Dr Paul Allen

A team of scientists sequenced genomes from people who lived in a port city on the Mediterranean coast of Israel between the 12th and 8th centuries B.C. Sometime in the 12th century B.C., a family in the ancient port city of Ashkelon, in what is today Israel, mourned the loss of a child. But they didn’t go to the city’s cemetery. Instead, they dug a small pit in the dirt floor of their home and buried the infant right in the place where they lived. That child’s DNA is now helping scholars trace the origins of the Philistines, a long-standing, somewhat contentious mystery. In accounts from the Hebrew Bible, the Philistines appear mostly as villainous enemies of the Israelites. They sent Delilah to cut the hair of the Israelite leader Samson and thus stripped him of his power. Goliath, the giant slain by David, was a Philistine. The Philistines’ reputation as a hostile, war-mongering, hedonistic tribe became so pervasive that “philistine” is still sometimes lobbed as an insult for a...

“Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, from your gods, and from your land” (1 Sam. 6:5). The ark of the covenant bounces around the cities of Philistia for seven months, bringing affliction wherever it goes. In Scripture, the number seven typically denotes completeness. In this case, it appears that, after seven months, God’s anger against both the Israelites and the Philistines is complete. The Philistine leaders finally realize what their people already have seen—the ark must go back to Israel. But sending it back is problematic. The Philistines are dealing with their enemy’s God—the return of the ark must be handled properly lest He is angered further. There is also the practical problem of transferring a national treasure during wartime. So the lords of the Philistines turn to their “priests and diviners” for guidance. These ...

So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people” (1 Sam. 5:7-12). Although the Philistines of Ashdod remain mired in their pagan devotion to Dagon, they gradually see at least part of the truth. They come to understand that “ ‘[Yahweh’s] hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.’ ”They are quite correct that God is causing their afflictions. But the solution, as they see it, is not to abandon worship of Dagon and turn to God. Rather, they want to get rid of the ark so that they can settle back into their “blessed” life under Dagon. “They were constrained to acknowledge [God’s] power and dominion, and confess themselves within His jurisdiction, and yet they would not renounce Dagon and submit to [God],” Matthew Henry writes. Of course, the ark is a Philistine national trophy, and the residents of Ashdod are not free to disp...

Dagon Bows to Yahweh And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the LORD (1 Sam. 5:1-6). The unthinkable has happened —the ark of the covenant has been captured by Israel’s archenemies, the Philistines. While it rested in the tabernacle, it was a symbol of God’s presence with His people. In the same way, its removal is a sign to Israel that “ ‘the glory has departed’ ” (1 Sam. 4:22); that is, that God has removed His presence to chastise His people for their sin. God has allowed the ark to be taken. However, as we will see, He is fully capable of bringing it back. The Philistines take the ark to their city of Ashdod, site of the temple of Dagon, a fertility god worshiped not just by the Philistines but by other people groups in Mesopotamia, Syria, and Phoenicia during this time. The ark is set “by Dagon.” The Philistines may be placing the ark before their god as a symbol of his “victory” over ...

Dear Wife , Cleave is a strange word. It’s a contranym — a word that can have opposite meanings. In an upper story of a concrete apartment block in a small Chinese city , I watched Rene wield her cleaver like a top chef, preparing vegetables for her family’s dinner. I was impressed how she positioned her fingers so they didn’t get chopped with the carrots. “Wow! I want some of those knives to take home as gifts,” I said. Rene pointed out the window toward a shop across the busy street. “You should be able to find them there.” The name of one brand was Family Cleaver. It was easy to see how the difficulty of grasping a double meaning in English must have tripped up a Chinese translator. I was glad to discover a different brand with a happier name (that wouldn’t have implications of splitting a family apart). On the opposite side of the word, there’s the other meaning of cleave, as it’s used in a time-honored wedding text: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, a...

