Information AboutHivites |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT HIVITES | |
| hebrew bible nations | |
| canaan | |
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ORIGINS In the Table Of Nations ( Genesis 10) the Hivites descended from Canaan son of Ham. A possible origin of the name may come from the Hebrew word ''chava'' ( חוה ) which means ''tent dweller''. There appears to be a possible connection between the Hivites and the Horites ; in Genesis 36:2 a Hivite named Zibeon is described later in the same chapter as a Horite. Others claim that this resulted from a scribal error as both Hivites (Hebrew: חוי ) and Horites (Hebrew: חרי) differ in spelling by one letter of roughly similar shape. LOCATION The Hivites dwelt in the mountainous regions of Canaan stretching from Lebanon –specifically Lebo Hamath (Judges 3) - and Mt. Hermon (Joshua 11) in the north to the central Benjamin plateau in the Hill country just north of Jerusalem . Within this region we find specific enclaves of Hivites mentioned in the Bible . Genesis 34 describes Hivites ruling the region of Shechem . Further south there were the four Hivite towns – Gibeon , Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim – involved in the deception of Israel (Joshua 9). CULTURAL DISTINCTIVENESS Several key features can be inferred about the cultural distinctiveness of the Hivite peoples. First, in Genesis we find that the Hivites are one of the few peoples living in the land of Canaan that did not practice male Circumcision . Circumcision , as a practice was quite common among the peoples existing in the land of Canaan . Egyptians , Edomites , Ammonites , Moabites , and other various proto- Arab tribes practiced male Circumcision along with the Hebrews . Other than Israel’s arch-nemesis – the Philistines – the Hivites appear to be an exception to the rule of Circumcision which does lend them quite a distinction among the tribes of Canaan during this time period. The Hivites continued to exist as a distinct people group at least until the time of taken at this time. Here they are described as part of the slave labor for Solomon and his many building projects. In Joshua 9 Joshua ordered the Hivites of Gibeon to be wood gatherers and water carriers for the Temple of YHWH . Though no evidence of Hivite involvement in the Temple cult of YHWH can be found in later passages. It can be assumed the Hivite cultural distinctiveness was wiped away between the combined efforts of the Assyria n (8th century BCE) and Babylonian (6th century BCE) population deportations. REFERENCES 1.) Barker, Burdick, Stek, Wessel, Youngblood (Eds.). (1995). ''The New International Version Study Bible.'' (10th Ann ed). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. 2.) Bright, John. (2000). ''A History of Israel.'' (4th ed.). Loiusville, KY: Westminister John Knox Press. 3.) DeVaux, Roland. (1997). ''Ancient Israel.'' (John McHugh, Trans.) Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. 4.) Freedman, David Noel (Ed.). (2000). ''Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible.'' (pp. 597) Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. 5.) Wood, Millard, Packer, Wiseman, Marshall (Eds.). (1996). ''New Bible Dictionary'' (3rd ed.) (pp. 477). Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press. |
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