Zephaniah Chapter Two, The Fate of Philistia

Zephaniah 2:4 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon desolate; they shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be uprooted. [5] Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you; so there shall be no inhabitant.”

The resultant Day of the Lord’s lens turns to the coastland and the inveterate enemies of Israel, the Philistines. The Philistines are said to have hailed originally from the land of Caphtor, and were previously referred to as Caphtorim, see Genesis 10:14, Deuteronomy 2:23. Caphtor is most commonly believed to have been the island of Crete. This I find to be an interesting revelation, and does something to reveal to the reader a little about the Philistines’ culture from an outside perspective.

Oxford defines a Philistine as, “a person who is uninterested in culture and the arts.” Also, and equally interesting, Paul says of later Cretans, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons,” Titus 1:12. Since Paul was quoting on their own prophets, this testimony may have some bearing upon the original inhabitants of the island, the Caphtorim.

It is common knowledge in the Bible that the Philistines became inveterate enemies of Israel, at one time bringing them into slavery for a period of forty years, Judges 13:1. It was the Philistines who slew their first king, Saul, 1 Samuel 31:4-6. Yes, Saul ultimately killed himself, but he was grievously wounded and feared torture before death; the reason being the Philistine army who had overcome him. The Philistines also kept the Ark of the Covenant in the temple of their god, Dagon for a spell. They also apparently housed the remnant of the giants, the Anakim or the descendants of the Nephilim who seemed to possess a natural proclivity toward cruel violence, 1 Samuel 17:8-10, 43, 44. Goliath’s brothers likewise served in Philistia’s army and their father–referred to only as the giant–dwelt in their land, 2 Samuel 21:18-22, see also 1 Chronicles 20:5.

The chief cities of Philistia were Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Ekron. Ancient Gaza is believed to exist two miles off of the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and five miles south of the modern city of the same name. It was an important trade city for hundreds of years, conquered by Babylon, Egypt and various world powers of the times. It is mentioned in Genesis 10:19 as being one of the borders of Canaan, which explains why the Lord refers to Philistia as belonging to Canaan in Zephaniah 2:5. The diabolical spirit of Canaanite rebellion, which led to God’s judgment on its people under Joshua, was heavily entrenched in their society as well. This is merely conjecture, but that might have been why the remnant of the Anakim dwelt in Philistia.

These cities are slated for abandonment and desolation, according to the word of God. Another people intermingled with Philistia’s fortunes, known as the Cherethites, are made mention of in this passage. They are, according to Zephaniah, seacoast dwellers, which of course was where the country of Philistia was located. This association does seem to bear truth. In 1 Samuel 30 we read of a slave David locates as he was tracking the army that plundered his city. The slave revealed that his people, Amalekites, had also plundered the southern area of the Cherethites, burning the city of Ziklag with fire, 1 Samuel 30:14. Earlier, Achish the king of Gath gifted David with the city of Ziklag, inadvertently bequeathing it to the lineage of Judah as of that day, 1 Samuel 27:6. But when David and his men finally happened upon the marauders, it is written that they had plundered the land of the Philistines, 1 Samuel 30:16. This small passage alone strongly intimates a close connection between the Cherethites and the Philistines. The names in Zephaniah seem almost interchangeable as God pronounces judgment upon them.

Again, the connection with Canaan is secured in verse 5. Since the rest of Canaan was uniquely devoted to destruction, unlike the rest of the nations around it, Philistia, being a portion and remnant of the land and people, was specifically addressed for facing impending national doom. The idea of not having an inhabitant may mean several things. In one instance, a cataclysm of epic proportion might ruin that land so that no one ventures to inhabit it ever again. Sodom and its adjacent cities suffered such a fate. Or perhaps the fact that Philistia was swallowed up by time and no longer exists is itself the promise of God fulfilled: it did not survive as a nation, and therefore has no more inhabitants. In fact verse 7 intimates that the latter explanation is indeed the reality: though the Philistines are no more, Israel will inhabit the land of their former enemies and dwell in peace on it. More on that later.