Caphtor, Caphtorites, Caphtorim

Caphtor is a place-name, while Caphtorites and Caphtorim are names for the people connected with that place.

In the table of nations, the Capthorites are listed among the descendants of Ham and as descendants of Egypt (Genesis 10:13–14; 1 Chronicles 1:12). The text lists the Casluhites as the ancestors of the Philistines. However, the prophets describe the Philistines as people who came from Caphtor (Jeremiah 47:4; see Amos 9:7).

Because of this difference, some translations move part of Genesis 10:14 and translate the text as, “Caphtorites, from whom the Philistines were descended” (New English Bible). Others suggest that the Philistines first came from the Casluhim but later settled in areas mainly associated with the Caphtorites.

Caphtor is referred to as Kaptara in Accadian, kptr in Ugaritic, and Keftiu in Egyptian. These references are to be dated from as early as 2200 BC down to about 1200 BC. The Egyptian sources are especially helpful. They identify Caphtor as Crete. However, a Jewish tradition connects the Caphtorites with Cappadocia, and the Septuagint uses “Cappadocia” instead of “Caphtor.” Because of this, some scholars identify Caphtor with a coastal area of Asia Minor or with the island of Carpathos. By the 13th century BC, the name “Caphtor” may have referred more broadly to the Aegean region from which the Philistines came.

The Caphtorites are also described as people who invaded the region near Gaza. They drove out the Avvites and settled in their land (Deuteronomy 2:23). The Caphtorites seem to have been firmly established around Gaza before Israel crossed the Jordan during the conquest of Canaan.

See Casluhim, Casluhites.