Caph'tor. (a crown). Thrice mentioned as the primitive seat of the
Philistines, Deu_2:23; Jer_47:4; Amo_9:7,
who are once called Caphtorim. Deu_2:23.
Supposed to be in Egypt, or near to it, in Africa.
Source:
Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Caphtor; Caphtorim
kaf´tor, kaf´tor-im (כּפתּור, kaphtōr, כּפתּרים, kaphtōrīm; Καππαδοκία,
Kappadokía, Γαφτοριείμ,
Gaphtorieím, Καφτοριείμ,
Kaphtorieím).
1. First Theory: Crete
The country and people whence came the Philistines
(Gen_10:14 = 1Ch_1:12 (here the clause “whence went forth the Philistines”
should, probably come after Caphtorim); Deu_2:23;
Jer_47:4; Amo_9:7).
Jer (loc. cit.) calls it an “island”; there is evidence of ancient connection
between Crete and Philistia; and the Philistines are called Cherethites, which
may mean Cretans (see CHERETHITES). These considerations have led many to
identify Caphtor with the important island of Crete. It should be noted,
however, that the word אי, 'ī,
used by Jeremiah, denotes not only “isle,” but also “coastland.”
2. Second Theory: Phoenicia
Ebers (Aegypten und die Bücher Moses, 130ff)
thought that Caphtor represented the Egyptian Kaft-ur, holding
that Kaft was the Egyptian name for the colonies of Phoenicians in the Delta,
extended to cover the Phoenicians in the north and their colonies. Kaft-ur,
therefore, would mean “Greater Phoenicia.” But the discovery of Kaptar among
the names of countries conquered by Ptolemy Auletes in an inscription on the
Temple of Kom Ombo is fatal to this theory.
3. Third Theory: Cilicia
A third theory would identify Caphtor with the Kafto
of the Egyptian inscriptions. As early as the time of Thotmes III the
inhabitants of this land, the Kafti, are mentioned in the records. In
the trilingual inscription of Canopus the name is rendered in Greek by Phoiníkē,
“Phoenicia.” This seems to be an error, as the Kafti portrayed on the monuments
have no features in common with the Semites. They certainly represent a western
type. It is held that the Egyptian Kafto is a district in Asia Minor, probably
Cilicia. The sea-pirates, the purasati, whom Rameses III subdued (circa
1200 bc), entered Syria from the north. The “R” in the name is the Egyptian
equivalent of the Semitic “L”. Therefore Purasatī = Pilishtī,
“Philistines.” And so it is proposed to identify Caphtor with Cilicia. A
serious objection to this theory is the absence of the final “r” in Kafto.
McCurdy's suggestion (HDB) that it represents a Hebrew waw,
written as a vowel-letter in an original Kafto, does not carry
conviction.
It is impossible to give a certain decision; but
the balance of probability seems still inclined to the first theory.
Source:
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Caphtor
A chaplet, the original seat of the Philistines (Deu_2:23; Jer_47:4;
Amo_9:7). The name is found written in
hieroglyphics in the temple of Kom Ombos in Upper Egypt. But the exact
situation of Caphtor is unknown, though it is supposed to be Crete, since the
Philistines seem to be meant by the “Cherethites” in 1Sa_30:14 (see also 2Sa_8:18).
It may, however, have been a part of Egypt, the Caphtur in the north Delta,
since the Caphtorim were of the same race as the Mizraite people (Gen_10:14; 1Ch_1:12).
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary