The Perizzites were one of the nations living in Canaan at the time when the Israelites entered the Promised Land after their Exodus from Egypt. They are mentioned numerous times throughout the Old Testament, giving us clues about who they were and where they lived.
The name “Perizzite” means “belonging to a village” or “rustic” in Hebrew. This suggests that the Perizzites were a rural people, living in unwalled villages rather than major cities. They seemed to be scattered throughout Canaan rather than concentrated in one particular area.
Where did the Perizzites live?
Here are some of the key passages that mention the Perizzites and their dwelling places:
- Genesis 13:7 – They were living in the land of Canaan near where Abraham settled.
- Genesis 34:30 – They inhabited the land near Shechem.
- Joshua 11:3 – They lived in the hill country of Canaan, in the western foothills.
- Joshua 17:15 – They were present in the territory allotted to the tribe of Manasseh.
- Judges 1:4-5 – They lived near Bezek and Jerusalem.
From these verses, we can conclude that the Perizzites lived throughout the central hill country of Canaan. They did not occupy any one particular region but were interspersed among the other nations living in the land.
The Perizzites in the time of Abraham
The first mention of the Perizzites is in Genesis 13, where it says “And the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling then in the land” (Genesis 13:7). This tells us that the Perizzites were already well established in Canaan by the time Abraham arrived there. They were one of the peoples he had to live alongside during his time in the land.
Later, in Genesis 34, the Perizzites are mentioned again in relation to the incident involving Jacob’s daughter Dinah. Shechem, a Hivite prince, raped her and then sought to marry her. Jacob’s sons tricked the men of Shechem into getting circumcised and then attacked the city in revenge while the men were still weak from the procedure. The passage says that Jacob’s sons plundered the city “because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered” (Genesis 34:27-29).
After this incident, Jacob feared retribution from the surrounding peoples – including the Perizzites – saying “I am few in number, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household” (Genesis 34:30). This shows that the Perizzites were considered a threat to be reckoned with, on a par with the other Canaanite nations living in the region.
The Perizzites during the conquest of Canaan
When the Israelites entered Canaan hundreds of years later, the Perizzites were still living there. God had promised to drive out the various Canaanite nations before Israel, and the Perizzites were included in this list:
“I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.” (Exodus 23:28-30)
Initially, it seems the Israelites did not fully drive out the Perizzites from their allotted territories. For example, the tribe of Manasseh “did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land” (Judges 1:27). Since the Perizzites inhabited this region, they were likely among the peoples who continued living alongside Manasseh.
However, we know that the Perizzites were eventually subjugated under Israelite rule. 1 Kings 9 indicates that Solomon conscripted the remnant of the Perizzites into forced labor alongside the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (1 Kings 9:20-21).
The Perizzites after the conquest
After the initial Israelite conquest of Canaan, references to the Perizzites become less frequent. They seem to have been substantially conquered and absorbed into Israelite society. However, there are a couple of later biblical mentions worth noting:
- Judges 3:5 – This indicates that the Perizzites were among the nations left in Canaan to test the Israelites.
- Ezra 9:1 – After the Babylonian exile, some of the returning Israelites intermarried with surrounding peoples including Perizzites, reintroducing the pagan influences the Exile was meant to eliminate.
So although they no longer existed as an independent nation, there was still a Perizzite presence intermixed with the Israelites. However, any maintaining of distinct Perizzite identity and culture was lost over time as they assimilated into the tribes of Israel.
The Perizzites’ relationship with Israel
In many ways, the Perizzites’ relationship with Israel mirrored that of the larger Canaanite nations. Like other groups, the Perizzites worshiped false gods, practiced immorality, and resisted Israelite dominance. Consider a few examples of how they interacted with God’s chosen people:
- The Perizzites intermarried with the Israelites, drawing them into idolatry (Judges 3:5-6). God commanded Israel not to intermarry with pagan nations (Deuteronomy 7:3-4).
- King Solomon imposed forced labor on the remnant of Perizzites living in Israel (1 Kings 9:20-21). They were made servants just as God foretold would happen to the Canaanites (Genesis 9:25-27).
- The Israelites failed to fully drive out the Perizzites as God commanded (Joshua 3:10). This became a snare to them.
- When the Israelites obeyed God, He enabled them to defeat nations like the Perizzites (Joshua 17:18). When they disobeyed, these enemies gained the upper hand (Judges 1:4, 27-28).
So in many respects, the Perizzites epitomized the pagan influences that would corrupt Israel if not purged from the land. Like other Canaanite peoples, they proved to be stumbling blocks to Israel’s fidelity to God when not fully conquered.
The ancestry of the Perizzites
The precise origins of the Perizzites are uncertain. They may have descended from an ancestor named Peraz (Genesis 10:6).
Genesis 10 lists descendants of Noah after the Flood. It includes Peraz as a descendant of Gomer, who was Noah’s grandson through Japheth (Genesis 10:2-3). If this Peraz was the ancestral father of the Perizzites, it would mean they were distant cousins to the later Israelites, both being descended from Noah’s family.
An alternative possibility is that the Perizzites descended from another ancestral father named Peresh. Peresh was listed as a son of Makir, son of Manasseh in 1 Chronicles 7:16. If this ancestry is accurate, it would mean the Perizzites diverged from the Israelites much later, as Manasseh was himself a son of Jacob.
