Philistines: meaning of the name

Philistines in Scripture

“Philistines” appears in 218 verses of the King James Version; here are the first 8.

• Genesis 21:32

  Thus they made a covenant at Beer–sheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

• Genesis 21:34

  And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days.

• Genesis 26:1

  And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

• Genesis 26:8

  And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.

• Genesis 26:14

  For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

• Genesis 26:15

  For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

• Genesis 26:18

  And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

• Exodus 13:17

  And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt: