Maybe because there are already major programming languages at that level already, which arguably do things better: if you are going to have a Java-like OO model, then just use Java (and leverage its ecosystem, tooling etc). Whereas there is a niche for a quick-and-dirty scripting language for just getting something up and running.
... You can still hacky script in it, my dude. I have to do that several times a year for stuff like one-off ETL's for customer data, or to verify an idea before rewriting it properly..
Absolutely nothing about modern PHP stops you from writing like the crayon-muncher you were back in the early 2000's...
You just also have the option, to, you know, use battle tested libraries and work with cohesive community driven standards now as well.
