>Haaretz has published an article in which it reports some of the results of the excavations carried out by Professor Aren Maeir, the director of the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project. One of the most interesting aspects of the report is the information about the Philistines’ cooking methods.

The following is an excerpt from the report:

Few peoples are described in the Bible with as much hostility as the Philistines, who lived in the coastal plain during the period it documents. In Judges and in 1 Samuel, the Philistines are described as being “uncircumcised” and presented as one of the most despised enemies of the Jewish people and its leaders, from Samson to King David. Recent archaeological discoveries in Israel, however, cast a different light on the relations between the two peoples. Research into the dispersal of Philistine cooking methods among various populations in Israel shows that the Philistines spread their culture beyond the areas under their control. While the two cultures never mixed, the early Hebrews apparently copied many important components of the Philistine lifestyle.

Unlike most of the peoples living in the region in the biblical era, the Philistines were not Semites, but rather one of the Sea Peoples who immigrated from the Aegean Sea region of today’s Greece and western Turkey. They brought with them technologies new to the area, including a wide range of pottery vessels and a sophisticated political organization.

They prepared meals in a characteristic sealed pottery vessel suited to long cooking times at low heat, while most inhabitants of Canaan at the time used open pots and faster cooking methods. The bones found at the Philistine cities showed that their diet was also different from those of their neighbors. While the Canaanites and Israelites ate mainly beef and lamb, the Philistines ate mainly pork, with an occasional meal of dog meat. The Philistines’ wine culture was also very well-developed.

The Philistines were a very interesting people who brought to Canaan a distinct culture that has left some of its imprint on the pages of the Bible. Philistine culture continued to exist even after the Israelite monarchy was established in Canaan. As Maeir said in the article, “the Philistines preserved many aspects of their culture” for many centuries after their arrival in Canaan.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Aren Maeir, Gath, Philistines