I grew up in a time without cell phones, GPS, and social media. I had to learn certain skills to be able to travel by car. Like many people in my age group, we all learned to read maps. Maps were large thick paper with printed roadways, cities, towns, and points of interest. We learned that the map had to be read before we ventured into our cars as the map paper was very large, folded in an accordion, and then folded in thirds, which fit nicely in the cars map box. If one was in the passenger seat one could partially unfold the map to the needed section, but could not unfold it completely as it would end up blinding the driver. We learned to read maps, then memorize roadways, and then read signs along the route, as well as generally know our four cardinal points in order to find our way throughout the nation. Maps used to be found in gas stations, convenience stores, and actual map stores all over the country. Today people do not know what a physical paper map is, how to read it, or how to navigate with a map. Maps are very hard to find. There is no market for maps when global positioning systems can tell us when and where to turn and re-route us in case of traffic or missed turns. Map reading is quickly becoming a lost skill.
People hardly rely on maps today but in the case of understanding countries, their borders, their changing borders, and distances, maps and atlases have an important place in Biblical study. It would be a good idea to have on hand some Bible Atlases as the printed versions cannot be changed or altered. Online databases can be manipulated and adjusted to change history. Because we still own printed materials we can see when there is an alteration to scripture which intends to make it look as if the nation of Israel, specifically Judah, owned land that they did not actually own. We find the alteration in one verse of scripture, but it is not corroborated with other verses in the Bible. We also have maps that prove the same. Looking at Israel’s southern neighbor, let’s start our journey chronologically. There is a word missing from Judges 1:18, the word “not”.
Jdg 1:18 (KJV) Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.
All the modern translations taken from the Masoretic text exclude the word “not”, but all the older texts, of the Septuagint, include the word “not”. We will see why this is important shortly.
Brenton
Judges 1:18 But Judas did not inherit Gaza nor her coasts, nor Ascalon nor her coasts, nor Accaron nor her coasts, nor Azotus nor the lands around it.
Judges 1:18 LXX-WH G2532 CONJ και G3364 ADV ουκ G2816 V-AAI-3S εκληρονομησεν G2455 N-NSM ιουδας G3588 T-ASF την G1047 N-ASF γαζαν G2532 CONJ και G3588 T-ASN το G3725 N-ASN οριον G846 D-GSF αυτης G2532 CONJ και G3588 T-ASF την N-ASF ασκαλωνα G2532 CONJ και G3588 T-ASN το G3725 N-ASN οριον G846 D-GSF αυτης G2532 CONJ και G3588 T-ASF την N-PRI ακκαρων G2532 CONJ και G3588 T-ASN το G3725 N-ASN οριον G846 D-GSF αυτης G2532 CONJ και G3588 T-ASF την G108 N-ASF αζωτον G2532 CONJ και G3588 T-APN τα N-APN περισπορια G846 D-GSF αυτης
3364 Strong's:οὐ μή a double negative strengthening the denial; not at all
Derivation: i.e. G3756 and G3361;
KJV Usage: any more, at all, by any (no) means, neither, never, no (at all), in no case (wise), nor ever, not (at all, in any wise).
Compare G3378. G3361 G3378 G3756
TBESG:οὐ μή never
G:Neg
never
Thayer:
1) never, certainly not, not at all, by no means
Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words
οὐ μή
ou mē oo may That is, G3756 and G3361; a double negative strengthening the denial; not at all KJV Usage: any more, at all, by any (no) means, neither, never, no (at all), in no case (wise), nor ever, not (at all, in any wise).
2816 LSJ Gloss:κληρονομέω to receive a share of an inheritance, to inherit a portion
Dodson:κληρονομέω I inherit, obtain I inherit, obtain (possess) by inheritance, acquire.
TBESG: κληρονομέω to inherit
G:V
κληρονομέω, -ῶ
(< κληρονόμος) [in LXX chiefly for יָרַשׁ, also for נָחַל, etc. ;]
__1. to receive by lot.
__2. to inherit (in cl., usually with genitive of thing(s)): absol., Gal.4:30 (LXX); in general, to possess oneself of, receive as one's own, obtain (as Deu.4:5, al., cf.
