Definitions for "Philistines"
A non-Jewish people who lived in ancient Palestine and came into conflict with the Israelites.
The historic Philistines (Hebrew פְּלְשְׁתִּים, plishtim ) (see "other uses" below) were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan around the time of the arrival of the Israelites, their territory being named Philistia in later contexts. Their origin has been debated among scholars, but modern archaeology has suggested early cultural links with the Mycenean world in mainland Greece. Though the Philistines adopted local Canaanite culture and language before leaving any written texts, an Indo-European origin has been suggested for a handful of known Philistine words (See Philistine language).