Lexical Definition

‎כַּפְתֹּר‎ Kaphtôr (kaf-tore') Caphtor ^N:N--L
or (Amos 9:7) כַּפְתּוֹר Kaphtôwr (kaf-tore'); apparently the same as ‎כַּפְתֹּר‎

Caphtor.

• § Caphtor = "a crown"
• Caphtor (i.e. a wreath-shaped island), the original seat of the Philistines

1) the original home of the Philistines, perhaps on the southwest coast of Asia Minor, maybe in Egypt or close by, or more probably on the island of Crete
2) (TWOT) the island of Crete, homeland or staging area of the Philistines

Extended Information

• (TWOT) the island of Crete, homeland or staging area of the Philistines

Brown-Driver-Briggs

II. ‎כַּפְתּוֺר‎ ‎כַּפְתֹּר‎ proper name, of a territory probably Crete, so Ew Kiep Di^{Gen 10:14} Gie^{Jer 47:4} and others; compare A. J. Evans^{Cretan Pictographs (1895), 100 ff.}; (> ᵐ5. Syriac Version. ᵑ9 ᵑ7. Cappadocia, certainly wrong; Mich Cyprus; Eb^{AgM 127 ff.} and others the coast of the Nile-Delta; WMM^{As.Eu.387 f.} Philistines, originally pirates from southwest coast of Asia Minor, and the Aegean islands); — ‎כַּפְתּוֺר‎ Amos 9:7 (original home of Philistines), ‎כַּפְתֹּר‎ Deut 2:23 (home of Caphtorim, see below); ‎שְׁאֵרִית אִי כַּפְתֹּר‎ Jer 47:4 the rest of the coast-land of Caphtor. — See also ‎כְּרֵתִי‎ below

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Crete • Island home of the Philistines; visited by Paul

Caphtor, identified as the island of Crete, was the original homeland of the Philistines and a place visited by the apostle Paul.

• A location first mentioned at Deu.2.23;
• referred to as Caphtor כַּפְתֹּר, or Crete Κρήτη, or Cretan Κρής.
  

Caphtor, mentioned in the Old Testament, is generally identified as the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. According to Amos 9:7, the Philistines originated from Caphtor, and Jeremiah 47:4 refers to "the remnant of the country of Caphtor," linking the Philistines to this island.

In Deuteronomy 2:23, the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, are described as destroying the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, and settling in their place. This suggests that the Philistines, who are known to have settled in the coastal region of Canaan, trace their ancestry back to Caphtor.

In the New Testament, Crete is mentioned several times in connection with the apostle Paul's travels. During his journey to Rome, Paul's ship sailed along the southern coast of Crete (Acts 27:7-13), and they sought to winter in the Cretan harbor of Phoenix (Acts 27:12). After the ship encountered a storm and was wrecked on the island of Malta, Paul continued his journey and eventually passed by Crete again (Acts 27:21).

Paul also left his companion Titus on Crete to organize the church and appoint elders in every town (Titus 1:5). In his letter to Titus, Paul quotes a Cretan prophet who described Cretans as "always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons" (Titus 1:12), indicating the challenges Titus faced in ministering to the people of Crete.

On the day of Pentecost, Cretans were among the people present in Jerusalem who heard the apostles speaking in their own languages (Acts 2:11).

All entries for Caphtor or Crete or Cretan: כַּפְתֹּר ☩ Κρήτη ☩ Κρής