“The men of Rhodes
Traded with you.
Many coastlands
Were your own
Special markets.
They brought you
In payment
Ivory tusks
With ebony.”
Ezekiel continued with his tour of the trading partners of Tyre. Rhodes was another Mediterranean island northeast of Crete. They traded with Tyre. Many of the coastland towns were specialty markets for Tyre. Some even traded ivory and ebony with Tyre.
“Therefore,
Thus says Yahweh God!
‘I will stretch out
My hand
Against the Philistines.
I will cut off
The Cherethites.
I will destroy
The rest of the seacoast.
I will execute
Great vengeance
Upon them
With wrathful punishments.
Then they will know
That I am Yahweh,
When I lay
My vengeance
Upon them.’”
There will be no intermediary to punish the Philistines. Yahweh was going to stretch out his hand against the Philistines. He was going to cut down these Cherethites, another name for the Philistines. The use of this term has led to the supposition that the Philistines may have been from Crete. Yahweh was going to destroy the whole seacoast, since that is where the Philistines lived. Yahweh, himself, was going to bring these vengeful punishments without any outside help. Once again, the hope was that these Philistines would recognize that Yahweh was God.
“Thus says Yahweh God!
‘With unending hostilities,
The Philistines
Acted in vengeance
With malice of heart.
They took revenge
In destruction.’”
The Philistines were often mentioned in the biblical literature, especially as the enemies of King David. They were perhaps originally from the island of Crete. They were the five main Philistine coastal cities mentioned from the time of Joshua, chapter 13, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, Gath, and Ashdod, all on the Mediterranean coast line of present day Israel. Thus the mention of unending hostilities with the Philistines did not seem out of place. Jeremiah, chapter 47, had also spoken against them. These Philistines acted with vengeance and malice, as they brought revenge on the Israelites with their destruction.
“At the noise
Of the stamping
Of the hoofs
Of his stallions,
At the clatter
Of his chariots,
At the rumbling
Of their wheels,
The parents do not
Look back
For children.
Their hands are so feeble.
The day is coming
To destroy
All the Philistines.
They will be cut off
From Tyre and Sidon,
From every helper
That remains.
Yahweh is destroying
The Philistines,
The remnant
Of the coastland
Of Caphtor.”
The Philistines were going to hear the hoofs of the stallions of these invaders. They would hear the noise of the rumbling chariot wheels. Parents would not turn back to save their children, because their own hands would be too weak. The Philistines would be destroyed, since they were cut off from any help from the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon. Yahweh was going to destroy the remnant of the coastal people, who may have come from the island of Caphtor or Crete.
“The word of Yahweh
Came
To the prophet Jeremiah
Concerning the Philistines,
Before Pharaoh attacked Gaza.”
The Philistines, perhaps from Crete, had been the enemies of King David with many mentions in the biblical literature. They were, of course, the five main Philistine cities mentioned from the time of Joshua, chapter 13. Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, Gath, and Ashdod, all on the Mediterranean coast line of present day Israel. Gath and Ashdod were almost completely destroyed by the Egyptians in the 7th century. Here there is a mention of Pharaoh Neco invading Gaza. In the Septuagint Greek translation, this is chapter 29, not chapter 47 as here.
“In the one hundred sixty-fifth year, Demetrius son of Demetrius came from Crete to the land of his ancestors. When King Alexander heard of it, he was greatly distressed. He returned to Antioch. Demetrius appointed Apollonius the governor of Coele-syria. He assembled a large force and encamped against Jamnia.”
About 3 year later in 147 BCE, the son of Demetrius I called Demetrius II, the grandson of King Seleucus IV, came from the island of Crete. King Alexander I was upset and returned to Antioch in Syria. Demetrius II assembled a large army force in Jamnia. He named the Philistine Apollonius the governor of this area. Coele-syria means Hollow Syria, the area around Palestine with the sea coast town of Jamnia.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 