"Death of King Saul", 1848 by Elie Marcuse (Germany and France, 1817-1902) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 1 Samuel 22:1–23:29; 1 Peter 1:13–19; Psalm 123:1–124:8 Distress can unite people. In difficult moments, in shared pain, we discover our true friends. When David fled from King Saul , his divided family was suddenly supportive of him, as was every man in the region who was distressed or indebted (1 Sam 22:1–2; compare 1 Sam 17:28–30). A shared sense of despair reveals the humanity in us all, helping us to get past our disputes and work together for one purpose. For a disjointed band of brothers to be united beyond initial circumstance, they must have one purpose. That’s precisely what David gave his motley crew: They would fight the Philistines ( Israel ’s greatest enemies) together (1 Sam 23:1–5). David took a terrible situation and turned it into an opportunity to do what needed to be done. As rightful king, David was obligated to protect Israel. Yet it still took ...

If a person were to ask you what the most widely misunderstood story was in the Bible, what would you say? The night meeting of Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3 ? The creation story of Genesis 1? The  entire   book of Revelation ? There’s definitely shortage of competitors when it comes to “commonly misunderstood texts of scripture”, right? That being what it is, I’d suggest that the most widely  known  is probably the story of David and Goliath , and that story is  always  misunderstood…hence the title.  Usually, the story is generally taken as some sort of underdog tale meant to encourage people to tackle impossible odds, or something along those lines. Sorry. That is not what it’s about. Part of the confusion about the story is because people  assume  they know the meaning of the story based on cultural assumptions, but part of that is also from a lack of contextual understanding.  We tend to not pay attention to...

The Promulgation of the Law at Mount Sinai, by the illustrators of the Figures de la Bible, 1728 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) While God characterized him as “a man after His own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14), David also developed a good reputation among the people: “The commanders of the Philistines went out to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul. So his name was highly esteemed” (1 Sam. 18:30). The fact that his name was esteemed meant he himself was esteemed. When we say that someone has a good name, we mean there is something about his character worthy of our praise. When Moses went up on Mount Sinai to receive the commandments for the second time, he “called upon the name of the Lord. Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness and truth; who keeps loving-kindness for thousands, who forgiv...

Beersheba on the map of Israel (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) But . . . pass not to Beersheba .” ( Amos 5:5 ) Beersheba (well of the “sevens”) became a location of some importance in Israel ’s early history. Hagar (the Egyptian bondwoman who bore Ishmael ) was rescued by God at Beersheba ( Genesis 21:14-19 ). Abraham improved the well at Beersheba and settled there, built a grove and “called there on the name of the Lord , the everlasting God” ( Genesis21:33 ). It was at Beersheba that Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac ( Genesis 22:1-4 ). Beersheba figured prominently in the life of Israel. Isaac made a covenant with the Philistines there, repaired the well, and lived at Beersheba for many years ( Genesis 26:17-33 ). Historically, Beersheba is best known for the political oaths ceremoniously confirmed there with the secular nations around Israel. At Beersheba, truth later became equated with tradition. Substituting the wisdom and traditions of man ( Mark 7:3-13 ) or the world’...

Telamonian Aias is preparing to commit suicide. Reproducing illustration of an antique Greek black-figure amphora (colour litho), depiction by Exekias (530-525 BC) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Death by suicide claims the lives of more than twenty thousand people every year in the United States alone. Our awareness of its frequency is probably less than accurate simply because the obituary often reads, “She died at home,” or, “He died while on a business trip.” But hushing up the means cannot obscure the fact that thousands of people—believers and unbelievers alike—take their own lives. The Bible has some sobering things to say that are pertinent to suicide. SUICIDE BREAKS THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD The sanctity of human life is paramount in the sixth commandment, “ Thou shalt not kill ” (Ex. 20:13). Murder is condemned, and elsewhere in the law every act that endangers human life is condemned, whether the act arise from carelessness ( Deut. 22:8), wantonness (Lev. 19:14), hatred...