Does the Tanakh Preserve an Accurate Echo of the Philistine Cult?

For generations the battle has raged in biblical studies about the extent to which the narrative books of the Tanakh reflect an accurate contemporaneous memory of their time and world. Given the ongoing pace of archaeological discovery in ancient Philistia, a significant part of this discussion has centered on the Tanakh`s depiction of the Philistines, their history and culture. As examples of the antipodes reflected in recent scholarship one may mention, first, Israel Finkelstein`s negative evaluation of the biblical evidence (The Philistines in the Bible: A Late Monarchic Perspective. JSOT 27 [2002]: 131–167), and, second, Avraham Faust`s more positive evaluation as based on the example of circumcision (The Bible, Archaeology, and the Practice of Circumcision in Israelite and Philistine Societies. JBL 134 [2015]: 273-90). The current presentation will attempt to contribute to this debate by comparing and contrasting the biblical and archaeological evidence relating to the Philistine cult in the attempt to determine whether such an exercise can help shed light on this nagging conundrum.