(AS)
Thayer:
1) to receive a lot, receive by lot
1a) esp. to receive a part of an inheritance, receive as an inheritance, obtain by right of inheritance
1b) to be an heir, to inherit
2) to receive the portion assigned to one, receive an allotted portion, receive as one's own or as a possession
3) to become partaker of, to obtain
κληρονομέω
klēronomeō klay-ron-om-eh'-o From G2818; to be an heir to (literally or figuratively) KJV Usage: be heir, (obtain by) inherit (-ance).
Brenton
Judges 1:18 Καὶ οὐκ ἐκληρονόμησεν Ἰούδας τὴν Γάζαν οὐδὲ τὰ ὅρια αὐτῆς, οὐδὲ τὴν Ἀσκάλωνα ουδὲ τὰ ὅρια αὐτῆς, οὐδὲ τὴν Ἀκκαρὼν οὐδὲ τὰ ὅρια αὐτῆς, τὴν Ἄζωτον οὐδὲ τὰ περισπόρια αὐτῆς.
CAB
Judges 1:18 But Judah did not inherit Gaza nor her coasts, nor Ashkelon or her coasts, nor Ekron or her coasts, nor Azotus or the lands around it.
LXX2012
Judges 1:18 But Judas did not inherit Gaza nor her coasts, nor Ascalon nor her coasts, nor Accaron nor her coasts, [nor] Azotus nor the lands around it.
Thomson
Judges 1:18 Though Juda did not take possession of Gaza, nor the borders thereof, nor of Ascalon nor its borders, nor of Akkaron, nor its borders, nor of Azotus, nor the grounds about it;
These translations were written in about 250BC, while the Masoretic text was written around 700 AD. Why is this important? Because in our modern day, there are people who do not realize that the land of Gaza, Ascalon, Accaron, Azotus, and Geth, or Gaza, Askelon, Ekron, Ashdod, and Gath, were always sovereign Philistine lands. Judah never owned this land. Even in our more recent times, Judah didn’t control these five cities until 1967. More on that later. The point is, today there are people living in these cities that are being pushed out or exterminated.
Where are these cities located? From the border of Egypt and Israel, south and west of Jerusalem, is Gaza, the furthest city next to the Egyptian border. Moving north along the coast is Askelon and Ashdod. Northeast of Ashdod, towards the mountains is Ekron and south east of Ashdod is Gath.
When the heirs of Jacob entered Canaan they forced all the inhabitants that they didn’t kill, south into this region. The promise of the land of Canaan was made to Shem and his heirs, not just to the heirs of Jacob, but to Shem’s heirs as well. It was known that the Canaanites would be removed from the land which is why Abraham told seven of his sons to move into Arabia and Africa.
The Philistines ruled over Israel several times which we can read about in the book of Judges. It was Yahweh’s way of trying to get the Israelites to follow Him. One of the funny stories we see regarding this relationship with the Philistines takes place before Israel had a king. Samuel was the new “spiritual leader” in Israel at the time. In 1 Samuel 4 we see that Philistines overtook Israel in battle and took the Ark of God.
1Sa 6:1 (Brenton) And the ark was seven months in the country of the Philistines, and their land brought forth swarms of mice.
1Sa 6:2 And the Philistines call their priests, and their prophets, and their enchanters, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the Lord? teach us wherewith we shall send it away to its place.
1Sa 6:3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the covenant of the Lord God of Israel, do not on any account send it away empty, but by all means render to it an offering for the plague; and then shall ye be healed, and an atonement shall be made for you: should not his hand be thus stayed from off you?
