Philistines This differentiation was also held by the authors of the Septuagint, who translated (rather than transliterated) its base text as "allophuloi" (, "other nations") instead of "philistines" throughout the Books of Judges and Samuel. Throughout the Deuteronomistic history, Philistines are almost always referred to without the definite article, except on 11 occasions. On the basis of the LXX's regular translation into "allophyloi", Robert Drews states that the term "Philistines" means simply "non-Israelites of the Promised Land" when used in the context of Samson, Saul and David. A few biblical texts, such as the Ark Narrative and stories reflecting the importance
Philistines whose inhabitants would have been called "Palaestīnī" according to normal grammatical practice. Allen Jones suggests that the name "Philistine" represents a corruption of the Greek "phyle histia" ("tribe of the hearth", with the Ionic spelling of "hestia"). The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 states in Hebrew with regard to the descendants of Mizraim, the biblical progenitor of the Egyptians: ""ve-et Patrusim ve-et Kasluhim asher yats'u mi-sham Plištim ve-et Kaftorim."" Literally, it says that those whom "Mizraim" begat included "the Pathrusim, Casluhim (out of whom came the Philistines), and the Caphtorim." There is some debate among interpreters as to whether