Their origin is nowhere expressly stated in the Bible; but since the prophets describe them as "the Philistines from Caphtor" (Amos 9:7), and "the remnant of the maritime district of Caphtor" (Jer. 47:4), it is probable that they were the "Caphtorim which came out of Caphtor," and who expelled the Avim from their lands and occupied them (Deu. 2:23), and that they were the Caphtorim mentioned in the Mosaic genealogical table among the descendants of Mizraim. There is equal authority for believing Caphtor to have been the island of Cyprus, or a land somewhere between Egypt and Ethiopia, or a part of Northern Egypt Some have claimed that Caphtor and the modern island of Crete are identical; but the best authorities do not agree with this conclusion.
