Philistine Culture in Ancient Palestine
The Philistines, who long inhabited the coastal plans of Palestine throughout Israelite time periods in Palestine, are newly "discovered" by Israeli archaeologists to differ from their cruel portrayal in the Hebrew Old testament. A Ha'aretz article reports the findings: "There's no doubt that the social organization of the Philistines was much more developed than that of the Israelites , and apparently of the Canaanites as well." and this: "Research into the dispersal of Philistine cooking methods among various populations in Israel shows that the Philistines spread their culture beyond the areas under their control. While the two cultures never mixed, the early Hebrews apparently copied many important components of the Philistine lifestyle. "