The Philistines and the Palestinians

[ktn4eg]

A preacher I know has often asserted that the modern day Palestinians are direct descendants of the Old Testament Philistines. He gave no specific proof of this, but this is what he firmly believes.

While both were enemies of the Jewish people, I have yet to find any historical evidence that supports his assertion.

So, my question is this: Is there, in fact, any documented historical proof that the modern day Palestinians are direct descendants of the Old Testament Philistines?

 

[freeatlast]

Are the Philistines of the Old Testament and the Palestinians of modern time the same people?

http://www.holypop.com/answers/Philistines_And_The_Palestinians

 

[kyredneck]

Jews Are The Genetic Brothers Of Palestinians, Syrians, And Lebanese

"...according to a new scientific study, Jews are the genetic brothers of Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese, and they all share a common genetic lineage that stretches back thousands of years"

The shared genetic heritage of Jews and Palestinians

""... Arabs and Jews are essentially a single population, and that Palestinians are slap bang in the middle of the different Jewish populations."

 

[drfuss]

I looked into this a few years ago as a part of the history of Judah during the silent years before the time of the New Testament. I don't remember my sources; but I recall that the Philistines mostly survived the Babylon and Persian conquests. However, they did not survive the Greek conquests. The Greeks took about a year to conquer Type and Sidon due to the island fortification. The Greeks then wiped out the remaining Philistines and would have wiped out the Jews; excepts that the Jews went out and surrendered to the Greeks and their leaders promised to cooperate with the Greeks (including the Greek religion), if they were allowed to survive.

After marching throught Jerusalem and killing their King, the Greeks allowed the Jews to survive under the leadership (and promise) of the compromising Jews who latter become the Sadducees. The later Romans continued the same arrangement. That is why the Sadducees were the group mostly in charge of the government and the Temple.

The Sadducees tried to change the Jewish religions to be acceptable to the Greeks and Romans.The Pharisees resisted the Sadducees in these efforts and became their religious opposition.

Concerning the Palestinians, their ancesters moved into Judea from Egypt and Syria after the Emperior Hadrian expelled all the Jews from their homeland in about 120 A.D. They became Arabs as a result of the first Muslim expansion when the Muslims gave the Christians a choice of converting or dying. Most Christians chose death with their wives becoming a part of the Arab warrior's harem of wives and produced children who became Muslims. After a few generations, all people in the land were desendents of the warriors and others from Arabia, i.e. Arabs.

 

[kyredneck]

Mideast Jews, Palestinians Virtually Genetically Identical

Scientific Journal Axes Gene Research On Jews And Palestinians

"A keynote research paper showing that Middle Eastern Jews and Palestinians are genetically almost identical has been pulled from a leading journal.
Academics who have already received copies of Human Immunology have been urged to rip out the offending pages and throw them away.

Such a drastic act of self-censorship is unprecedented in research publishing and has created widespread disquiet, generating fears that it may involve the suppression of scientific work that questions Biblical dogma......"

".....The paper, 'The Origin of Palestinians and their Genetic Relatedness with other Mediterranean Populations', involved studying genetic variations in immune system genes among people in the Middle East.

In common with earlier studies, the team found no data to support the idea that Jewish people were genetically distinct from other people in the region. In doing so, the team's research challenges claims that Jews are a special, chosen people and that Judaism can only be inherited.

Jews and Palestinians in the Middle East share a very similar gene pool and must be considered closely related and not genetically separate, the authors state. Rivalry between the two races is therefore based 'in cultural and religious, but not in genetic differences', they conclude......"


I would think the relationship between the Middle East Jews and Palestinians could be explained by their common ancestory with Abraham; Palestinian Arabs from Ishmael, Middle East Jews from Isaac. But, what do I know? Either that or those Jews remaining after the Roman expulsion(s) eventually did convert to Islam for survival.

 

[mandym]

Mideast Jews, Palestinians Virtually Genetically Identical

Scientific Journal Axes Gene Research On Jews And Palestinians

"A keynote research paper showing that Middle Eastern Jews and Palestinians are genetically almost identical has been pulled from a leading journal.
Academics who have already received copies of Human Immunology have been urged to rip out the offending pages and throw them away.

Such a drastic act of self-censorship is unprecedented in research publishing and has created widespread disquiet, generating fears that it may involve the suppression of scientific work that questions Biblical dogma......"

".....The paper, 'The Origin of Palestinians and their Genetic Relatedness with other Mediterranean Populations', involved studying genetic variations in immune system genes among people in the Middle East.

In common with earlier studies, the team found no data to support the idea that Jewish people were genetically distinct from other people in the region. In doing so, the team's research challenges claims that Jews are a special, chosen people and that Judaism can only be inherited.

