Philistines

Passages on this topic

From Nave’s Topical Bible (1896), a historical reference index. The groupings are Nave’s; the verses are shown in the text used across this site.

Descendants of Mizraim

• Genesis 10:14 the Pathrusites, the Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.
• 1 Chronicles 1:12 the Pathrusites, the Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.
• Jeremiah 47:4 For the day has come to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every remaining ally. Indeed, the LORD is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.
• Amos 9:7 “Are you not like the Cushites to Me, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD. “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from Kir?

Called CHERETHITES

• 1 Samuel 30:14–16 We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag.” “Will you lead me to these raiders?” David asked. And the man replied, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hand of my master, and I will lead you to t…
• Ezekiel 25:16 therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant along the coast.
• Zephaniah 2:5 Woe to the dwellers of the seacoast, O nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you, and no one will be left.”

Called CASLUHIM

• Genesis 10:14 the Pathrusites, the Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.
• 1 Chronicles 1:12 the Pathrusites, the Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.

Called CAPHTORIM

• Jeremiah 47:4 For the day has come to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every remaining ally. Indeed, the LORD is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.
• Amos 9:7 “Are you not like the Cushites to Me, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD. “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from Kir?

Territory of

• Exodus 13:17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, though it was shorter. For God said, “If the people face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”
• Exodus 23:31 And I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. For I will deliver the inhabitants into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.
• Deuteronomy 2:23 And the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, were destroyed by the Caphtorites, who came out of Caphtor and settled in their place.)
• Joshua 13:3 from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)— that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites;
• Joshua 15:47 Ashdod, with its towns and villages; Gaza, with its towns and villages, as far as the Brook of Egypt and the coastline of the Great Sea.

Lords of

• Joshua 13:3 from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)— that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites;
• Judges 3:3 the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.
• Judges 16:5 The lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him up and subdue him. Then each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”
• Judges 16:30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people in it. So in his death he killed more than he had killed in his life.
• 1 Samuel 5:8 So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” “It must be moved to Gath,” they replied. So they carried away the ark of the God of Israel.
• 1 Samuel 5:11 Then the Ekronites called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel. It must return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people!” For a deadly confusion had pervaded the city; the hand of God was very heavy upon it.
• 1 Samuel 6:4 “What guilt offering should we send back to Him?” asked the Philistines. “Five gold tumors and five gold rats,” they said, “according to the number of rulers of the Philistines, since the same plague has struck both you and your rulers.
• 1 Samuel 6:12 And the cows headed straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, staying on that one highway and lowing as they went, never straying to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed behind them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
• 1 Samuel 7:7 When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers marched up toward Israel. And when the Israelites learned of this, they feared the Philistines
• 1 Samuel 29:2 As the Philistine leaders marched out with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men marched behind them with Achish.

Kings of

Abimelech I

• Genesis 20 Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar, Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him… (whole chapter)

Abimelech II

• Genesis 26 Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you. Stay in this land as a foreigner, an… (whole chapter)

Achish

• 1 Samuel 21:10–15 That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing about him in their dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?” Now David took these words to heart…
• 1 Samuel 27:2–12 So David set out with his six hundred men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath. David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. And when Saul learned that David h…
• 1 Samuel 28:1–2 Now in those days the Philistines gathered their forces for warfare against Israel. So Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and your men are to go out to battle with me.” David replied, “Then you will come to know what your servant can do.” “Very well,” said Achish. “I will make you…
• 1 Samuel 29 Now the Philistines brought all their forces together at Aphek, while Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. As the Philistine leaders marched out with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men marched behind them with Achish. Then the commanders of the Philistines asked, “What abou… (whole chapter)

Allowed to remain in Canaan

• Judges 3:3–4 the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath. These nations were left to test the Israelites, to find out whether they would keep the commandments of the LORD, which He had given th…

Shamgar kills six-hundred men with an ox goad

• Judges 3:31 After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath. And he too saved Israel, striking down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.

For their history during the leadership of Samson see

• Judges 13 Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children. The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said t… (whole chapter)
• Judges 14 One day Samson went down to Timnah, where he saw a young Philistine woman. So he returned and told his father and mother, “I have seen a daughter of the Philistines in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.” But his father and mother replied, “Can’t you find a young woman among your relatives or amo… (whole chapter)
• Judges 15 Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. “I want to go to my wife in her room,” he said. But her father would not let him enter. “I was sure that you thoroughly hated her,” said her father, “so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you.… (whole chapter)
• Judges 16 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her. When the Gazites heard that Samson was there, they surrounded that place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They were quiet throughout the night, saying, “Let us wait until dawn; then we… (whole chapter)

Defeat the Israelites; take the ark of the covenant; suffer plagues, and return the ark

• 1 Samuel 4:6 On hearing the noise of the shout, the Philistines asked, “What is this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?” And when they realized that the ark of the LORD had entered the camp,

Army of

• 1 Samuel 13:5 Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.