1Sa 6:4 And they say, What is the offering for the plague which we shall return to it? and they said,
1Sa 6:5 According to the number of the lords of the Philistines, five golden emerods, for the plague was on you, and on your rulers, and on the people; and golden mice, the likeness of the mice that destroy your land: and ye shall give glory to the Lord, that he may lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
1Sa 6:6 And why do ye harden your hearts, as Egypt and Pharao hardened their hearts? was it not so when he mocked them, that they let the people go, and they departed?
1Sa 6:7 And now take wood and make a new wagon, and take two cows, that have calved for the first time, without their calves; and do ye yoke the cows to the wagon, and lead away the calves from behind them home.
1Sa 6:8 And ye shall take the ark and put it on the wagon; and ye shall restore to it the golden articles for the trespass-offering in a coffer by the side of it: and ye shall let it go, and sent it away, and ye shall depart.
1Sa 6:9 And ye shall see, if it shall go the way of its coasts along by Baethsamys, he has brought upon us this great affliction; and if not, then shall we know that his hand has not touched us, but this is a chance which has happened to us.
1Sa 6:10 And the Philistines did so; and they took two cows that had calved for the first time, and yoked them to the waggon, and shut up their calves at home.
1Sa 6:11 And they set the ark of the Lord, and the coffer, and the golden mice, on the waggon.
1Sa 6:12 And the cows went straight on the way to the way of Baethsamys, they went along one track; and laboured, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after it as far as the coasts of Baethsamys.
1Sa 6:13 And the men of Baethsamys were reaping the wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark of the Lord, and rejoiced to meet it.
1Sa 6:14 And the waggon entered into the field of Osee, which was in Baethsamys, and they set there by it a great stone; and they split the wood of the waggon, and offered up the cows for a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord.
1Sa 6:15 And the Levites brought up the ark of the Lord, and the coffer with it, and the golden articles upon it, and placed them on the great stone, and the men of Baethsamys offered whole-burnt-offerings and meat offerings on that day to the Lord.
1Sa 6:16 And the five lords of the Philistines saw, and returned to Ascalon in that day.
1Sa 6:17 And these are the golden emerods which the lords of the Philistines gave as a trespass-offering to the Lord; for Azotus one, for Gaza one, for Ascalon one, for Geth one, for Accaron one.
We see the Philistines had five lords in their land over the five cities. Even the KJV cooperates this.
1Sa 6:16 (KJV) And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
1Sa 6:17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
Where was Goliath from?
1Sa 17:4 (Brenton) And there went forth a mighty man out of the army of the Philistines, Goliath, by name, out of Geth, his height was four cubits and a span.
In another amusing story, the son of Ahab and Jezebel, Ahaziah/Ochozias, who lived in Samaria, sent messengers on his behalf to Accaron/Ekron to enquire with Beelzebub the “fly god”. Elijah confronted the messengers.
2Ki 1:1 (Brenton) And Moab repelled against Israel after the death of Achaab.
2Ki 1:2 And Ochozias fell through the lattice that was in his upper chamber in Samaria and was sick; and he sent messengers, and said to them, Go and enquire of Baal fly, the god of Accaron, whether I shall recover of this my sickness. And they went to enquire of him.
2Ki 1:3 And an angel of the Lord called Eliu the Thesbite, saying, Arise, and go to meet the messengers of Ochozias king of Samaria, and thou shalt say to them, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baal fly, the God of Accaron? but it shall not be so.
2Ki 1:4 For thus saith the Lord, The bed on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down from it, for thou shalt surely die. And Eliu went, and said so to them.
2Ki 1:5 And the messengers returned to him, and he said to them, Why have ye returned?
2Ki 1:6 And they said to him, A man came up to meet us, and said to us, Go, return to the king that sent you, and say to him, Thus saith the Lord, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that thou goest to enquire of Baal fly, the God of Accaron? it shall not be so: the bed on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down from it, for thou shalt surely die.
2Ki 1:7 So they returned and reported to the king as Eliu said: and he said to them, What was the manner of the man who went up to mid you, and spoke to you these words?
