The first-ever study of DNA recovered from an ancient Philistine site is providing a unique genetic insight into the origins of some of the most notorious troublemakers of the Old Testament.

The authors of the Hebrew Bible made it clear that the Philistines were not like them: This "uncircumcised" group is described in several passages as coming from the "Land of Caphtor" (modern-day Crete) before taking control of the coastal region of what is now southern Israel and the Gaza Strip. They warred with their Israelite neighbors, even seizing the Ark of the Covenant for a time. Their representatives in the Bible include the giant Goliath, who was felled by the future king David, and Delilah, who robbed