People of the Sea: The Search for the Philistines

by Trude Dothan and Moshe Dothan

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0025322613
• ISBN13: 9780025322615
• Release Date: October 1992
• Publisher: MacMillan Publishing Company
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 3.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.7" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Superb Work of History

This is the finest book written in regards to the Philistines. I cannot even begin to describe how significant the book brought in cultural information to me. The Philistines are by far an advanced, cultured, ambigious, powerful, phantom, harrassing race of highly cultured people. There is no doubt in my mind that the Philistines were fleeing Minoans and greeks from Crete. In my personal opinion, there is no absolute origion other then this in which i have just described that fits in the record. The Philistine language is so advanced and difficult to decypher that even the most well professed archaeologists, historians and all to her authorities on the Philistines have not been able to determine its exact content together.

You'll think twice before calling someone a Philistine...

It is part of our culture to call those we consider to be lacking in culture a 'Philistine'. This, of course, is a derivative of a biblical reference, and for the past 4000 years of so, the Philistines have been a mysterious people about whom not much was known, save that they were supposedly uncultured.This, however, is a very distorted view, primarily due to the fact that the Philistines, being in close competition with the tribes of Israel for the same piece of real estate, were viewed as foreign, alien, and the enemy. Eventually the united tribes of Israel won out over the Philistines, and wrote the primary historical references we have about their foe, and thus, we get the victor's view--and in Biblical times, it was quite traditional that any enemy be seen as devoid of redeeming features.In fact, there are still no examples of Philistine writing that have been found--rather curious, considering the large settlements (cities, in fact) that have been discovered that would be of Philistine origin or population. Could it be that this group was, as a people, illiterate? This is very remote possibility, but still has to be considered.There is a problem with determining the origin of the Philistines, too. There are two different origins ascribed to them. In the biblical record, the Philistines are included among 'the sons of Egypt' (Gen. 10:14) as well as in Ezekiel, the are linked to an obscure tribe called the Cherethites (Ez 25:16), which is related to the inhabitants of the isle of Caphtor (Jeremiah 47:4), which is unknown. Of course, it makes sense that the Israelites first encounter with the Philistines would have been in Egypt, for the Sea Peoples settled in various spots along the south-eastern Mediterranean, and there are references on Egyptian stelae and battle-monuments to Sea Peoples most likely kin to, if not in fact, the Philistines. Of course, the Semitic root of the word Philistine (p-l-sh) also is the root of the words 'to wander' and 'to invade'. Pottery evidence shows similarities to technique and design for pottery making to that of other late Mycenaean peoples, pointing once again to a sea-origin for the Philistines. It is likely that the Philistines were invaders and marauders (similar to the Danes and Vikings of early English history) who eventually settled in relatively safe coastal lands (having been fairly definitively defeated in their attempts to enter Egypt by Ramesses II). Interestingly, while most biblically-referenced Philistine cities have been located, not all have; likewise, Philistine settlements and even one city with no biblical references have been found. Trude and Moshe Dothan, both archaeologists of note with particular interest in the Philistines, put together this wonderful book based on their own researches and field work. High praise goes to archaeologists who take the time to publish their findings; it is a great scandal of the profession today that so much research goes unpublished, awaiting an archae

"It's Good To Be A Philistine"

This small work is monumental in its implications. Trude and her husband Moshe (now deceased) summarize their work in excavating Ashdod in modern Israel. They draw upon their many years of hands-on, field work as well as the efforts of others.Ashdod was one of the five cities of the Philistine "pentapolis" so-called.Students of the huge turmoil in the Mediterranean of the 1300-1100 BCE period will find this a must read. The Dothan's work along with the work of others clearly suggest that this period in human history may have been the most significant in human time for Egypt, the Levant, Crete, Cyprus and all of the Aegean islands and the associated peoples. The Greeks, Hittites, Mycenaeans, Phonecians, Hebrews, Assyrians, Egyptians and not the least, the Philistines, were all dramatically effected. The impact of these enormous movements and cultural shifts is with us today.The Dothans conclude that the Philistines, as one of the "sea peoples," --one that is not necessarily ethnically homogeneous-- settled peaceably in some parts of Palestine and farmed and produced crafts, both similar to and different from, those they brought with them; their locally produced pottery incorporated motifs from the entire region. Their entry was not a matter of brutal conquest and destruction of all the settled inhabitants they encountered. Philistine influence is clearly shown to have reached well beyond the immediate environs of the "five cities."A special bonus incorporated into "People of the Sea" is the discussion of Yigael Yadin's ideas about a group of people from the sea that became one of the "tribes" of Israel or almost so. Most readers will find this discussion fascinating.This is a highly readable account of the Dothan's research. Few can quarrel with the thoroughness of the work on which the findings are based. One might quarrel with what is surely one if not the most important conclusions only because it is too subtly stated! The Philistines were deliberately characterized by their neighbors as other than what they truly were. The Bible projects infamy, the facts otherwise.The Philistines were both accomplished and sophisticated contributors to the cultures of the Levant. This reviewer suspects the work of the Dothans will stand for a long time. Their goal was surely not to expose the Judean writers and editors of the Old Testament as political propagandists. But there it is.7-21-2002 psb

People of the Sea

I never received the book. You farmed out my request to some other organization, but the book never reached me and my account was credited back. So if you can find it, I'm still interested. After 3/14 my address will be 1250 Humboldt St., Apt. 805, Denver CO 80218. I don't know what my e-mail address will be.Sanford Watzman

Excellent.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it did a lot to improve my understanding: both of Palestine's early history and of the hurdles that archaeologists must overcome to do their work effectively.