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Today, the term “Philistine” has become synonymous with any person or people deemed uncultured, uncouth, and boorish. The word is repeated with little thought to its origin with few people knowing that it is derived from a maligned and often misunderstood people from the Old Testament of the Bible. For those who are familiar with the Old Testament, the Philistines were at first the ultimate bullies who seemed to delight in punishing the Israelites whenever they had a chance, but they then received their just dues at the hands of Israel’s second king, David (ca. 1000 BC). The reality was that the relationship between the Philistines and Israelites was complex and requires a more thorough examination.

====Cultural Conflict between the Philistines and Israelites====

Although the primary source of conflict between the Philistines and Israelites was the age-old quest for land and dominance, culture clash also played a role. The most explicit example of this conflict is related in I Samuel after the Philistines defeated the Israelite army and brought the Ark of the Covenant to Ashdod, then to Gath, before returning it to the Israelites. In the ancient Near East, most of the sedentary peoples kept a statue of their most important deity in the deity’s temple. The statues, known by modern scholars as “cult statues,” were only allowed to be viewed by the high-priests and were often a target by invading armies. The more warlike peoples of the ancient Near East, such as the Assyrians, would collect their enemies’ cult statues as mementos and as a psychological weapon.

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