Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 27

Thread: From where did the name "palestinian" come?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Far from the madding crowd
    Posts
    842

    Default From where did the name "palestinian" come?

    The origin of this study conducted by David C. Pack (his relationship with Herbert W. Armstrong leaves his study somewhat suspect I realize) and cites references, so here is the site for the whole study:

    http://www.thercg.org/articles/patp.html#c

    The name Palestine encompasses the ancient Holy Land and the modern nation of Israel. But it is not the original name for that country. The Romans assigned this name about the second century A.D.

    Some believe that Israel today was once called Palestine millennia ago. The word Palestine does not occur in the original Hebrew or Greek Bible texts. The Hebrew term Pelesheth, which refers to the land of the ancient Philistines—Philistia—is erroneously translated in the King James Version as “Palestina” in Exodus 15:14 and in Isaiah 14:29 and 31, and as “Palestine” in Joel 3:4. The New King James Version correctly reads “Philistia”—the land of the Philistines—in every case noted above.

    While they were still in Egypt, God revealed to Israel how they would obtain the land of Canaan—the Promised Land: “And I am come down to deliver them [Israelites] out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large [land], unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites” (Ex. 3:.
    These peoples, as far as lineages can be traced, were descendants of Ham. Collectively, they were called Canaanites, and the land was often referred to as Canaan (Gen. 10:15-20).
    Palestinians today insist that they inhabited the land of Canaan before God gave it to Israel. But they are either seriously misinformed or willfully ignorant. The Canaanites described above were definitely not of Arab descent. The Arabic peoples are descendants of Ishmael, who descended from Shem. The peoples of Tunisia, Malta, Algeria and Sicily of today are of similar descent as these Canaanites.
    The peoples who now call themselves Palestinians correctly acknowledge the common ancestry of Abraham, just as the Jews and Arabs claim.
    Let’s review some of this tribal lineage to better understand the origin of the Jews and Arabs.
    Abraham had two sons: Isaac (by his wife, Sarah) and Ishmael (by Hagar, her handmaid). Though Abraham passed the birthright to Isaac, Ishmael was also blessed, becoming the progenitor of the Arabs. Twelve princes, sons of Ishmael (Gen. 25:16), went on to form major Arab nations—not insignificant nomadic tribes. These peoples intermarried primarily with the Egyptians and were located south of Canaan, known as Arabia.
    Isaac had two sons: Jacob and Esau. Abraham and Isaac’s God-given birthright was passed on to Jacob. Esau, like his uncle Ishmael, was also blessed with wealth and offspring. He moved away from Canaan to a region called Mount Seir, just south of the land of Moab (southeast of the Dead Sea). Esau was also called Edom, and his offspring were known as Edomites. Many rulers, nobles and kings were borne of Esau (Gen. 36). Esau married Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael (Gen. 28:9). He also had a number of wives from various other nations. His offspring continued to marry into the families of Ishmael, as well as other peoples.
    Meanwhile, Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel, had twelve sons—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulon, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph and Benjamin—the twelve tribes of Israel. While in Egypt for nearly two and a half centuries, the tribes of Israel grew vastly in numbers. The birthright was passed from Jacob (or Israel) to Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Israel effectively became thirteen tribes. The birthright remained with Ephraim and Manasseh, and began to be fulfilled in about A.D. 1800.


