Perizzites

The Perizzites were one of the Canaanite people groups that inhabited the land of Canaan before the Israelite conquest. They are first mentioned inGenesis 13:7as living in the land alongside the Canaanites during the time of Abraham. God promised to give the land of the Perizzites to Abraham's descendants (Genesis 15:20). The Perizzites are often listed among the Canaanite nations that the Israelites were to dispossess and drive out (Exo.3.8,17; 23.23; 33.2; 34.11;Deu.7.1; 20.17;Jos.3.10; 9.1; 11.3; 12.8). During the conquest of Canaan, the Perizzites were among the groups defeated by the Israelites (Joshua 24:11;Judges 1:4-5). However, some Perizzites remained in the land, and the Israelites intermarried with them (Judges 3:5-6). The Perizzites, along with other Canaanite groups, were subjected to forced labor during the reigns of Solomon and later kings (1 Kings 9:20-21;2 Chronicles 8:7-8). Remnants of the Perizzites were still present in the land after the Babylonian exile (Ezra 9:1;Nehemiah 9:8).