Giving the Philistines Their Due

Israeli archaeologists working at Tell es-Safi, the Biblical-era Philistine city of Gath, have uncovered—during

the last week of this year’s dig season—what they believe to be one of the earliest Philistine inscriptions ever

found. The excavators are from the Institute of Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University and are led by Aren Maeir.

The inscription is written in recognizably Semitic letters and may contain two Indo-European names, although there is

disagreement among the experts on deciphering the letters, according to Maeir.

“The Philistines originally most probably spoke a language similar to ancient Greek; it was not a Semitic

language,” he said in mid-August, when the artifact was exhibited for the first time in the presence of Israeli

President Moshe Katsav. “They slowly came to use a Semitic language. We want to see and understand the process of this

transformation.”

The excavators also found several other inscriptions that, combined with other discoveries, may provide a “very

nice possibility to open a window to study these processes” of cultural change, Maeir said.

Gath, one of the five cities of the Philistine Pentapolis, was home to Goliath and is where David fled when he escaped

from Saul. Living in the territory that stretches from modern-day Tel Aviv down to Gaza, the Philistines were the main enemy

of the Israelites in Biblical times, and they developed an “interesting and very unique culture,” Maeir

said.

“The Philistines came from the area around Greece, with a different culture. Their foods, burial rites and other

aspects were different from that of the other inhabitants of the land” of Canaan. “But throughout a period of

almost six hundred years, Philistine culture slowly changed, taking in cultural aspects from surrounding cultures in a

process that can be described as acculturation or creolization.” (Seymour Gitin, who co-directed excavations at the

nearby Philistine site of Ekron, describes in this issue the process of acculturation at that site.)

Tell es-Safi is one of the largest pre-Hellenistic sites in Israel and, among others, was home to two cultures:

Canaanite, from about 3500 to 1200 B.C., and Philistine, from 1200 to 800 B.C.

Surrounding the site is a monumental siege system from the late ninth century B.C., which dates to the siege and

capture of Gath by King Hazael of Aram Damascus, as mentioned in 2 Kings 12:18. Maeir and co-author

Carl Ehrlich described their work at the site in “Excavating Philistine Gath” in our November/December 2001

issue.

Thanks to Tell es-Safi’s location, which is easily accessible from much of central Israel, and thanks to its size

and its numerous ancient finds, the Israeli government hopes to develop the site as a major destination for

tourists.—Judith Sudilovsky, Jerusalem