Hittites

The Hittites in the Bible

The Hittites were one of the peoples living in the land of Canaan. The New Korean Revised Version renders the name as het jokseok ("the Hittite people") or het saram ("Hittite person").

• Genealogy: Genesis 10:15 records Heth as a son of Canaan.
• Abraham and the Hittites: In Genesis 23, Abraham, seeking a place to bury Sarah, buys the field containing the cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite of Hebron for four hundred shekels of silver. On this occasion Abraham calls himself "a stranger and a sojourner" (Genesis 23:4).
• The wives of Esau: When Esau took the Hittite women Judith and Bashemath as wives, Isaac and Rebekah were grieved (Genesis 26:34-35; 27:46).
• The peoples of Canaan: In Deuteronomy 7:1 and elsewhere, the Hittites appear in lists of the Canaanite nations that Israel was to drive out. Joshua 1:4, describing the boundaries of the Promised Land, mentions "all the land of the Hittites."
• The era of David and Solomon: Among David's men were Ahimelech the Hittite (1 Samuel 26:6) and Uriah (2 Samuel 11; 23:39). Solomon sold horses and chariots to the kings of the Hittites (1 Kings 10:29) and took Hittite women as wives (1 Kings 11:1).
• Other passages: The Hittites also appear in 2 Kings 7:6, Ezra 9:1, and Ezekiel 16:3.

Historical Background

In the second millennium BC, a powerful state with its capital at Hattusa flourished in central Anatolia (modern Türkiye). Modern scholars call this kingdom "Hittite," borrowing the biblical name. In the early twentieth century, large numbers of cuneiform clay tablets were recovered from the ruins of Hattusa, revealing that its people spoke an Indo-European language. The kingdom collapsed around the twelfth century BC. Successor city-states are known to have survived afterward in northern Syria until they were absorbed by Assyria.

Scholars differ on whether the biblical Hittites were the same people as these Anatolian Hittites. Many hold that the "kings of the Hittites" mentioned in Kings were the rulers of the successor states in northern Syria. By contrast, the Hittites living in Hebron in Genesis bore Semitic names and lived much like the Canaanites. Accordingly, some regard them as an indigenous Canaanite group distinct from the Anatolian Hittites, while others see them as people who migrated to the region and settled there.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The Hittites appear as a foreign people from whom Israel was to remain separate, yet they are also portrayed as Gentiles who came to live within Israel. In 2 Samuel 11, Uriah is depicted as so loyal that he refuses to rest at home while the army is at war, in contrast to David, who brought about his death. Matthew 1:6 refers to Solomon's mother not by name but as "her that had been the wife of Urias," preserving this episode within the genealogy of Jesus. Abraham's confession, made as he lived as a sojourner among the Hittites and purchased a burial place, is sometimes read alongside the phrase "strangers and pilgrims" in Hebrews 11:13-16.

Interpretations and Issues

• The command to destroy: Deuteronomy 20:17 commands the utter destruction of the Canaanite nations, including the Hittites. Interpretations vary: some see it as God's judgment on idolatry, others as a command limited to a particular period, and still others as the hyperbolic language typical of ancient war accounts. 1 Kings 9:20-21 records that Hittites remained in the land afterward.
• Archaeology and apologetics: Apologetic works and sermons frequently recount that, before Hittite remains were discovered, some doubted that the Hittites had ever existed, and that excavations then confirmed the biblical record. As noted above, however, whether the Anatolian Hittites can simply be identified with the biblical Hittites remains a matter of debate.
• Uriah's faith: The name Uriah is commonly interpreted as "the LORD is my light." On this basis some suggest that he had embraced the faith of Israel, though the text does not say so directly.

In the Korean Church

The Hittites appear in preaching chiefly through the story of Uriah. Esau's marriage to Hittite women is also sometimes cited as an example in sermons on marriage within the faith.