Few peoples are described in the Bible with as much hostility as the Philistines, who lived in the coastal plain during the period it documents. In Judges and in 1 Samuel, the Philistines are described as being "uncircumcised" and presented as one of the most despised enemies of the Jewish people and its leaders, from Samson to King David. Recent archaeological discoveries in Israel, however, cast a different light on the relations between the two peoples. Research into the dispersal of Philistine cooking methods among various populations in Israel shows that the Philistines spread their culture beyond the areas under their control. While the two cultures never mixed, the early Hebrews apparently copied many important components of the Philistine lifestyle.

Excavations in Philistine cities carried out over the past several years offer a picture of a people with a rich and interesting culture that often conflicts with their biblical image. "They were very sophisticated for their time," Prof. Aren Maeir, chairman of the Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University and director of the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project.

"There's no doubt that the social organization of the Philistines was much more developed than that of the Israelites, and apparently of the Canaanites as well." An article by Maeir and his colleagues on the cooking methods and the diet of the Philistines and neighboring populations, due to appear in a forthcoming issue of the American Journal of Archaeology, examines the cultural inter-relations among the various groups.