The land along the Mediterranean coast had been settled by people from the island of Crete. They had destroyed the Avvim, the original inhabitants, and had taken over all their land as far south as the city of Gaza.)

The time has come to destroy Philistia, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon all the help that remains. I, the LORD, will destroy the Philistines, all who came from the shores of Crete.

The LORD says, "People of Israel, I think as much of the people of Ethiopia as I do of you. I brought the Philistines from Crete and the Syrians from Kir, just as I brought you from Egypt.