Jews and Palestinians in the Middle East share a very similar gene pool and must be considered closely related and not genetically separate, the authors state. Rivalry between the two races is therefore based 'in cultural and religious, but not in genetic differences', they conclude......"


I would think the relationship between the Middle East Jews and Palestinians could be explained by their common ancestory with Abraham; Palestinian Arabs from Ishmael, Middle East Jews from Isaac. But, what do I know? Either that or those Jews remaining after the Roman expulsion(s) eventually did convert to Islam for survival.

So what?

 

[kyredneck]

So what?

"I would think the relationship between the Middle East Jews and Palestinians could be explained by their common ancestory with Abraham; Palestinian Arabs from Ishmael, Middle East Jews from Isaac. But, what do I know? Either that or those Jews remaining after the Roman expulsion(s) eventually did convert to Islam for survival."

 

[billwald]

>Jews and Palestinians in the Middle East share a very similar gene pool and must be considered closely related and not genetically separate

Well, they are all "children" of Abraham.

On the other hand,

from http://www.aish.com/ci/sam/48936742.html

The fascinating story of how DNA studies confirm an ancient biblical tradition.

. . . Cohanim (plural of Cohen) are the priestly family of the Jewish people, members of the Tribe of Levi.The books of Exodus and Leviticus describe the responsibilities of the Cohanim, which include the Temple service and blessing of the people. The Torah (the first five books of the Bible) describes the anointing of Aaron, the brother of Moses, as the first High Priest (Cohen Gadol).

Jewish tradition, based on the Torah, is that all Cohanim are direct descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses. The Cohen line is patrilineal -- passed from father to son without interruption for 3,300 years, or more than 100 generations. . .

 

[kyredneck]

>Jews and Palestinians in the Middle East share a very similar gene pool and must be considered closely related and not genetically separate

Well, they are all "children" of Abraham.

On the other hand,

from http://www.aish.com/ci/sam/48936742.html

The fascinating story of how DNA studies confirm an ancient biblical tradition.

. . . Cohanim (plural of Cohen) are the priestly family of the Jewish people, members of the Tribe of Levi.The books of Exodus and Leviticus describe the responsibilities of the Cohanim, which include the Temple service and blessing of the people. The Torah (the first five books of the Bible) describes the anointing of Aaron, the brother of Moses, as the first High Priest (Cohen Gadol).

Jewish tradition, based on the Torah, is that all Cohanim are direct descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses. The Cohen line is patrilineal -- passed from father to son without interruption for 3,300 years, or more than 100 generations. . .

....been mulling this one over for a while, eh?....

 

[padredurand]

>Jews and Palestinians in the Middle East share a very similar gene pool and must be considered closely related and not genetically separate

Well, they are all "children" of Abraham.

On the other hand,

from http://www.aish.com/ci/sam/48936742.html

The fascinating story of how DNA studies confirm an ancient biblical tradition.

. . . Cohanim (plural of Cohen) are the priestly family of the Jewish people, members of the Tribe of Levi.The books of Exodus and Leviticus describe the responsibilities of the Cohanim, which include the Temple service and blessing of the people. The Torah (the first five books of the Bible) describes the anointing of Aaron, the brother of Moses, as the first High Priest (Cohen Gadol).

Jewish tradition, based on the Torah, is that all Cohanim are direct descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses. The Cohen line is patrilineal -- passed from father to son without interruption for 3,300 years, or more than 100 generations. . .

Thank you for the link. Interesting read.

The Talmud (Kiddushin 68b) establishes a matrilineal descent; the passing down of a child's Jewish identity via the mother citing Deuteronomy 7:3-4.

 

[Van]

Tribalism

A preacher I know has often asserted that the modern day Palestinians are direct descendants of the Old Testament Philistines. He gave no specific proof of this, but this is what he firmly believes.

While both were enemies of the Jewish people, I have yet to find any historical evidence that supports his assertion.

So, my question is this: Is there, in fact, any documented historical proof that the modern day Palestinians are direct descendants of the Old Testament Philistines?

In the Old Testament, a wall existed between God's chosen people, and other people of various tribes. But it was belief in God that actually determined who was "circumcised" on the inside. However, now the wall has been torn down by Christ, and so to refer back to tribal divisions as having relevance today, is to stumble yet again over the stumbling block of the first century Jews.

They thought their blood line from birth mattered, but Jesus said you must be born again, therefore the tribal creds got you nada, zip, nothing.

Today, we are in a war with those whose mindset is tribal, the we/them world view. No need give the enemy fuel.