--- In
AncientBibleHistory@yahoogroups.com, Michael Smith
<mytoyneighborhood@...> wrote:
Dear Jon, George, John, Walter and everyone else at
ABH,
Manuel Robbins
from his book
"Collapse of the Bronze Age":
"The oldest specific account of the origin of the
Philistines, the chief group among the Sea Peoples, is
contained in the Bible, which affirms that they came
from Caphtor. Among scholars today, Caphtor is
usually thought to be Crete, but it is an
uncertain matter...
But where is Caphtor? Most scholars today take it
as certain that Caphtor is Crete. For now, it is
enough to say that the certainty may be misplaced. It
is based on not one but a string of assumptions. If
any of these assumptions are wrong, the conclusion
fails, and these assumptions are shaky.
Archaeologists have found little or nothing in Crete
which clearly relates to the Sea Peoples, and in
particular to the Philistines. The Septuagint
translators worked at a time when much ancient
knowledge still existed, more than two thousand years
closer than we to the time of the arrival of the
Philistines. Apparently, the translators believed
that Caphtor was in Anatolia..
Most knowledge of the ancient world has been lost,
and so the identification or location of Caphtor has
had to be resurrected. In what may be a rush to
judgement, scholars today declare that Caphtor was
Crete, and they do so with the same confidence with
which in earlier years they placed Caphtor elsewhere.
In the time of David, about 1000 BC, much that was
authentically Philistine would have still existed.
Two presumably non-Israelite groups, the Cherethites
and the Pelethites, were part of David's private army.
A good deal is made of those names. The apparent
similarity of the names "Chereth" and "Crete" is taken
to mean that Cherethites were Cretans. It is further
supposed that Pelethite is a synonym for Philistine.
Then, since Cherethites and Pelethites are often
mentioned together in the Bible (and in later
years occupied neighboring territories), it is also
assumed that Philistines and Cherethites were related
or even identical. Then the conclusion is reached
that, since the Cherethites are from Crete, so must be
the Philistines. Thus
Philistines=Pelethites=Cherethites=Crete. It is not
so much a logical explaination as a string of
suppositions. Little in this is convincing.
The Bible mentions both Cherethites and Pelethites,
and consistently gives them seperate names, so that
one may supposethat they, or the writers of the Bible,
thought it important to distinguish between them.
Thus, even if Pelethites were Philistines, there is no
basis for assuming that Pelethites came from the
samehomeland as did the Cherethites. In any case,
there is no evidence that Pelethites were Philistines,
and no evidence that Crete was the home of the
Cherethites. It is difficult to see why the Bible
would employ two different terms, "Cherethite" and
"Caphtorite" in order to refer to people of Crete. It
is more reasonable that one or the other name, or even
both, have nothing to do with Crete.
Further, there is no independant evidence that the
island now known as Crete bore that
name at the end of the Bronze Age or the Early Iron
Age. The chain of reasoning is weak at every link.
There are various references to a land called
Kaptara in ancient Assyrian writings, and that may be
identical to biblical Caphtor. Those Assyrian writings
offer little help about the location of Kaptara,
however. One of those texts mentions that Kaptara was
reached by ship, as the island of Crete must be, but
in ancient days the sea was also the best and fastest
way from one place to another on the mainland coast,
so that the reference to ships does not require that
Kaptara be an island.
In the absence of further information, scholars turn
to Egyptian texts. In the period around 1500 BC, the
Egyptians referred to a place called 'Keftiu.'
Scholars assume that Keftiu is Caphtor.
There is no satisfactory explanation of the fact
that Caphtor ends with an 'r' which is missing in the
Egyptian name, Keftiu. Nor is there a shred of
independant evidence that Caphtor and Keftiu are the
same. Still, it is usefull to see where Keftiu may
be located. That location also is usually taken to be
Crete.
On the west bank of the Nile opposite Thebes, a number
of men of high rank in the political and social life
of Egypt had tombs built for themselves, not as
elaborate as those of the Pharoahs, yet containing
fascinating painted illustrations accompanied by
texts. Several of these tomb texts and illustrations
have been called upon to demonstrate that Keftiu is
Crete. Indeed, the paintings and inscriptions in
these tombs have been the main support for that
identification.
In the tomb of an Egyptian official,
Menkheperre-Seneb, a line of foreigners is shown,
bearing gifts to Egypt. Egyptians liked to think of
such gifts as tribute. All the world was subject to
Egypt. In fact, such gifts were in part 'bakshish,'
needed to open bureaucratic doors, and also gifts
given in full expectation of things in return. In
this tomb, the gift bearers include one man who is
labeled 'the Chief of Keftiu.' He is shown on his
knees, forehead to the ground, groveling abjectly
before an Egyptia official. Where is the homeland of
this visitor?. Is this Keftiu chief from Crete?
Thanks to the remarkable archaeological discoveries in
Knossos in Crete, a good deal is known of the
appearance of Cretans at that time. The illustration
of this 'Chief of Keftiu' is not well preserved, but
to the extent that it is clear, he does not resemble
illustrations
of people of Crete. He seems closer to Egyptian
illustrations of certain Syrians. This tomb picture
was copied and slightly modified for use in the tomb
of Sebekhotep. That painting is better preserved, and
shows the man to be a Syrian. If he was indeed from
Keftiu, it would seem to place Keftiu in Syria.
An illustration in the tomb of Ireni shows a man
identified as a Keftian. He wears a skull cap, and
the hair in a typically Syrian coiffure but with
braided forelocks. He resembles a Libyan as
illustrated in color tiles recovered from the temple
of Medinet Habu, and if not a Libyan, than a Syrian.
In the tomb of Amenemhab, a line of gift bearers is
shown. They are
referred to in the text as 'from Keftiu, Mannas, all
lands united.'
In appearance these men are Syrians. Mannas is
believed to be in
northern Syria.
In these three tombs in which men of 'Keftiu' are said
to be shown, none of them seem to be Cretans. They
seem to be from Syria."
..the next half of the text to be continued in next
e-mail, let me know your thoughts anyone,
-Michael
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