2Ki 1:8 And they said to him, He was a hairy man, and girt with a leathern girdle about his loins. And he said, This is Eliu the Thesbite.
2Ki 1:9 And he sent to him a captain of fifty and his fifty; and he went up to him: and, behold, Eliu sat on the top of a mountain. And the captain of fifty spoke to him, and said, O man of God, the king has called thee, come down.
2Ki 1:10 And Eliu answered and said to the captain of fifty, And if I am a man of God, fire shall come down out of heaven, and devour thee and thy fifty. And fire came down out of heaven, and devoured him and his fifty.
2Ki 1:11 And the king sent a second time to him another captain of fifty, and his fifty. And the captain of fifty spoke to him, and said, O man of God, thus says the king, Come down quickly.
2Ki 1:12 And Eliu answered and spoke to him, and said, If I am a man of God, fire shall come down out of heaven, and devour thee and thy fifty. And fire came down out of heaven, and devoured him and his fifty.
2Ki 1:13 And the king sent yet again a captain and his fifty. And the third captain of fifty came, and knelt on his knees before Eliu, and entreated him, and spoke to him and said, O man of God, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thine eyes.
2Ki 1:14 Behold, fire came down from heaven, and devoured the two first captains of fifty: and now, I pray, let my life be precious in thine eyes.
2Ki 1:15 And the angel of the Lord spoke to Eliu, and said, Go down with him, be not afraid of them. And Eliu rose up, and went down with him to the king.
2Ki 1:16 And Eliu spoke to him, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Why hast thou sent messengers to enquire of Baal fly, the god of Accaron? it shall not be so: the bed on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down from it, for thou shalt surely die.
2Ki 1:17 So he died according to the word of the Lord which Eliu has spoken.
Obviously, Accaron/Ekron were populated by and controlled by Philistines. Their fly god was who they worshipped.
Now we fast forward into the time of Amos, Zephaniah, and Zechariah. All have prophecies regarding the Day of the Lord for the cities of Philistines.
Amo 1:6 (Brenton) Thus saith the Lord; For three sins of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away from them; because they took prisoners the captivity of Solomon, to shut them up into Idumea.
Amo 1:7 And I will send forth a fire on the walls of Gaza, and it shall devour its foundations.
Amo 1:8 And I will destroy the inhabitants out of Azotus, and a tribe shall be cut off from Ascalon, and I will stretch out my hand upon Accaron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord.
As we know, the cities are still in existence at the time that Amos wrote this and have been in existence throughout the ages even until our time. Zephaniah again points to the eradication of Philistines on the Day of the Lord.
Zep 2:1 (Brenton) Be ye gathered and closely joined together, O unchastened nation;
Zep 2:2 before ye become as the flower that passes away, before the anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the wrath of the Lord come upon you.
Zep 2:3 Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth; do judgment, and seek justice, and answer accordingly; that ye may be hid in the day of the wrath of the Lord.
Zep 2:4 For Gaza shall be utterly spoiled, and Ascalon shall be destroyed; and Azotus shall be cast forth at noon-day, and Accaron shall be rooted up.
And Zechariah:
Zec 9:5 (Brenton) Ascalon shall see, and fear; Gaza also, and shall be greatly pained, and Accaron; for she is ashamed at her trespass; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ascalon shall not be inhabited.
Zec 9:6 And aliens shall dwell in Azotus, and I will bring down the pride of the Philistines.
Zec 9:7 And I will take their blood out of their mouth, and their abominations from between their teeth; and these also shall be left to our God, and they shall be as a captain of a thousand in Juda, and Accaron as a Jebusite.
Zec 9:8 And I will set up a defence for my house, that they may not pass through, nor turn back, neither shall there any more come upon them one to drive them away: for now have I seen with mine eyes.
When Judah was going into captivity, Jeremiah was warning the people and pointing out the false prophets. He then speaks against the Philistines.
Jer 29:4 (Brenton) in the day that is coming to destroy all the Philistines: and I will utterly destroy Tyre and Sidon and all the rest of their allies: for the Lord will destroy the remaining inhabitants of the islands.
