The Philistines play a large role in the Bible as one of the longest-standing and most bitter rivals of the people of Israel, clashing with them in repeated wars. The Philistines were a remnant of the Ancient Church, or church of Noah, but had turned the deep wisdom of that church into a worship that focused solely on knowledge of religious ideas and the details of ritual, with no concept of putting religious ideas to work in living a good life. People would be esteemed for their knowledge, no matter how evil they might be in their lives. This was a particularly attractive trap for the people of Israel, who lived in a state of obedience to a long list of spiritually meaningful rules. It was easy for them to forget about the “obedience” part and focus instead on the “rules” part, which made them akin to the Philistines. This is also a threat to us in our own lives. We need to remember that simply knowing a lot and believing the right things will not make us good people -- we have to use that knowledge to treat other people in a loving, caring way.

In 1 Samuel 5,6, this signifies people in faith separated from charity. (Divine Providence 326[12])

In Jeremiah 47:2, 3, this represents people who hold false ideas, and reason about spiritual things from them. (Arcana Coelestia 705) Philistia signifies this religion. (Arcana Coelestia 727)

5414. Et vinrent les fils d'Israël pour acheter, au milieu de ceux qui venaient, signifie qu'il voulait que les vrais spirituels fussent également acquis par les scientifiques, comme tous les autres : on le voit par la signification des fils d'Israël, en ce qu'ils sont les vrais spirituels, car les fils sont les vrais, numéro 5403, et Israël est l'homme céleste spirituel d'après le naturel, numéro 4286, 4570, 4598 ; ainsi les fils d'Israël sont les vrais spirituels dans le naturel ; par la signification d'acheter, en ce que c'est acquérir, et par la signification de au milieu de ceux qui venaient, en ce que c'est comme tous les autres, à savoir, qui sont acquis par les scientifiques.