The meaning of Philistines in the Bible
(From Easton's Bible Dictionary)

(Genesis 10:14, RSV; but in A.V., "Philistim"), a tribe allied to the Phoenicians. They were a branch of the primitive race which spread over the whole district of the Lebanon and the valley of the Jordan, and Crete and other Mediterranean islands. Some suppose them to have been a branch of the Rephaim (II Samuel 21:16-22). In the time of Abraham they inhabited the south-west of Judea, Abimelech of Gerar being their king (Genesis 21:32,34; 26:1). They are, however, not noticed among the Canaanitish tribes mentioned in the Pentateuch. They are spoken of by (Amos 9:7) and (Jeremiah 47:4) as from Caphtor, i.e., probably Crete, or, as some think, the Delta of Egypt. In the whole record from Exodus to Samuel they are represented as inhabiting the tract of country which lay between Judea and Egypt (Exodus 13:17; 15:14,15; Joshua 13:3; I Samuel 4).

See more on the meaning of Philistines in the Bible:
Philistines {International Standard Bible Encyclopedia}
Philistines {Hitchcock's Bible Name}

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