Regardless of which genealogy is accurate, the Perizzites are depicted as being related to Israel, albeit distantly. They were regarded as kin who had diverged at some point to become a Canaanite people rather than as descendants of Shem like the Hebrews. Their ancestry from Peraz or Peresh simply marks at what point that divergence occurred.
The Perizzites’ religious practices
As Canaanites, the Perizzites engaged in the immoral and idolatrous practices associated with that broader cultural sphere. Consider a few examples:
- God said the land would “vomit out” the Canaanites for their sexual immorality and idolatry (Leviticus 18:24-30). As Canaanites, the Perizzites were implicated in these things.
- The Canaanite religion focused on worshiping false gods at places like Shechem (Judges 9:46). Since the Perizzites lived in Shechem, they would have taken part in such idolatry.
- The Gibeonites, said to be Hivites in Joshua 9:7, are called Perizzites in Joshua 17:15. Their Canaanite ancestry was evident in the way they relied on trickery and deceit.
So although less detail is provided about Perizzite religion compared to groups like the Hittites and Amorites, it is safe to assume the Perizzites engaged in the same detestable practices that characterized Canaanite culture in general. Their pagan influences threatened Israel’s spiritual purity.
Were the Perizzites giants?
There is no scriptural evidence that the Perizzites were physical giants. The Anakim and Rephaim were notable for their large stature, but the Perizzites are never described this way. They appear to have been normal human beings like the Israelites themselves.
However, the Perizzites – and Canaanites in general – were spiritual “giants” in the sense that their pagan practices seemed imposing and threatening to the smaller, weaker Hebrew tribes entering the land. The sizes of walled Canaanite cities like Jerusalem highlight this imposing presence (Joshua 15:63). In conquering the Canaanites, the Israelites had to rely fully on God rather than military might alone.
Distinguishing the Perizzites from other Canaanite groups
It can be difficult to distinguish the Perizzites from the many other cultural groups living in Canaan alongside them. Consider how they relate to a few of the most prominent of these groups:
- Canaanites – The Perizzites were a sub-group of Canaanites, descended from Ham through Canaan (Genesis 10:15-18). Sometimes “Canaanite” is used broadly to include nations like the Perizzites.
- Hittites – They descended from Heth, son of Canaan (Genesis 10:15). While related, the Hittites and Perizzites are always listed as distinct groups.
- Jebusites – Also called Jebusites, they descended from Canaan (Genesis 10:16) and were closely associated with Jerusalem throughout Israel’s history.
- Amorites – Unlike the others, they descended from Canaan’s son Amori rather than Canaan himself (Genesis 10:16).
There was much intermixing and intermarrying between these groups. But the Perizzites maintained a distinct identity from their Canaanite cousins based on different ancestral patriarchs and dwelling places.
Were the Gibeonites actually Perizzites?
An interesting ambiguity arises in Joshua’s accounts of the Gibeonites. When they are first introduced in the story of their deception of Israel, they are called “Hivites” (Joshua 9:7).
But later, when their territory is allotted to the tribes of Israel, the Gibeonites are identified as “the Perizzites” (Joshua 17:15). This could simply reflect intermixing of Hivite and Perizzite groups in the region of Gibeon. It may also indicate they originated as Hivites but later became known as Perizzites.
In either case, by the time of the Israelite conquest Gibeon appears to have been primarily a Perizzite stronghold. The clever means they used to make peace with Israel reflects the same cunning Jacob’s sons encountered centuries earlier in their dealings with the Perizzites around Shechem (Genesis 34:13).
Lessons from the Perizzites
Although not one of the most prominent Canaanite groups, the Perizzites still have important lessons to teach us:
- God purposefully left pagan influences like the Perizzites in Canaan to test Israel’s obedience and allegiance to Him.
- Intermarriage and treaties with groups like the Perizzites led Israel into spiritual compromise.
- When Israel walked in obedience, God enabled them to defeat formidable foes like the Perizzites. When they disobeyed, they fell to those same enemies.
- Israel was never able to rest on past victories over groups like the Perizzites. Each generation had to wholly follow the Lord for themselves.
Although less prominent than other Canaanites, the Perizzites were still one of the pagan influences threatening Israel’s spiritual identity. Their subtle corrupting influence illustrates why God commanded they be wholly driven from the Promised Land.
Summary of the Perizzites
In summary, here’s what the Bible reveals about the mysterious Perizzites:
- They were a rural Canaanite people living in unwalled villages scattered throughout the hill country of Canaan.
- They were already well established in Canaan by the time of Abraham and remained during Israel’s conquest hundreds of years later.
- The Perizzites intermarried with Israelites, drew them into idolatry, and became forced laborers under Solomon.
- Their ancestry possibly originated with Peraz or Peresh, both distant relatives of the Israelites.
- As Canaanites, they engaged in the immoral practices and idol worship of that culture.
- They were not giants, but were spiritually imposing to the weaker Hebrew tribes entering Canaan.
- Although related, they remained distinct from other Canaanite groups in the land.
- Their story illustrates the importance of wholly driving pagan influences from the Promised Land.
Far from being just a minor people group, the Perizzites were an integral part of the spiritual landscape God’s people had to navigate. Understanding their place in Israel’s history provides important lessons for God’s people still today.