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Book Review of The Philistines: The History of the Ancient Israelites' Most Notorious Enemy

The Philistines: The History of the Ancient Israelites' Most Notorious Enemy
jjares avatar reviewed on + 3294 more book reviews


Considering the limited number of primary sources, this was an enlightening story of the Philistines or Sea Peoples. Much of their history comes from the Bible, especially the Hebrew Bible. I look forward to the time that more DNA work is done with the Sea Peoples to unravel their origins.

Of course, the central conflict that comes down to us from the Bible is the battle between David and Goliath. However, I found the most interesting fact that the Sea Peoples gave their name to what we now call Palestine.

It would have been interesting to learn why the Sea Peoples (who came via the sea) moved so far inland and raised city-states in the southern Levant. However, this short eBook tries to answer questions about the Philistines' origins, economy, religion, and political and social structures.