Located about 100km off Peloponnesus in the Mediterranean Sea, Crete was famous as the home and centre of the great Minoan civilization that came to an end in the 15th Cent BC (about the time Israel was making her exodus out of Egypt). Know as Caphtor in the OT (and ancient Egyptian sources), it was reputedly the original home of those be came Philistines in Palestine (Deut 2:23; Jer 47:4; Amos 9:7). Famous as sailors, Crete and Cretans are mentioned several times in the NT. They were among those present on the day of Pentecost when they heard the disciples "declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" (Acts 2:11). Titus was appointed by Paul to "straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town" on the island (Titus 1:5). Cretans also did not seem to have had a good reputation for Paul quotes one of their own prophets as saying that ""Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons"! (v12)
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Crete is not an easy candidate as a centre of ancient civilization but half a millennium before the pyramids of Egypt were build, this island was already seeing a robust culture known as the Minoan civilization, which was supposed to have produced the first paved roads (way ahead of the Romans) and flush toilets. First evidences of this ancient civilization came with the excavation of Knossos in the early 1900s by the British archaeologist Arthur Evans. Various other 'palaces' at Malia (in the north) and Phaistos and Zakro (in the south and east) show a robust economy built on bronze technology, the exorbitant purple dye (before Tyre cornered the trade) and in trans-shipment business with both the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt as well as the and the Greek mainland. Inscriptional evidences (what is famously called Linear A and Linear B) from the island suggests strong links with Greece. The island suffered severely from the eruption of the volcano on Thera, 80 miles (130 km) north, in 1530 (reputed to be 10 times more powerful than Vesuvius an four times Krakatoa), after which they seemed to have turned in on themselves before they were invaded and finished off by the Myceneans.
CONCORDANCE:
Caphtor and Caphtorites are mentions 3x each in the OT, while Crete is mentioned 5x in the NT, and Cretans 2x.
Gen 10:14 — [Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites,] Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites
Deut 2:23 — And as for the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorites coming out from Caphtor destroyed them and settled in their place.)
1 Chron 1:12 — [Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites,] Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.
Jer 47:4 — For the day has come to destroy all the Philistines and to cut off all survivors who could help Tyre and Sidon. The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.
Amos 9:7 — "Are not you Israelites the same to me as the Cushites?" declares the Lord. "Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?
Acts 2:11 — [Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes . . . ] (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"
Acts 27:7 — [There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.] We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. [We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.]
Acts 27:12 & 13 — Since the harbour was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbour in Crete, facing both south-west and north-west. When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.
Acts 27:21 — After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: "Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. [But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.]
Titus 1:5 — The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
Titus 1:12 — [They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.] Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons."
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