–Arrive on Israel’s coastal plain.
Nomadic pagan warriors, possibly originally from Crete. They establish five city–states: Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath and, last but not least, Gaza.
The Philistines will be a thorn in the back of Israel for thousands of years.
Perspective: How did those battle–smart Israelites allow the Philistines to hold that strategic waterfront/gateway to the sea property?
Military historians believe that the Philistines had entered the Iron Age before the Israelites and possessed iron chariots [see Shoftim (Judges) 1:19] and iron swords—a major, and generally decisive, advantage.
So, from the perspective of Israel’s military leaders, battle during rain or floods, wherever possible, might neutralize the advantage of the Philistines’ chariots.
Shortly thereafter, against another iron chariot–enabled foe, rain did neutralize the advantage of Israel’s enemy.
King Ja’bin of Hazor brings to bear “900 chariots of iron” [Shoftim (Judges) 4:3] against the Israelites. It is possible that the flooding of River Kishon was pivotal in the overwhelming of Ja’bin’s forces by Judge Devorah and General Barak [Shoftim (Judges) 5:1: “The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Ki’shon”].
(See 1100s BCE below for entry on Devorah)