Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>]

> Genesis 10 tells us about the Philistines that came out from Mizraim.
> This is clearly talking about the origins of those indigenous to the
> area of Philistia.

'Clearly' indigenous? Call me blind, but I can't see how this is clearly what 
the text is about.

As we've already gone over, there was a group of Sea Peoples, who called 
themselves Peleset, whom the Egyptians settled along the coast of Palestine 
in the 12th century BC. These guys became the overlords of the locals, and so 
they all came to be known as Philistines. This is what emerged after the 
political and social upheaval in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age.


> Did the Judeans become Babylonians when they were conquered?

As a matter of fact, some probably did. But in any case, it was not the 
Judeans who conquered the Babylonians. It was the other way around. And the 
Babylonians didn't migrate en masse into Judah, and so adapt their identity 
to a new context. And besides, the Judeans already had their own identity 
through a long political history, and prophets calling them to resist 
assimilation (cf. Isa 55) and, eventually, to return to their homeland.



Regards,

GEORGE ATHAS
Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
www.moore.edu.au