The Sea Peoples

The Sea Peoples were Phoenicians in the Levant during the Bronze Age. Phoenician cities included Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos. The Sea Peoples attacked ancient Egypt and other regions of the East Mediterranean prior to and during the Late Bronze Age collapse (1200–900 BCE). Sea Peoples – Wikipedia

The Sea People were a confederation of about nine peoples. They were seafaring raiders.

This confederation was made up of the Denyen, Ekwesh, Lukka, Peleset, Shekelesh, Sherden, Teresh (Tyre), Tjeker, and Weshesh. Some associate Denyen with the Israelite tribe of Dan. This belief comes from the following scripture from the song of Deborah:

Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the seashore, and abode in his breaches. (Judges 5:17)

This scripture is from the 12th century BCE, which fits with the timeline. The tribe of Dan’s primary trade characteristic was seafaring, unusual for the Israelite tribes.^[21]

Let’s look at this map:

The tribe of Dan settled in the north because they couldn’t drive out the Amorites. They were driven into the mountains of Israel. Their original inheritance was lost:

(Later, when the territory of the Danites was lost to them, they went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, and put it to the sword. So, they took possession of Leshem, settled there, and renamed it after their father Dan.) (Joshua 19:47)

At some point after this, they probably joined the confederation of the Sea Peoples in Tyre. After the final battle with Ramesses III, many of the Sea Peoples were killed or captured. The captives were taken to Egypt and subsequently resettled.

So, if the Denyen are the tribe of Dan, then many of them were killed or went back into captivity to Egypt.

Tyre

The main city of the Sea Peoples was Tyre (Teresh). We know this from the oracle against Tyre from the book of Ezekiel:

Then they will lament for you, saying, “How you have perished, O city of renown inhabited by seafaring men—she who was powerful on the sea, along with her people, who imposed terror on all peoples! (Ezekiel 26:17)

The book of Ezekiel was written about 593 BCE, and this prophecy mentions Tyre’s past. It says that Tyre was “powerful on the sea” who “imposed terror” on all peoples. So, when this scripture speaks in the past tense, we know it’s speaking of a time before 593 BCE.

Let’s read the prophecy against Tyre in context:

15 This is what the Lord GOD says to Tyre: ‘Will not the coastlands quake at the sound of your downfall, when the wounded groan at the slaughter in your midst? 16 All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled over you. 17 Then they will lament for you, saying, “How you have perished, O city of renown inhabited by seafaring men—she who was powerful on the sea, along with her people, who imposed terror on all peoples! 18 Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your downfall; the islands in the sea are dismayed by your demise.” ’ (Ezekiel 26:15-18)

Now let’s go to chapter 27, the lament against Tyre. Most Bible translations, for some reason, leave out the names Dan and Javan. Here’s the proper translation:

and Dan and Javan, (going back and forth) from Uzal, traded with you wrought iron, cassia, and calamus (cane) for your merchandise. (Ezekiel 27:19)

In the Leningrad Westminster Codex, the oldest complete Hebrew manuscript, we can verify that the name Dan is in the text using the original Hebrew:

וְ דָ ן udn (and·Dan) וְ יָוָן u·iun (and·Javan) מְ אוּזָּל m·auzl (from·Uzal) בְּ עִ זְ בנַיִ b·ozbuni·k (in·fairs-of·you) נָתָ נּוּ nthnu (they-gave) בַּ רְ זֶל brzl (iron) עָ שׁת oshuth (wrought) קִ דָּ ה qde (cassia) וְ קָ נֶה u·qne (and·reed) בְּ מַ עֲרָ בֵ b·morb·k (in·market-of·you) הָ יָה eie (he-became)

This proves that the tribe of Dan had a connection with Tyre. But let’s continue and read about the defeat of the Sea Peoples by Ramesses III:

The Battle of Djahy was a major land battle between the forces of pharaoh Ramesses III and the Sea Peoples who intended to invade and conquer Egypt. The conflict occurred somewhere on the Egyptian Empire’s easternmost frontier in Djahy or modern-day southern Lebanon, in the eighth year of pharaoh Ramesses III or about c. 1178 BC.

In this battle the Egyptians, led personally by Ramesses III, defeated the Sea Peoples, who were attempting to invade Egypt by land and sea. Almost all that we know about the battle comes from the mortuary temple of Ramesses III in Medinet Habu. The description of the battle and prisoners is well documented on temple walls where we also find the longest hieroglyphic inscription known to us. Temple reliefs feature many bound prisoners defeated in battle. Battle of Djahy – Wikipedia

The Final Battle

After defeating the Sea Peoples on land in Syria, Ramesses rushed back to Egypt where preparations for the invaders’ assault had already been completed. Ramesses enticed the Sea Peoples and their ships into the mouth of the Nile, where he had assembled a fleet in ambush. Ramesses also lined the shores of the Nile Delta with ranks of archers who were ready to release volleys of arrows into the enemy ships if they attempted to land. Once within range, Ramesses ordered the archers fire at the enemy ships, pushing them back towards the fleet of Ramesses now coming in to cut off the Sea Peoples’ escape route. This Egyptian fleet pushed the Sea Peoples’ boats towards shore. Then archers and infantrymen both on land and on the ships devastated the enemy. The Sea People’s ships were overturned, many were killed and captured and some even dragged to the shore where they were killed. Battle of the Delta – Wikipedia

Whatever happens in these end times, let’s not be doomed to be last like the tribe of Dan. Let’s not go back to Egypt in slavery to sin and death. Let’s receive God’s promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Hell is real, but so is heaven. Let’s avoid the terrible fate of eternal destruction by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and savior and turning from wrongdoing. Let’s love God and our fellow human beings. By doing these things, we’ll receive the crown of eternal joy from God our savior.

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