Hivites

Biblical References

• Genealogy: In Genesis 10:17, the Hivites appear among the descendants of Canaan, son of Ham, son of Noah.
• The Shechem incident: In Genesis 34, Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, defiles Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. Hamor proposes that the two families intermarry, and Jacob's sons make circumcision the condition. On the third day, while the men of the city are still in pain from their circumcision, Simeon and Levi kill them. Genesis 36:2 also identifies Aholibamah, a wife of Esau, as a granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite.
• Lists of nations to be conquered: In passages such as Exodus 3:8 and 23:28 and Deuteronomy 7:1, the Hivites repeatedly appear alongside the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, and Jebusites as peoples whom Israel was to drive out.
• The Gibeonite treaty: In Joshua 9, the Gibeonites disguise themselves as travelers from a distant country and make a treaty with Israel. Joshua 9:7 calls them Hivites, and 11:19 records that theirs was the only city that made peace with Israel. Even after the deception came to light, Israel kept its oath and spared them, and they were assigned to cut wood and draw water.
• Later history: Judges 3:3 records that the Hivites who remained in the mountains of Lebanon were among the nations left to test Israel. According to 1 Kings 9:20–21, Solomon conscripted the remaining Hivites for forced labor.

Background

The Hivites were scattered across several areas, including Shechem (in the central hill country); Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim (Joshua 9:17); and the region below Mount Hermon (Joshua 11:3). The meaning of the name is uncertain, and the name is reportedly not clearly attested in ancient sources outside the Bible.

Within Genesis 36, Zibeon is identified both as a Hivite (v. 2) and as a Horite (v. 20). In addition, some verses of the Septuagint read "Horites" in place of "Hivites." For these reasons, some scholars suggest that the two names may have been confused with each other or may refer to the same group. This view is not settled.

Significance Across Scripture

The name Hivites does not appear in the New Testament. However, in Acts 13:19, Paul carries this tradition forward when he preaches that God "destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan" and gave their land to Israel. The Gibeonite narrative, together with the story of Rahab, is sometimes read as an example of Gentiles being incorporated into the community of Israel.

Interpretation and Issues

• Treaty and oath: Joshua 9:14 notes that the Israelites made the treaty and "asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD." For this reason, the passage is often read as a warning against hasty decisions. At the same time, it is also read as an example of faithfulness in keeping an oath, even one obtained through deception. In 2 Samuel 21, Saul's killing of the Gibeonites becomes an issue, and 21:2 describes them as "of the remnant of the Amorites." Interpretations differ on how the designations "Hivite" and "Amorite" relate to each other.
• The command to destroy: Views differ on the ethical significance of the command to destroy the Canaanite nations. Some accept it as God's judgment on the sin of the land (compare Genesis 15:16). Others understand it as the hyperbolic language of ancient war accounts or as theological narration.
• Allegorical interpretation: Since the early church, some interpretive traditions have read the seven nations of Canaan as symbols of sins or vices that believers must overcome. This is a later spiritual application, not what the text itself states.
• Distinction from the Hittites: Although their names are similar in Korean transliteration, the Hittites and the Hivites are listed side by side in Scripture as distinct peoples.