    Major population shifts occurred in the area before the Jews’ arrival between 1917 and 1948: “The spread of Islam introduced a very considerable Neo-Arabian infusion. Those from southern Arabia were known as the Yaman tribe, those from northern Arabia the Kais (Qais). These two divisions absorbed the previous peasant population, and still nominally exist [as of 1910]; down to the middle of the 19th century they were a fruitful source of quarrels and of bloodshed.” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. 20, p. 604). Note that these people were inclined toward quarreling and infighting.
    The “infusion” of Arabians coincided with the expansion of Islam. Their presence in the Holy Land began about the seventh century A.D. These waves of migration continued as the Turks pushed north, and west, spreading Islam by the edge of the sword. By the tenth century A.D., the Turks had conquered the former land of Judea, as well as Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. By the eleventh century, they controlled the bulk of Asia Minor. The Arabians—descendants of Ishmael as well as Esau—claimed the land from that time until the present.
    Many of the particular nationalities that live in Judea and Jerusalem do not intermix and intermarry with other peoples or nationalities.
    Notice this reference about the Samaritans: “The most interesting of all the non-Arab communities in the country, however, is without doubt the Samaritan sect in Nablus (Shechem); a gradually disappearing body, which has maintained an independent existence from the time they were first settled by the Assyrians to occupy the land left waste by the captivity of the kingdom of Israel” (Ibid.).
    Like the Samaritans, the original Canaanite nations and the Philistines also diminished in size and had long since emigrated. Much of this occurred during the time of David and Solomon. An example is the Hivites, who were “hewers of wood and drawers of water” (Josh. 9:21). “And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel, their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day” (I Kgs. 9:20-21).
    Modern descendants of these former bond servants exist only in occasional lineages of certain modern inhabitants of the nation of Israel. The percentage of that bloodline would only be small, being diluted by many generations.
    Arabs comprise the bulk of the remaining residents. Not only did the term “Palestine” originate as late as the Byzantine era, the Arabs who call themselves “Palestinian” did not lay claim to the Holy Land until about the tenth century A.D.
    Relatively few Arabs were in the region when the Jews returned in 1917. Shortly before then, the population of the Holy Land was estimated at about 650,000 permanent residents. More than 65% were Islamic (Ibid.). Only after the Jews established their nation in 1948 did the masses of these Arabic peoples feel drawn to this particular territory. The population of Palestinians swelled dramatically after the Jews brought about vast improvements in agricultural production. They established irrigation and re-introduced efficient means of agriculture.
    Understandably, many took advantage of gainful employment provided by the Jews in developing the land and building a needed infrastructure for the tiny nation of Israel. These local laborers were called fellahin, or agricultural workers. Previously, the Arabs had only used primitive methods. Without the innovations introduced by the Jews, the fellahin had been restrained by their own superstitions, which prohibited advancements and efficiency in agriculture. So, initially, a mutual benefit existed, and the two peoples worked together.
    But the Jews were never welcomed by Arab leaders who harbored jealousy and ancient resentment. No consideration was given to the willingness of the Jews to advance the cause of the fellahin.
    Golda Meir, former Prime Minister of Israel, offered some insightful comments on this. Herbert W. Armstrong, a friend and confidant of Mrs. Meir and many other Middle Eastern leaders, recorded her words in 1971. Keep in mind that these statements followed the 1967 War:
    “Then she told us of the Israelis’ ability and willingness to help their Arab neighbors. This small but remarkable nation now sends its experts and its technology throughout the deepest parts of Africa and to even more remote places in the world to help under-developed nations.
    “‘How easy it would be,’ she said earnestly, ‘to send the same teams across the border into Jordan, or across the canal into Egypt, and how much prosperity and happiness would be brought to this entire area of the world by peace...
    “‘We don’t want to have to go on winning more and more victories,’ she added. ‘We only want peace...’”
    Then Mr. Armstrong reflected upon Mrs. Meir’s words: “What a deplorable tragedy that the whole world cannot now have the kind of peace, with prosperity and happiness that Prime Minister Golda Meir expressed a desire for—each nation cooperating with its neighbor.
    “But the reason is summed up in the biblical statement: ‘The way of peace they know not.’ There has, of necessity, to be a cause for every effect. There will have to be a cause to produce peace. That cause is a way of life” (Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong, Vol. 2, pp. 500-501).
    Today, Palestinian leaders and Islamic clerics have rejected gestures of mutual cooperation from the Jews, because their ancient hatreds stand in the way. Their only plan regarding Israel is nothing less than the extinction of all Jews.
    Ownership of the territory is another controversial issue. The Palestinians claim to be the ancient owners of Palestine. Yet we see that they only took possession of the land in the wake of the Turkish campaign through that region in about the tenth century A.D. The claim made by ancient Israel precedes this claim by about 2,300 years.
    How ironic that these Palestinians accuse the Jews of depriving them of their home when (1) the vast majority of them moved to Israel after the Jews reclaimed the land from desolation and ruin, and (2) their Arab relatives in the world of Islam own over 1,000 times more real estate than exists within the boundaries of tiny Israel. Remember when thousands of Palestinians were expelled from Kuwait in 1991 after they were found conspiring with the Iraqis in selling out their host country?
    The following scriptures show how the true Owner of this and all land everywhere expressed this “land transfer”: “And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which He swore to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that He swore unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass” (Josh. 21:43-45).
    Joshua 24:13 covers more details: “And I [the Lord] have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you built not, and you dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which you planted not do you eat.”
    Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death , but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Posts
    1,073

    Cool

    Excellent post!
    "The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." Eden Phillpotts

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Far from the madding crowd
    Posts
    842

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Gercarson View Post
    Excellent post!