Defeated

By Samuel

• 1 Samuel 7 Then the men of Kiriath-jearim came for the ark of the LORD and took it into Abinadab’s house on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to guard the ark of the LORD. And from that day a long time passed, twenty years in all, as the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim. And all the house of Israel… (whole chapter)

By Saul and Jonathan

• 1 Samuel 9:16 “At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him ruler over My people Israel; he will save them from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.”
• 1 Samuel 13 Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years. He chose for himself three thousand men of Israel: Two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. And the rest of the troop… (whole chapter)
• 1 Samuel 14 One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But Jonathan did not tell his father. Meanwhile, Saul was staying under the pomegranate tree in Migron on the outskirts of Gibeah. And the troops who were wit… (whole chapter)

Their champion, Goliath, killed by David

• 1 Samuel 17 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim. Saul and the men of Israel assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, arraying themselves for battle against the Philistines. The Philistines stood on one hill and the Isr… (whole chapter)

David kills two-hundred men

• 1 Samuel 18:22–30 Then Saul ordered his servants, “Speak to David privately and tell him, ‘Behold, the king is pleased with you, and all his servants love you. Now therefore, become his son-in-law.’” But when Saul’s servants relayed these words to David, he replied, “Does it seem trivial in your sight to be the son-…

David finds refuge among

• 1 Samuel 27 David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.” So David set out with his six hundr… (whole chapter)

Defeat the Israelites and kill Saul and his sons

• 1 Samuel 31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines hotly pursued Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him… (whole chapter)
• 1 Chronicles 10:1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

Defeated by David

• 2 Samuel 5:17–25 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they all went in search of him; but David learned of this and went down to the stronghold. Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. So David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go up against the Phili…
• 2 Samuel 23:9–16 Next in command was Eleazar son of Dodo the Ahohite. As one of the three mighty men, he went with David to taunt the Philistines who had gathered for battle at Pas-dammim. The men of Israel retreated, but Eleazar stood his ground and struck the Philistines until his hand grew weary and stuck to his…
• 1 Chronicles 14:8–16 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they all went in search of him; but David learned of this and went out to face them. Now the Philistines had come and raided the Valley of Rephaim. So David inquired of God, “Should I go up against the Philistines? Will Y…

Pay taxes to Jehoshaphat

• 2 Chronicles 17:11 Some Philistines also brought gifts and silver as tribute to Jehoshaphat, and the Arabs brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats from their flocks.

Defeated by Hezekiah

• 2 Kings 18:8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders, from watchtower to fortified city.

Prophecies against

• Isaiah 9:11–12 The LORD has raised up the foes of Rezin against him and joined his enemies together. Aram from the east and Philistia from the west have devoured Israel with open mouths. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
• Isaiah 14:29–31 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg. Then the firstborn of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety, but I will kill your root by famine, and your…
• Jeremiah 25:17–20 So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the nations drink from it, each one to whom the LORD had sent me, to make them a ruin, an object of horror and contempt and cursing, as they are to this day — Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials; Pharaoh king of Egypt, his o…
• Jeremiah 47 This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the Philistines before Pharaoh struck down Gaza. This is what the LORD says: “See how the waters are rising from the north and becoming an overflowing torrent. They will overflow the land and its fullness, the cities and their inh… (whole chapter)
• Ezekiel 25:15–17 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because the Philistines acted in vengeance, taking vengeance with malice of soul to destroy Judah with ancient hostility, therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and des…
• Amos 1:6–8 This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Gaza, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they exiled a whole population, delivering them up to Edom. So I will send fire upon the walls of Gaza, to consume its citadels. I will cut off the ruler of Ashdod and the one who wields…
• Zephaniah 2:4–7 For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon left in ruins. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted. Woe to the dwellers of the seacoast, O nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you, and no one will be le…
• Zechariah 9:5–7 Ashkelon will see and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, as will Ekron, for her hope will wither. There will cease to be a king in Gaza, and Ashkelon will be uninhabited. A mixed race will occupy Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. I will remove the blood from their mouths and th…