Understanding Philistine Migration: City Names and Their Implications

The origin of the Philistines, their quantity, quality, and status among the native Canaanite population, have all been the focus of a substantial volume of research. However, limited attention has been paid to the fact that at least four of the five primary Philistine cities—Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath,...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Shai, Itzhaq (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: The University of Chicago Press 2009
In: Bulletin of ASOR
Year: 2009, Volume: 354, Pages: 15-27
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:The origin of the Philistines, their quantity, quality, and status among the native Canaanite population, have all been the focus of a substantial volume of research. However, limited attention has been paid to the fact that at least four of the five primary Philistine cities—Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron—have Semitic names. Four of these five toponyms are known from the Bronze Age historical sources (such as the documents from Ugarit and the Amarna tablets and other Egyptian records), while the fifth (Ekron) is mentioned in Iron Age documents. This paper examines the influence of various factors (e.g., migration, conquest, exile, colonial and imperial rule) on the naming of sites settled by immigrants from other periods and cultures. The results of this examination are then applied to the existing theories regarding the settlement of the Philistines, in order to investigate the choice of location of their cities and the reason for adoption of existing toponyms by the immigrants.
ISSN:2161-8062
Contains:Enthalten in: American Schools of Oriental Research, Bulletin of ASOR
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1086/BASOR25609313