    Thank you. Been studying the land issue in the ME for awhile and, as we well know, the land is not the issue. The issue was, is and always will be the hatred the Muslims have for Israel.
    Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death , but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    894

    Default

    So, using this logic:
    Ownership of the territory is another controversial issue. The Palestinians claim to be the ancient owners of Palestine. Yet we see that they only took possession of the land in the wake of the Turkish campaign through that region in about the tenth century A.D. The claim made by ancient Israel precedes this claim by about 2,300 years.
    shouldn't the United States be returned to the control of the Native American Indians?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    894

    Default

    For a more accurate review of the use of the word "Palestine" this article lays out the timeline with quoted references:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timelin...name_Palestine

    here are some of its earliest references among those of the day:
    c.450 BCE: Herodotus, The Histories, First historical reference clearly denoting a wider region than biblical Philistia. Refers to a "district of Syria, called Palaistinę"[5][6][7] One important reference refers to the practice of male circumcision associated with the Hebrew people:
    "the Colchians, the Egyptians, and the Ethiopians, are the only nations who have practised circumcision from the earliest times. The Phoenicians and the Syrians of Palestine themselves confess that they learnt the custom of the Egyptians.... Now these are the only nations who use circumcision"[8]
    c.340 BC: Aristotle, Meteorology,
    "Again if, as is fabled, there is a lake in Palestine, such that if you bind a man or beast and throw it in it floats and does not sink, this would bear out what we have said. They say that this lake is so bitter and salt that no fish live in it and that if you soak clothes in it and shake them it cleans them.".
    This is understood by scholars to be a reference to the Dead Sea[9]
    Much more at the site above.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    CT
    Posts
    4,031

    Default

    Great! So they can all move out of Israel and into Syria and let all their "muslim brothers" take care of them, then everyone will be happy!

    See, so they already have their "historical" PA state.

    And as to your issue with the American Indians....yes, if the American Indians then turned around and conquered Americans and took back their land to occupy as a nation again, then it would be theirs, just like Israel did.

    Possession is 9/10's of the law :)


    Don’t buy from a faceless chain.
    Buy from a friend.


    Shop Avon Online! - www.LizMetcalf.com
    Liz Metcalf
    - The Tree of Liberty's Avon Lady

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Far from the madding crowd
    Posts
    842

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Theresej View Post
    So, using this logic:
    Ownership of the territory is another controversial issue. The Palestinians claim to be the ancient owners of Palestine. Yet we see that they only took possession of the land in the wake of the Turkish campaign through that region in about the tenth century A.D. The claim made by ancient Israel precedes this claim by about 2,300 years.
    shouldn't the United States be returned to the control of the Native American Indians?

    Actually, possession of the land was reinstated to Israel by the Partition Plan for Palestine via UN resolution 181 on 29 Nov 47. It seems that all agreed except the Arabs. This triggered a war one day after Israel was declared a state of its own on 14 May 48. The Jews won.
    Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death , but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    894

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Bethshaya View Post
    Great! So they can all move out of Israel and into Syria and let all their "muslim brothers" take care of them, then everyone will be happy!

    See, so they already have their "historical" PA state.
    Isn't the Dead Sea, mentioned by Aristotle as being in Palestine, in Israel?

    And as to your issue with the American Indians....yes, if the American Indians then turned around and conquered Americans and took back their land to occupy as a nation again, then it would be theirs, just like Israel did.

    Possession is 9/10's of the law :)
    I wasn't aware that the State of Israel came into existance through the process of conquering the land . . . . I thought the UN gave it to them . .. .

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    894

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by RossLunch View Post
    Actually, possession of the land was reinstated to Israel by the Partition Plan for Palestine via UN resolution 181 on 29 Nov 47. It seems that all agreed except the Arabs. This triggered a war one day after Israel was declared a state of its own on 14 May 48. The Jews won.
    So the basis of my question; if their prior possession thousands of years ago is a legitimate reason for the land to have been returned to the Jews by the UN, shouldn't the land of the United States be returned to the control of the Native American Indians by the same logic?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    2,521

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Theresej View Post
    So the basis of my question; if their prior possession thousands of years ago is a legitimate reason for the land to have been returned to the Jews by the UN, shouldn't the land of the United States be returned to the control of the Native American Indians by the same logic?
    Actually, the U.N. has already done this and your land may not be your land anymore!

    http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/ga10612.doc.htm
    But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •