Joshua 13:2-4
13:2 a The Philistines were one of several groups in the great migration of the Sea Peoples from the Aegean region within a few decades after Israel’s entry into Canaan. They settled along the southwestern Mediterranean coast, west and southwest of Judah. They came from Caphtor or Crete (Deut 2:23 b; Amos 9:7 c).• These Geshurites were people from a southern territory, not the northern Geshurites (cp. Josh 12:5 d).
13:3 e The stream of Shihor probably marked the traditional boundary between Canaan and Egypt, bisecting the northern Sinai Peninsula.
• The Philistine territory included five main cities: Gaza, Ashdod, and Ashkelon were on the Mediterranean coast, and Gath and Ekron were a few miles inland.
• The Philistines displaced the Avvites (Deut 2:23 f).
Summary for Josh 13:4-6: 13:4-6a g The Sidonians (that is, Phoenicians; see Isa 23:11 h; Obad 1:20 i; Acts 11:19 j) lived in the north along the coast, from north of Mount Carmel to above Gebal (Byblos). They also apparently occupied the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges. Sidon was the dominant Phoenician city when Israel entered Canaan.
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