Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Zephaniah 2:5
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coasts, the nation of the Cherethites, etc.] Which is a name of the Philistines in general, as Kimchi and Ben Melech; or these were a particular tribe belonging to them, that inhabited the southern part of their country; (see <093014>1 Samuel 30:14,16) those on the sea coast, the coast of the Mediterranean sea, and so lay between that and Judea: out of this nation, in the times of David and Solomon, were some choice soldiers selected, called the Cherethites and Pelethites, who were their bodyguards, as Josephusf48 calls them; a royal band, which never departed from the king’s person; (see <101518>2 Samuel 15:18) (<102007>2 Samuel 20:7,23). The Septuagint version calls them “strangers of the Cretians”; and are thought by some to be a colony of the Cretians; a people that came originally from the island of Crete, and settled here; but, on the contrary, rather Crete was a colony of the Philistines, and had its name from them; for by the Arabiansf49, the country of Palestine, or the Philistines, is called Keritha; and by the Syrians Creth; and, by the Hebrews the inhabitants thereof are called Cherethites, as here, and in (<262516>Ezekiel 25:16) and so the south of the Cherethites, in (<093014>1 Samuel 30:14), is, in (<262516>Ezekiel 25:16), called the land of the Philistines. In all the above places, where they are spoken of as the attendants of Solomon and David, they are in the Targum called “archers”; and it is a clear case the Philistines were famous for archery, whereby they had sometimes the advantage of their enemies; (see <093103>1 Samuel 31:3) and bows and arrows were the arms the Cretians made use of, and were famous for, as Bochartf50 from various writers has shown; the use of which they learned very probably from the Philistines, from whom they sprung; though Solinusf51 says they were the first that used arrows; and, according to Diodorus Siculus, Saturn introduced the art of using bows and arrows into the island of Crete; though others ascribe it to Apollof52; and it is said that Hercules learnt this art from Rhadamanthus of Crete; which last instance seems to favour the notion of those, that these Cherethites were Cretians, or sprung from them; to which the Septuagint version inclines; and Calmetf53 is of opinion that Caphtor, from whence the Philistines are said to come, (<300907>Amos 9:7) and who are called the remnant of the country of Caphtor, (<244704>Jeremiah 47:4) is the island of Crete; and that the Philistines came from thence into Palestine; and that the Cherethites are the ancient Cretians; the language, manners, arms, religion and gods, of the Cretians and Philistines, being much the same; though so they might be, as being a colony of the Philistines; (see Gill on “<300907>Amos 9:7”) though a learned manf54, who gives into the opinion that these were royal guards, yet thinks they were not strangers and idolaters, but proselytes to the Jewish religion at least; and rather Israelites, choice selected men, men of strength and valour, of military courage and skill, picked out of the nation, to guard the king’s person; and who were called Cherethites and Pelethites, from the kind of shields and targets they wore, called “cetra” and “pelta”: and it is a notion several of the Jewish writersf55 have, that they were two families in Israel; but it seems plain and evident that a foreign nation is here meant, which lay on the sea coast, and belonged to the Philistines. Another learned ma…
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