There likely would have been Minoan (Greek culture, predecessors of the Philistines from Caphtor, or the Isle of Crete) settlements along the coast of Canaan in Moses day in 1400 BC, but the Philistines would settle in this area about 1200 BC, or 200 years after the Exodus. Yet, this was known as Philistine country to the Israelites beginning in the days of Samson (1125 BC) down through David (1000 BC) until the Babylonian conquest (586 BC).

The “road through the Philistine country” would be the road along the coastal plain known in ancient Egypt as “Ways of Horus” and later in Roman time known in Latin as “Via Maris” (from the Latin translation of “The Way of the Sea” in the Septuagint from Matt.4:15). The “road through the Philistine country,” or the “Ways of Horus,” ran from the northeastern region of the Delta (formerly, the land of Goshen occupied by the sons of Jacob, Joseph’s brothers, when they arrived in Egypt originally) along the Mediterranean coast (Coastal Plain or Plain of  Sharron) and split at Dor to continue north along the coast or to cross the Jezreel Valley to connect just north of the Sea of Galilee to the route that passed through Damascus and from there to Mesopotamia.

At this time the Philistines were not the problem but the extended Egyptian forces along the road stationed at fortress. Ancient Egyptian fortresses eight miles southwest of Gaza have been excavated. A detailed drawing on the walls of the temple in Karnak shows a series of eleven fortresses along this route between Egypt northeastern border and the border of Canaan.

Ancient Egyptian records show these fortresses kept detailed lists of the people and groups moving back and forth across this border along this route. Yahweh knew his people were not ready fight their way out of Egypt, so he led them into the wilderness.

Francis Crick is an English molecular biologist, biophysicist and neuroscientist who was a co-discoverer of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953. In his 1981 book “Life Itself: its origin and nature,” Crick says the structure of life is too complicated and could not have started by accident. He says the evolution models are as likely to have happened as the assembly of a jumbo jet by a hurricane in a junk yard. Instead, Crick suggests that life was sent here by an alien civilization from the other side of the universe that was facing extinction. (Watch this video at the 1:27 mark; see book here)