ABSTRACT
In the Bible's ideological geography, the Philistines are a different kind of enemy from the Canaanites. This chapter focuses on Israelites resume relationships with the Philistines that continue to be defined by attraction and repulsion on both sides. It discusses the Lawrence Stager's proposed periodization of them based on biblical texts rather than on historical and/or archeological reconstruction. The chapter follows Isaac's tale in the land of the Philistines with a brief digression into poetic and prophetic musings that alternate between a positive view of the Philistines and condemnations of them as enemies of Israel. It examines Samson's entanglements with the Philistines in the borderlands. The presence of the Philistines suggests that they were too imposing a people to be ignored by later biblical writers in the final version of Genesis. The chapter describes the enemies along the borders of the Promised Land.
