Philistine language

The Philistine language is the extinct language of the Philistines, along the coastal strip of southwestern Canaan. Very little is known about the language, one dialect of which is referred in the Bible as "Ashdodit" (ie, from the city Ashdod). There is not enough information of the language of the Philistines to relate it to any other languages. One theory is that the language is part of the Canaanite dialect continuum or may have been related to Mycenaean Greek, due to the "sea people" origin theory (see Philistines).

The Ekron inscription is the first body of text to be identified as Philistine text.

External links

• The Canaanite Dialect of the Dedicatory Royal Inscription from Ekron, 2004 - A summary of articles about the Ekron inscription.