Jer 29:5 Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ascalon is cast away, and the remnant of the Enakim.
Jer 29:6 How long wilt thou smite, O sword of the Lord? how long will it be ere thou art quiet? return into thy sheath, rest, and be removed.
Jer 29:7 How shall it be quiet, whereas the Lord has given it a commission against Ascalon, and against the regions on the sea-coast, to awake against the remaining countries!
See Jeremiah 47:5-7 for corresponding text in a modern translation.
Who are the Enakim? We will see shortly. Jeremiah continues.
Jer 32:16 (Brenton) And they shall drink, and vomit, and be mad, because of the sword which I send among them.
Jer 32:17 So I took the cup out of the Lord's hand, and caused the nations to whom the Lord sent me to drink:
Jer 32:18 Jerusalem, and the cities of Juda, and the kings of Juda, and his princes, to make them a desert place, a desolation, and a hissing;
Jer 32:19 and Pharao king of Egypt, and his servants, and his nobles, and all his people;
Jer 32:20 and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the Philistines, and Ascalon, and Gaza, and Accaron, and the remnant of Azotus,
Jer 32:21 and Idumea, and the land of Moab, and the children of Ammon,
Jer 32:22 and the kings of Tyre, and the kings of Sidon, and the kings in the country beyond the sea,
Jer 32:23 and Daedan, and Thaeman, and Ros, and every one that is shaved round about the face,
Jer 32:24 and all the mingled people lodging in the wilderness,
See Jeremiah 25:17-24 for corresponding text in a modern translation.
While Judah is in captivity four of the Philistine cities are still recorded in the Bible as existing. During the Maccabean era, as well as Herod’s era, through to the destruction of the temple under Rome, Ascalon was still its own sovereign city, known as “Free City”.
Let’s backtrack to the time of Joshua. We see that Joshua and Jacob’s heirs destroyed the Enakim from some places but they were left in Gaza, Gath, and Azotus.
Jos 11:21 (Brenton) And Joshua came at that time, and utterly destroyed the Enakim out of the hill country, from Chebron and from Dabir, and from Anaboth, and from all the race of Israel, and from all the mountain of Juda with their cities; and Joshua utterly destroyed them.
Jos 11:22 There was not any one left of the Enakim by the children of Israel, only there was left of them in Gaza, and in Gath, and in Aseldo. (Azotus)
Jos 11:23 And Joshua took all the land, as the Lord commanded Moses; and Joshua gave them for an inheritance to Israel by division according to their tribes; and the land ceased from war.
Again, who are the Enakim or Anakim which are in the five cities of the Philistines? Enakim/Anakim were sons of Anak. Let’s look at some encyclopedia entries of who inhabited the five cities of the Philistines.
Anakim
an´a-kim (ענקים, ‛ănāḳı̄m; Ἐνακίμ, Enakı́m, or Ἐνακείμ, Enakeı́m; also called “sons of Anak” (Num 13:33), and “sons of the Anakim” (Deu 1:28)): The spies (Num 13:33) compared them to the Nephilim or “giants” of Gen 6:4, and according to Deu 2:11 they were reckoned among the REPHAIM (which see). In Num 13:22 the chiefs of Hebron are said to be descendants of Anak, while “the father of Anak” is stated in Josh (Num 15:13; Num 21:11) to be Arba after whom Hebron was called “the city of Arba.” Josh “cut off the Anakim ... from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab,... and from all the hill-country of Israel,” remnants of them being left in the Philistine cities of Gaza, Gath and Ashdod (Jos 11:21, Jos 11:22). As compared with the Israelites, they were tall like giants (Num 13:33), and it would therefore seem that the “giant” Goliath and his family were of their race. At Hebron, at the time of the Israelite conquest, we may gather that they formed the body-guard of the Amorite king (see Jos 10:5) under their three leaders Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai (Num 13:22; Jos 15:14; Jdg 1:20). Tell el-Amarna Letters show that the Canaanite princes were accustomed to surround themselves with bodyguards of foreign mercenaries. It appears probable that the Anakim came from the Aegean like the Philistines, to whom they may have been related. The name Anak is a masculine corresponding with a feminine which we meet with in the name of the goddess Onka, who according to the Greek writers, Stephanus of Byzantium and Hesychius, was the “Phoen,” i.e. Syrian equivalent of Athena. Anket or Anukit was also the name of the goddess worshipped by the Egyptians at the First Cataract. In the name Ahi-man it is possible that “-man” denotes a non-Semitic deity.
