Cherethim

The Cherethim (or Cherethites) were a people closely associated with the Philistines, inhabiting the southern coastal region of Canaan (1 Sam. 30:14; Ezek. 25:16; Zeph. 2:5). Ezekiel's oracle against the Philistines includes the Cherethites as part of the coastal people under divine judgment. In the service of David, the Cherethites and Pelethites served as a royal bodyguard — elite foreign mercenaries personally loyal to the king — commanded by Benaiah son of Jehoiada (2 Sam. 8:18; 20:7, 23; 1 Kgs. 1:38, 44). They remained loyal to David during Absalom's revolt and to Solomon at his coronation. Their origin is variously linked to Crete (the Caphtorim) or to a southern Philistine clan, though no definitive identification has been established.