Introduction

Abstract

I am thrilled that this current issue features six papers that were delivered as part of an international academic conference that I organized in New York City in Fall 2019. Sponsored by Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies and held at the Yeshiva University Museum, the conference’s title “Philistines! Rehabilitating a Biblical Foe” challenged the speakers to present not only new material on the ancient Philistines but also to orient this material toward fresh paradigms. The geographic diversity of the scholars (Australia, Israel, and United States) was matched by the diversity of their primary areas of expertise (archaeological, anthropological, biblical, and botanical).Consequently, the papers exhibit a great range of approaches. The broadest can be found in Aren Maeir’s article, which tackles both the history of archaeological research on the Philistines and how this research ultimately demanded that earlier theoretical paradigms be disbanded in favor of new ones that better reflect the growing complexity of the material finds. The articles by David Ben-Shlomo and Suembikya (Sue) Frumin provide in-depth details in two areas respectively, iconography and botany. Ben-Shlomo’s article illustrates that the growing corpus of iconographic and figurative finds has as much as anything else necessitated the shift from a paradigm of singular Philistine origins to a more nuanced picture reflecting a multiplicity of historical antecedents and concomitant implications for Philistine identity.Frumin’s article provides fresh data and interpretation through the lens of staple cereals and fruits. Here, it is the paradigm of Philistine decline and assimilation that is upended, in favor of one that views Philistia as maintaining self-sufficiency and agency as it integrated into the regional economy. The recognition of Philistine independence up until the end of the Iron Age finds further support in Shalom Holtz’s article in which he argues that Jeremiah’s prophesy to the Philistines (Jer 47) is particularly terrifying, not because the Philistines are weak compared to Judah but because they are in fact similar in strength.The final two articles focus specifically on Tell es-Safi/Gath. Shining a light on a single Philistine building, Louise Hitchcock uses refractions to illustrate not only the building’s history but also its potential meaning to generations of its inhabitants. Finally, Jeffrey Chadwick’s article redirects away from Gath of the Philistines to a brief episode when Gath was Judahite.Reading these papers has brought back wonderful memories of a pre-pandemic conference. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.