From their settlements by the sea on the
low-lying plain which skirts the mountains of Judah on the west,
they pressed northwards into the plain of Sharon, and thence into
the plain of Jezreel beyond, which is connected with that of
Sharon by the upland valley of Dothan. Here, having driven out
the Danites, they came into direct contact with the tribe of
Joseph, the chief bulwark of Israel, and a great battle took
place at Aphek, where the plain of Sharon merges into the valley
of Dothan. The Philistines were victorious and carried off as a
trophy the Israelite standard, the ark of Jehovah. Their further
conquests included, not only the plain of Jezreel and the hill
country bordering it on the south, but also the proper citadel
of the country, "Mount Ephraim." The old sanctuary at Shiloh
was destroyed by them; its temple of Jehovah thenceforward lay
in ruins. Their supremacy extended as far as to Benjamin; the
Philistines had a nec,ib in Gibeah. /1/
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1. _nec,ib_ is an Aramaic word of uncertain meaning. In the name of
the town _Nec,ibin_ (Nisibis) it certainly seems to mean "pillars;"
according to 1Kings iv.
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