As to the Philistines, they came up from Caphtor in the direction of Egypt; they were called Philistines because they were strangers. The Canaanites represent Satan’s power over which the people of God are victorious, as God’s army fighting for God. They were taken as enemies and treated as such — Satan simply in power. The Philistines are the thorns of Satan’s power where he has not been overcome — left and not treated as an enemy. They become an abiding source of distress and perplexity, having more power than Israel, though when God interferes, they may be beaten as by Samuel, or put down when Christ comes as by David. They are the allowed evil of Satan’s power, not the power of Satan banished or overcome by spiritual energy.
J. N. Darby