Hivites

Who was already living in Canaan when Israel came? The Hivites are one answer, listed beside the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites and Jebusites. Genesis 34 names Shechem, “the son of Hamor the Hivite,” and in Joshua 9 Israel’s men ask them, “how shall we make a league with you?” Exodus 23:28 promises hornets to drive the Hivites out, yet Judges 3 and 1 Kings 9 show some were still there generations later, living among Israel. Joshua 9 is a good place to begin.

13 verses

Genesis

Genesis 10:17

And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

Genesis 26:34

And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

Genesis 34:2

And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

Exodus

Exodus 23:23

For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.

Exodus 23:28

And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 20:17

But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:

Joshua

Joshua 9:1

And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof;

Joshua 9:7

And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you?

Joshua 11:3

And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.

Joshua 12:8

In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:

Judges

Judges 3:3

Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath.

1 Kings

1 Kings 9:21

Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.

2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 8:8

But of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute until this day.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

One of the original tribes scattered over Palestine, from Hermon to Gibeon in the south. The name is interpreted as “midlanders” or “villagers” (Gen. 10:17; 1 Chr. 1:15). They were probably a branch of the Hittites. At the time of Jacob’s return to Canaan, Hamor the Hivite was the “prince of the land” (Gen. 24:2-28).

They are next mentioned during the Conquest (Josh. 9:7; 11:19). They principally inhabited the northern confines of Western Palestine (Josh. 11:3; Judg. 3:3). A remnant of them still existed in the time of Solomon (1 Kings 9:20).

From Smith's Bible Dictionary

William Smith, 1884

(villagers), The, descendants --the six in order-- of Canaan the son of Ham. (Genesis 10:17; 1 Chronicles 1:15) We first encounter the actual people of the Hivites at the time of Jacob’s return to Canaan. (Genesis 34:2) We next meet with the Hivites during the conquest of Canaan. (Joshua 9:7; 11:19) The main body of the Hivites were at this time living in the northern confines of western Palestine-- "under Hermon, in the land of Mizpeh," (Joshua 11:3) --"in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entering in of Hamath." (Judges 3:3) comp. 2Sam 24:7

Based on Nave's Topical Bible by Orville J. Nave (1896). Dictionary entries from Easton's Bible Dictionary and Smith's Bible Dictionary. Public domain. KJV scripture text, public domain.