A serving of Philistine culture: Boar, dog and fine wine

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.