Psalm 83:5-8c

Psalm 83:5-8c

Internal and external threats

The threat to Israel from the west and the Mediterranean coast came in the form of the Philistines. In Deuteronomy 2:23 and Jeremiah 47:4 these people are described as coming from Caphtor or Crete. Other ancient manuscripts describe them as the Sea Peoples that invaded Egypt and then settled on the Mediterranean coastlands from Joppa (Tel Aviv) in the north to Gaza in the south.  The area contained the five cities of the Philistine confederacy, Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath and Ekron. The region controlled by them was called Philistia, the Greeks renamed it Palestine. The stories of Samson, Saul, David and others highlight the continuous struggle that the Israelites had with their Philistine neighbours. Today the conflict still goes on with the Palestinian people and there are constant reminders of the ancient threat, for no Arab speaks of Israel, to them the land is still Palestine. The significance of the Philistines is that they always operated from within the borders of Israel whereas all other enemies operated beyond the borders. Nothing has changed in Israel and for all of us, the greatest threats are often from within!

The final antagonists mentioned in these verses are the Assyrians who were building a vast army and threatening the peace of the land. In 732BC they invaded from the north and went on to annihilate the 10 northern tribes of Israel, leaving Judah and Benjamin (the Jews) isolated in the south. This major incursion and conquest of the land must have either happened or been imminent when Psalm 83 was written.

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