“This is the land that still remains: all the regions of the P’lishtim and all the G’shuri, from the Shichor which fronts Egypt, to the border of ‘Ekron (northward from there the land is considered as belonging to the Kena‘ani) — that is, the territory of the rulers of the P’lishtim in ‘Azah, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gat and ‘Ekron; also the ‘Avim to the south; all the land of the Kena‘ani; Me‘arah, which belongs to the Tzidonim, as far as Afek and on to the border with the Emori; the land of the Givli; all the L’vanon eastward, from Ba‘al-Gad at the foot of Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamat.”-Joshua 13:2-5
I want you to notice that the Philistines were allied with a group of people called the Geshurites at the southern border.
However, since the Geshurites were small in number, they were considered to just be a part of Philistia.
In terms of specific geographical boundaries, the territory of Philistia extended up to Gaza City and then from there, Geshurite territory began and extended south to the Wadi of Egypt.
Interestingly, the mention of a people group called the AVIM is thought to be referring to the group of people who lived there BEFORE the Philistines took over the area.
Well, there you have it folks!
A nice and concisely defined piece of real estate stretching across the seacoast starting from the upper Sinai Peninsula (where the Wadi of Egypt is) and then stretching a bit south to modern day Ashdod (an area occupied by the ferocious Philistines).
Scripture testifies that this region is one of the 3 primary areas that Joshua and his men did NOT succeed in conquering.
And incidentally, the modern Ashdod of today is NOT the same place as the old Ashdod of ancient times.
The old Ashdod was located about 3 miles southeast from the Ashdod we know today.
Modern Ashdod is actually quite a hustling and bustling seaport that accounts for about 60% of all goods imported into Israel.
In closing, I’d like to share this one final thought.
It just struck me that all of this insane detail the Scriptures give us is proof positive that the Bible is NOT just a bunch of made-up fairy tales like the scoffers, cynics, and skeptics assert.
Seriously, have you ever come across a fairy tale that provided so much detail that can literally be connected to towns, cities and other types of places that are in existence today?
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