Philistines

Related Category: Ancient History, Middle East

(fĭl´ĭstēnz, fĭlĭs´–), inhabitants of Philistia, a non-Semitic people who came to Palestine from the Aegean (probably Crete), in the 12th cent. B.C. Their control of iron supplies and their tight political organization of cities made them a rival of the people of Israel for centuries. Philistine has come to mean an uncultured, materialistic person.

See studies by T. Dothan (1982) and B. F. Griffin (1983).