Pathrusim, and Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim.

And they {made} a covenant at Beersheba. And Abimelech, and Phicol his army commander stood and returned to the land of the Philistines.

And Abraham dwelled as an alien in the land of the Philistines many days.

And there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine which was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, to Gerar.

And it happened [that], {when he had been there a long time}, Abimelech the king of the Philistines looked through the window, and saw--behold--Isaac [was] fondling Rebekah his wife.

And he possessed sheep and cattle and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him.

And the Philistines stopped up all the wells that the servants of his father had dug in the days of Abraham his father. They filled them with earth.

And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after the death of Abraham. And he gave to them {the same names} which his father had given them.

And when Pharaoh released the people, God did not lead them the way of the land of the Philistines, though it [was] nearer, because God said, "Lest the people change their mind when they see war and return to Egypt."

" 'And I will set your boundary from the {Red Sea} and up to the sea of the Philistines and from [the] desert up to the river, because I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out from before you.

This [is] the remaining land: all the regions of the Philistines, and all [of] the Geshurites,

from the Shihor, which [is] {east of Egypt}, up to the border of Ekron to [the] north, which is reckoned as Canaanite; [there are] five Philistine rulers: the Gazites, Ashdodites, Ashkelonites, Gittites, Ekronites, and the Avvim.

the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon up to Lebo-Hamath.

And Shamgar son of Anath came after him, and he killed six hundred Philistines with the goad of an ox; he also delivered Israel.

And again, the {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. They served the Baals, the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, and the gods of the {Ammonites} and Philistines; they abandoned Yahweh and did not serve him.

And {the anger of Yahweh burned} against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of [the] Philistines and the {Ammonites}.

And Yahweh said to the {Israelites}, "[Did I] not [deliver you] from [the] Egyptians, the Amorites, from the {Ammonites}, and from the Philistines?

And again, the {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh gave them into the hand of [the] Philistines forty years.

because you [will] conceive and bear a son. No razor {will touch} his head, because the boy will be a {Nazirite of God} {from birth}. And it is he who will begin to deliver Israel from [the] hand of [the] Philistines."

And Samson went down to Timnah, and he saw a woman in Timnah from the daughters of the Philistines.

He went up and told his father and mother, and he said, "I saw a woman in Timnah from the daughters of [the] Philistines; so then, take her for me as a wife."

But his father and mother said to him, "Is there not a wife among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must take a wife from [the] uncircumcised Philistines?" But Samson said to his father, "Take her for me because {she pleases me}."

His father and mother did not know that this [was] from Yahweh; he was seeking for an occasion against [the] Philistines. Now at that time [the] Philistines [were] ruling in Israel.

And Samson said to them, "This time, as far as the Philistines are concerned, when I do something evil I am without blame."

He set fire to the torches and let [the foxes] go into the standing grain of [the] Philistines, and he burned both the stacks of sheaves and the standing grain, up to the vineyards of olive groves.

And [the] Philistines said, "Who has done this?" And they said, "Samson the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion." And [the] Philistines went up and burned her and her father with fire.

Then [the] Philistines came up and encamped in Judah, and they overran Lehi.

Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and they said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines [are] ruling over us? What [is] this [that] you have done to us?" And he said to them, "Just as they did to me, so I have done to them."

They said to him, "We have come down to bind you and give you over into the hand of [the] Philistines." And Samson said to them, "Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves."

As he came up to Lehi, [the] Philistines came shouting to meet him; and the Spirit of Yahweh rushed on him, and the ropes that [were] on his arms became like flax that has burned with fire, and his bindings melted from his hands.

And he judged Israel in the days of [the] Philistines twenty years.

And the rulers of [the] Philistines came up to her and said, "Entice him and find out what makes his strength so great, and how we can overpower him, so that we may bind him up in order to subdue him; each of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.

So the rulers of [the] Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that were not dried up, and she tied him up with them.

The ambush [was] sitting [in wait] for her in an inner room. And she said to him, "[The] Philistines [are] upon you Samson!" And he snapped the bowstrings just as flax fiber snaps when it comes close to fire. And [the secret of] his strength remained unknown.

So Delilah took new ropes and tied him up with them, and she said to him, "[The] Philistines [are] upon you, Samson!" (The ambush [was] sitting in an inner room.) But he snapped them from his arms like thread.

