Foreign mercenaries who formed David's bodyguard. The Cherethites are first mentioned in I Samuel 30:14 which records the Amalekites' raid on Ziklag and the "south (Negeb, in Hebrew) of the Cherethites", an area also named the land of the Philistines (I Sam 30:16) implying that the Cherethites' Territory constituted the southern part of Philistia. The Cherethite region may be identical with the Hazerim of Gaza (Deut 2:23), a territory of the Caphtorim of Caphtor.

After David's accession to the throne he established a military unit consisting of Cherethites and Pelethites under the command of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada (II Sam 8:18). The unit remained loyal to the king when Absalom revolted (II Sam 15:14, 18); it participated in the war against Sheba the son of Bichri (II Sam 20:7), and was present at Solomon's enthronement (I Kgs 1:38, 44). The Cherethites were still mentioned in the 6th century B.C. in Zephaniah's prophecy on the Philistines (Zeph 2:4-5), possibly indicating that the Philistines and the Cherethites were identical and that the Cherethites were named after Crete, their island of origin. I has also been suggested that the Cretans arrived before the Philistine invasion of the 12th century B.C. and that the two peoples merged. However, as the Cretan origin of the Cherethites is uncertain, the meaning of the name Cherethites and Pelethites still requires further research.

Concordance
I Sam 30.14. II Sam 8:18; 15:18; 20:7,23. I Kgs 1:38,44. I Chr 18:17. Ezek 25:16. Zeph 2:5

Illustrated Dictionary & Concordance of the Bible. Copyright © 1986 by G.G. The Jerusalem Publishing House, Ltd. All rights reserved.