ISBE-International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Emims
Terrors, a warlike tribe of giants who were defeated by Chedorlaomer and his allies in the plain of Kiriathaim. In the time of Abraham they occupied the country east of Jordan, afterwards the land of the Moabites (Gen 14:5; Deu 2:10). They were, like the Anakim, reckoned among the Rephaim, and were conquered by the Moabites, who gave them the name of Emims, i.e., “terrible men” (Deu 2:11). The Ammonites called them Zamzummims (Deu 2:20).
Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Rephaim
REPHAIM.—A name given in several Biblical passages to some pre-Israelitish people. In Gen 14:5 they are said to have dwelt in Ashteroth-karnaim. Gen 15:20 classes them with Hittites and Perizzites (similarly Jos 17:15). Deu 2:11; Deu 2:20 calls certain peoples ‘Rephaim’ whom the Moabites and Ammonites called respectively ‘Emim’ and ‘Zamzummin.’ Deu 3:11 says that Og, king of Bashan, alone remained of the Rephaim (so also Jos 12:4; Jos 13:12), while Deu 3:13 says that Argob was a land of Rephaim. A valley near Jerusalem was also called the ‘Vale of Rephaim’ (see 2Sa 5:18; 2Sa 5:22; 2Sa 23:13, 1Ch 11:15; 1Ch 14:9, Isa 17:5). Because Deu 2:11 counts them with the Anakim, who were giants, and 2Sa 21:18-22 says that the sons of a certain Rapha (see RVm) were giants, it has been supposed by some that Rephaim means ‘giants,’ and was given to a race as their name by their neighbours because of their stature. Cf. art. Giant.
The word răphâ’îm in Hebrew means also ‘shades’ or disembodied spirits. At least it is used to describe the dead, as in Psa 88:10. Schwally is probably right, therefore (Leben nach dem Tode, 64 ff. and ZATW, xviii. 127 ff.), in holding that the word means ‘shades,’ and that it was applied by the Israelites to people who were dead and gone, and of whom they knew little.
Hastings Dictionary of the Bible
George A. Barton.
Giants
Giants. (men of extraordinary size or height).
1. They are first spoken of in Gen 6:4, under the name Nephilim. We are told in Gen 6:1-4, that "there were Nephilim in the earth," and that, afterwards, the "sons of God" mingling with the beautiful "daughters of men" produced a race of violent and insolent Gibborim (Authorized Version, "mighty men").
2. The Rephalim, a name which frequently occurs. The earliest mention of them is the record of their defeat, by Chedorlaomer and some allied kings, at Ashteroth Karnaim. The "valley of Rephaim," 2Sa 5:18; 1Ch 11:15; Isa 17:5, a rich valley southwest of Jerusalem, derived its name from them. They were probably an aboriginal people of which the Anakim, Emims and Zuzim, The were branches. See also Goliath. See Anakim; Emims; Zuzim, The.
Smiths Bible Dictionary
As we know, the word Philistine means “mixed tribes”. In the Greek it is a compound of allos, and phulēm meaning “another different tribe or race”. The mixed people pushed out of Canaan were of different tribes that formed one tribe known as Philistines, who were relocated to the five cities along the coast. During the Greek era these cities remained intact. During the Roman era Ascalon remained as a neutral city called “Free City”. After the Roman era the cities were under the Byzantine Empire and later under the Ottoman Empire until the Ottomans left the region around 1917. Then the Philistine region was under Egyptian control. When Israel became a nation again in 1948 the Israelite government moved the people who had been in Israel into the Philistine region as they did when Jacob’s heirs came into Canaan. Then the six day war changed the region again when Israel assumed control over the Philistine region.
Google’s AI tells us this:
In 1948, Palestinian refugees were relocated to neighboring countries, including Transjordan (now Jordan), Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon, as well as to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which were under the occupation of Egypt and Jordan, respectively. A significant portion of these refugees, often referred to as the 1948 Palestinian exodus or Nakba, fled or were expelled from their homes in the area that became Israel.
- Neighboring countries: Many refugees settled in large numbers in refugee camps in the neighboring states of Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon.
- West Bank and Gaza Strip: The West Bank came under Jordanian control, and the Gaza Strip came under Egyptian administration, where many Palestinians found refuge.
- Refugee camps: A large number of Palestinian refugees lived in overcrowded refugee camps, often denied citizenship by their host countries, with the exception of Jordan.
- UNRWA: In 1949, the United Nations established an agency, UNRWA, to provide aid to these refugees.
Google’s AI also tells us this:
When Israel took over control of the Gaza Strip during the Six-Day War in June 1967, it initiated a long period of military occupation that fundamentally altered the political landscape of the region.
Key events and consequences of the takeover:
- Establishment of Military Rule: Israel established a military governance system (the Israeli Military Governorate) to administer the civilian Palestinian population in Gaza, the West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights.
- Mass Displacement: An estimated several hundred thousand additional Palestinians fled or were expelled from the newly occupied territories, many going to Jordan, worsening the existing refugee crisis that began in 1948.
- Israeli Settlements: Israel began building Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip (the first was in 1970) and other occupied territories, a practice considered illegal under international law. By 2005, there were 21 settlements in Gaza.
- International Condemnation and UN Resolution: The international community, through UN Security Council Resolution 242 in November 1967, called for Israel's withdrawal from the occupied territories in exchange for peace and recognition by Arab states (the "land for peace" formula). Arab leaders initially rejected this, adopting a resolution of "no peace, no recognition and no negotiation" with Israel.
- Rise of Palestinian Nationalism and Resistance: The defeat of the Arab armies shifted the focus of resistance, leading to the rise of Palestinian guerrilla organizations, notably Fatah, within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which pursued armed struggle against Israel.
- Long-Term Occupation and Conflict: The occupation of Gaza became a major point of contention in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The military administration remained in place until a phased transfer of authority to the Palestinian Authority began in 1994, following the Oslo Accords. Israel unilaterally withdrew its settlers and troops from Gaza in 2005, but it has maintained control over Gaza's airspace, coastline, and most land borders, leading the UN and human rights organizations to still consider it an occupying power.
We see the region of the Philistines was never under Israeli control until recently, in 1967. We know that there are no longer exceptionally tall people there, the actual Philistines, Anakim, Emim, etc., heirs of the Nephilim, were assimilated into the regional people. We also know that the people who were in Israel prior to 1948 lived under Ottoman control for many years and were then forced to move to the region of Philistia in 1948. While no one would want giants living in a neighboring area, that is no longer the case. It could be that the people relocated to Philistia were original Jews who simply never left the region, even though they were under the control of various nations. The Slavic and European Jews moved in, forcing those people out. It was the Romans that gave them the name Palestinians. The overtaking of the old Philistine region today, seems to have a different reasoning behind it. As the native Americans came to the Americas from somewhere, the native Palestinians in Israel came from somewhere as well, yet there is no plan to live peacefully with them as neighbors. Why is that? What is it that the political rulers in Israel want? Is it possible that the people living in today’s Palestine (old Philistia) are closely related to the twelve tribes? As Moses told us about the most cursed people on earth, Deuteronomy 28, the Palestinian people seem to fit the profile. Genetic testing could judge the situation accurately.
