead the conversation outside the frame of the OP. I love reading your posts and find them fascinating. This just glared out at me like the clown from IT in a storm drain.

What’s your take on the mentioning of the Anakim in v5?

reply to: DISRAELI

a reply to: Dalamax
Anakim is a Hebrew word, even though the Greek translator has borrowed it, so we can't use Greek legends as a guide to what it means. The impression given by Numbers ch14 is that the Anakim were simply a tall ethnic group of south Canaan, not particularly inhuman.

I have a theory that ancient legends about giants and dwarves could have originated from comparatively small differences in height, at a time when the isolation of population groups would enhance the genetic differences between them. Our modern mixed populations could be the descendants of both sets. I suspect also that food shortages would make the desert tribes of the Numbers period a little more stunted than the farmland populations, and more likely to regard the farmers as giants.

Yes I see now. Nutrition and lifestyle definitely impact physical attributes, thank you for the explanation and for the addition to your expositions.

much appreciated.

a reply to: DISRAELI