She fastened [it] with the pin and said to him, "[The] Philistines [are] upon you, Samson!" And Samson woke up from his sleep and tore loose the loom pin of the web and the warp-threads.

Delilah realized that {he had confided in her}, so she sent and called the rulers of [the] Philistines, saying, "Come up one more time, for {he has confided in me}." And the rulers of [the] Philistines came up, and they brought the money {with them}.

And she said to him, "[The] Philistines [are] upon you, Samson!" And he woke up from his sleep and said, "I will go out just like every other time and shake myself free," but he did not know that Yahweh had left him.

And [the] Philistines seized him, gouged his eyes, and brought him to Gaza. They tied him up with bronze shackles, and he became a grinder {in the prison}.

The rulers of [the] Philistines had gathered to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice. And they said, "Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand."

And the house was full of men and women, and all of the rulers of [the] Philistines [were] there--about three thousand men and women were on the roof watching the performance of Samson.

And Samson called to Yahweh and said, "My Lord Yahweh, remember me! Please give me strength this one time, O God, so that I can repay [with] one act of revenge to [the] Philistines for my eyes."

And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." And he pushed with [all his] strength, and the house fell on the rulers and all of the people who [were] with him. And the dead whom he killed in his death were more than those he killed in his life.

And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet [the] Philistines for battle, and they encamped at Ebenezer, and [the] Philistines encamped at Aphek.

[The] Philistines lined up for the battle to meet Israel, and the battle was prolonged until Israel was defeated before [the] Philistines, {who} killed about four thousand men {on the battlefield}.

When the army came [back] to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why has Yahweh defeated us today before [the] Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to us from Shiloh so that it may come into our midst and deliver us from the hand of our enemies."

When [the] Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, "What [is] the noise of this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?" Then they learned that the ark of Yahweh had come into the camp.

So [the] Philistines were afraid, for they said, "God has come to the camp." And they said, "Woe to us, {for this has never happened before!}

Take courage and be men, [you] Philistines, lest you end up serving the Hebrews just like they have served you. Be men and fight!"

So [the] Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and each man fled to his tent, for the slaughter was very great. Thirty thousand foot soldiers from Israel fell.

Then the messenger answered and said, "Israel has fled before [the] Philistines. There has been a great defeat among the troops. Also, your two sons have died, Hophni and Phinehas, and the ark of God has been captured."

Now [the] Philistines had captured the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

Then [the] Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the temple of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon.

So they sent and gathered all the rulers of [the] Philistines to them, and they asked, "What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?" And they said, "Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around toward Gath." So they moved the ark of the God of Israel [to Gath].

So they sent and gathered all the rulers of [the] Philistines, and they said, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel and let it return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people." For a {deadly confusion} was throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

Now the ark of Yahweh had been in the territory of [the] Philistines [for] seven months,

and [the] Philistines called to the priests and to those who practiced divination, saying, "What should we do with the ark of Yahweh? Inform us how we should send it to its place."

And they said, "What [is] the guilt offering that we should return to him?" They said, "The number of the rulers of [the] Philistines [is] five. Therefore send five gold tumors and five gold mice, because one plague [was] on all of you and all your rulers.

The cows went straight on the way on the road to Beth Shemesh, on the one main road, {lowing as they went}. They did not turn aside to the right or to the left, and the rulers of [the] Philistines [were] walking after them up to the border of Beth Shemesh.

The five rulers of [the] Philistines saw [it] and returned [to] Ekron that [same] day.

Now these [are] the gold tumors which [the] Philistines returned [as] a guilt offering to Yahweh: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron.

And the gold mice [according to] the number of all the cities of [the] Philistines, for their five rulers, from [the] fortified city to the unwalled village of the open country as far as the great stone, {where they set} the ark of Yahweh until this day in the field of Joshua [of] Beth Shemesh.

So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim saying, "[The] Philistines have returned the ark of Yahweh. Come down and take it up to yourselves."

And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If with all your heart you [are] turning to Yahweh, remove the foreign gods and Ashtoreths from your midst. Commit your hearts to Yahweh and serve him alone. Then he will deliver you from the hand of [the] Philistines."

[Now] when [the] Philistines heard that the {Israelites} had gathered at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the {Israelites} heard [of it], {they were afraid of the Philistines}.

Then the {Israelites} said to Samuel, "{You must not cease} from crying out to Yahweh our God, so that he will deliver us from the hand of [the] Philistines."

