by
Damien F. Mackey
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It seems likely
from Ezekiel 25:16: ‘Therefore thus
says the Lord GOD, Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines,
and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast’, that
the Cherethites [or Kerethites, Cerethim] may also have been of Philistine
stock.
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JewishEncyclopedia is of this opinion (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4303-cherethites
CHERETHITES or CHERETHIM.
….
Probably
the name of a part of the Philistines; usually, however, designating the whole
nation, as in Zeph. ii. 5, where "the nation of the Cherethites"
evidently means the Philistines in general. Similarly, Ezek. xxv. 16 and xxx. 5
belong here. A. V. translates "the children of the land [that is in]
league." But the true reading after the Ethiopic and partly after the LXX.
(which omits the word "land") is: "the children of the
Kerethi" (compare Cornill's "Ezekiel"). In Ezek. xxx. 5, where
"the children of the land that is in league" are mentioned among the
allies of Egypt, the whole of the Philistines must be meant. ….
[End of
quote]
A very close connection between
the nations of Egypt and Philistia was archaeologically pointed out by Dr. John
Osgood, as I noted in:
Pharaoh of Abraham and Isaac
…. Upon close examination the Book of Genesis
affords us with several vital clues about
the pharaoh encountered by Abram and Sarai that ought to assist us in
determining just who was this enigmatic ruler in the Egyptian records.
From a study of the structure of the relevant Genesis passages, from toledôt and chiasmus,
as explained in our article, Abram’s“Pharaoh”
Biblically Named and Archaeologically Identified
(http://houseofgold.blog.com/2011/01/09/abram%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cpharaoh%E2%80%9D-biblically-named-and-archaeologically-identified/)
we learned that the biblical pharaoh:
Was the same as the Abimelech of Gerar,
ruler of the Philistines, contemporaneous with both
Abram (Abraham) and Isaac.
Which means that:
This particular pharaoh must have reigned for at
least 60+ years
(the span from Abram’s
famine to the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah).
We have also learned from archaeological analysis
(see http://creation.com/the-times-of-abraham) that:
Abram was extremely close in time to pharaoh Narmer
of Dynasty 0 or 1.
Dr. John Osgood has already done much of the “spade
work” for us here, firstly by
nailing the archaeology of En-geddi at the time of
Abram (in the context of Genesis 14) to the Late Chalcolithic period, corresponding
to Ghassul IV in Palestine’s southern Jordan Valley; Stratum V at Arad; and the
Gerzean period in Egypt (“The Times of Abraham”, Ex Nihilo TJ, Vol. 2, 1986,
pp. 77-87); and secondly by showing that, immediately following this period,
there was a migration out of Egypt into Philistia, bringing an entirely new
culture (= Early Bronze I, Stratum IV at Arad). P. 86: “In all likelihood Egypt
used northern Sinai as a springboard for forcing her way into Canaan with the
result that all of southern Canaan became an Egyptian domain”.
[End
of quote]
King David’s
Philistine Contingent
Now,
it should not really surprise us that King David may have had a loyal band of Philistines
serving as his guardsmen (perhaps), as we already found in Part Two: (I Chronicles 18:17): “Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the
Kerethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief officials at the king’s
side”.
John
R. Salverda, again, who has also noted that the Greek drama of Cadmus draws
heavily upon the biblical narratives about David, has made the following
perceptive observation relevant to this article:
David as Cadmus (Part One)
Another source of David's
army, a group of volunteers from Gath, called "Gittites" (also called
"mighty men" or "Gibborim." These Gittites are called
Gibborim by the Septuagint and by Josephus.) may have served as an
"inspirational" model for the Greek myth. David seems to have earned
no small measure of respect amongst the Philistines, especially those of
Goliath's hometown Gath, this may be due to the giant's, little noted, taunting
pledge;
"And there went out a
champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, . . . And he stood
and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, . . . choose you a man
for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to
kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill
him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us." (1st Samuel 17:4-9).
These, the words of Goliath's
own mouth, may indeed have had something to do with the fact that David was
able to find refuge among the Philistines at the city of Gath when King Saul
had made him his enemy. David stayed with the Philistines for more than a year
and was eventually made a commander of a Gittite contingent of the Philistine
army. David retained the city of Ziklag and 600 soldiers from Gath who swore
allegiance to him and were his faithful men. It is almost as if many of the
Philistines from the city of Gath, the home town of Goliath, were honoring the
pledge of their champion to serve under David in the event that he should kill
Goliath.
This is perhaps another way to
understand how Cadmus could obtain soldiers from the teeth (his word) of the
slain monster (Goliath). ....
