Genesis 21:32

Land of the Philistines. The statement that Abimelech and Phichol “returned into the land of the Philistines” after concluding a treaty with Abraham at Beersheba implies that the area around this city was outside the recognized boundaries of Philistia. At the same time it was probably under the control of the prince of Gerar in Abraham’s time; otherwise it is unlikely that the question over ownership of the well would have arisen.

This is the first Biblical mention of the “land of the Philistines.” Most modern commentators have seen in this statement the historical mistake of a late author, claiming as they do that the Philistines did not enter Palestine prior to the late 13th century B.C., long after Abraham’s time. There is, however, no reason to doubt the presence of Philistines in Palestine during the patriarchal period. They are mentioned in documents of the north Syrian coastal city of Ugarit before the 15th century B.C. That Egyptian sources mention the Philistines about the year 1200 B.C. for the first time does not prove their nonsettlement of Palestine prior to that time. It shows only that they did not play so prominent a role as they did later in the time of Ramses III, when they and other “peoples of the sea” were so numerous as to threaten for a time to overrun Egypt (see Ex. 13:17).