{While} Samuel [was] sacrificing the burnt offering, [the] Philistines drew near for the battle against Israel. But Yahweh thundered against [the] Philistines with a great noise on that day and threw them into confusion so that they were defeated before Israel.

Then the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued [the] Philistines and they struck them down as far as below Beth Car.

So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come into the territory of Israel again, and the hand of Yahweh was against [the] Philistines all the days of Samuel.

The towns which [the] Philistines had taken from Israel [were] returned to Israel from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territories from the hand of [the] Philistines. Then there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

"This time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you must anoint him as leader over my people Israel. He will deliver my people from the hand of [the] Philistines. For I have seen [the suffering of] my people, because their cry [of distress] has come to me."

After this, you will come to the Gibeah of God, where there are sentries of [the] Philistines. {Just as you enter} the town there, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place, with harp, tambourine, flute, and zither before them, and they will be prophesying.

But they forgot Yahweh their God, so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the hosts of Hazor, and into the hand of [the] Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.

Jonathan defeated the garrison of [the] Philistines that [was] at Geba, and [the] Philistines heard [about it]. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear!"

And all Israel did hear, saying, "Saul has defeated the garrison of [the] Philistines; and also, Israel has become a stench among [the] Philistines!" So the people were called out after Saul at Gilgal.

And the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and an army as numerous as sand which [is] on the seashore. And they came up and encamped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven.

But Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul said, "Because I saw that the army {was scattering} from me and you did not come {at the appointed time} and [that the] Philistines had gathered at Micmash,

therefore I said, 'Now [the] Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not yet implored the face of Yahweh.' So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering."

Saul and Jonathan his son and the army that remained with them [were] staying in Geba [of] Benjamin, and [the] Philistines encamped at Micmash.

The {raiders} went out from the camp of [the] Philistines [in] three divisions. One division turned on the road to Ophrah toward the land of Shual.

Now no skilled craftsman could be found in all the land of Israel, for [the] Philistines had said, "So that the Hebrews cannot make swords or spears for themselves."

So all Israel [went] down to [the] Philistines, each to have his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his iron plowshare sharpened.

Now the garrison of [the] Philistines went out to the pass of Micmash.

{One day} Jonathan the son of Saul said to {his armor bearer}, "Come and let us go over to the garrison of [the] Philistines which [is] over there." But he did not tell his father.

Now between the passes where Jonathan sought to go over to the garrison of [the] Philistines [there was] a crag of rock {on one side} and a crag of rock {on the other}. The name of the one [was] Bozez and the name of the other [was] Seneh.

So the two of them showed themselves to the garrison of [the] Philistines, and [the] Philistines said, "The Hebrews [are] coming out from the holes in which they have hidden themselves."

While Saul was still speaking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of [the] Philistines {increased more and more}, so Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand!"

Then Saul and all the troops who were with him were assembled on command and came up to the battle, and look! Each [Philistine's] sword [was] against his friend; [and there was] a very great confusion.

The Hebrews who had been for [the] Philistines {previously}, who had gone up with them into the camp all around, even they {joined the Israelites} who were with Saul and Jonathan.

All the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that [the] Philistines had fled, so even they pursued them closely in the battle.

{How much more could have been done} if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder of their enemies that they had found! For now the loss among [the] Philistines [is] not great."

They defeated [the] Philistines that day from Micmash to Aijalon, and the troops were very weary.

Saul said, "Let us go down after [the] Philistines [by] night, and let us plunder them until the morning light, and let us not leave [alive] a man among them." So they said, "Do all that [is] good in your eyes." But the priest said, "Let us draw near to God here."

So Saul inquired of God, "Should I go down after [the] Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?" But he did not answer him on that day.

Saul went up from [pursuing the] Philistines, and [the] Philistines went to their place.

So Saul took the kingship over Israel, and he fought all around against his enemies, against Moab, against the {Ammonites}, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. He inflicted punishment against all who rebelled.

Warfare was severe against [the] Philistines all the days of Saul. Whenever Saul saw {anyone who was a mighty warrior} or {any brave man}, he {conscripted him into his service}.

[The] Philistines gathered their camps for battle and they were gathered [at] Socoh which [belongs] to Judah. They camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes Dammim.

Then Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and they formed ranks [for the] battle to meet [the] Philistines.

[The] Philistines were standing on the hill on one side and [the army of] Israel was standing on the hill on the other side with the valley between them.