Reference: Amorites
American
A people descended from Emer, the fourth son of Canaan, Ge 10:16. They first peopled the mountains west of the Dead sea, near Hebron; but afterwards extended their limits, and took possession of the finest provinces of Moab and Ammon, on the east between the brooks Jabbok and Arnon, Nu 13:29; 21:21-31; Jos 5:1; Jg 11:13. Moses took this country from their king, Sihon. The lands which the Amorites possessed on this side Jordan were given to the tribe of Judah, and those beyond the Jordan to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. The name Amorite is often taken in Scripture for Canaanite in general, Ge 15:16; Am 2:9. See CANAANITES.
By the expression, "Thy father was an Amorite and thy mother a Hittite." Eze 16:3, God reminds the Jews that they were naturally no more worthy of divine favor than the worst of the heathen Canaanites.
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and in the fourth generation they shall come hither again, for the wickedness of the Amorites is not yet full."
The Amalekites dwell in the south country, and the Hittites, Jebusites and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along by the coast of Jordan."
And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, "Let us go through thy land; We will not turn into thy fields nor into thy vineyards, neither drink of the water of the wells: but we will go along by the common way, until we be past thy country." read more. And Sihon would give Israel no license to pass through his country, but gathered all his people together and went out against Israel into the wilderness. And he came to Jahaz and fought with Israel. And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword and conquered his land, from Arnon unto Jabbok: even unto the children of Ammon. For the borders of the children of Ammon are strong. And Israel took all these cities and dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites: in Heshbon and in all the towns that long thereto. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites which Sihon had fought before with the king of the Moabites, and had taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon. Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say: "Go to Heshbon and let the city of Sihon be built and made ready! For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, and a flame from the city of Sihon, and hath consumed Ar of the Moabites and the men of the hills of Arnon! Woe be to thee, Moab! O people of Chemosh, ye are forlorn! His sons are put to flight and his daughters brought captive unto Sihon, king of the Amorites! Their light is out, from Heshbon unto Dibon! And we made a wilderness even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba!" And thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.
And when all the kings of the Amorites which dwelt beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Cananites which lie on the sea, heard how the LORD had dried up the water of Jordan before the children of Israel, until they were over, their hearts fainted in them. And there was no spirit in them any more, for fear of the coming of the children of Israel.
And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, "Because Israel took away my land, when they came out of Egypt, even from Arnon unto Jabbok and from thence unto Jordan, now therefore restore those lands again with fair means."
and say, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God unto Jerusalem: Thy progeny and kindred came out of the land of Canaan, thy father was an Amorite, thy mother a Hittite.
Easton
highlanders, or hillmen, the name given to the descendants of one of the sons of Canaan (Ge 14:7), called Amurra or Amurri in the Assyrian and Egyptian inscriptions. On the early Babylonian monuments all Syria, including Palestine, is known as "the land of the Amorites." The southern slopes of the mountains of Judea are called the "mount of the Amorites" (De 1:7,19-20). They seem to have originally occupied the land stretching from the heights west of the Dead Sea (Ge 14:7. Comp. Ge 13:8; De 3:8; 4:46-48), embracing "all Gilead and all Bashan" (De 3:10), with the Jordan valley on the east of the river (Ge 4:26), the land of the "two kings of the Amorites," Sihon and Og (De 31:4; Jos 2:10; 9:10). The five kings of the Amorites were defeated with great slaughter by Joshua (Jos 10:10). They were again defeated at the waters of Merom by Joshua, who smote them till there were none remaining (Jos 11:8). It is mentioned as a surprising circumstance that in the days of Samuel there was peace between them and the Israelites (1Sa 7:14). The discrepancy supposed to exist between De 1:44 and Nu 14:45 is explained by the circumstance that the terms "Amorites" and "Amalekites" are used synonymously for the "Canaanites." In the same way we explain the fact that the "Hivites" of Ge 34:2 are the "Amorites" of Ge 48:22. Comp. Jos 10:6; 11:19 with 2Sa 21:2; also Nu 14:45 with De 1:44. The Amorites were warlike mountaineers. They are represented on the Egyptian monuments with fair skins, light hair, blue eyes, aquiline noses, and pointed beards. They are supposed to have been men of great stature; their king, Og, is described by Moses as the last "of the remnant of the giants" (De 3:11). Both Sihon and Og were independent kings. Only one word of the Amorite language survives, "Shenir," the name they gave to Mount Hermon (De 3:9).
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And Seth begat a son and called his name Enos. And in that time began men to call on the name of the LORD.
Then said Abram unto Lot, "Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between thee and me, and between my herdsmen and thine, for we be brethren.
And then turned they and came to the well of judgment which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwell in Hazezon-Tamar.
And then turned they and came to the well of judgment which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwell in Hazezon-Tamar.
And Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, lord of the country, saw her, and took her, and lay with her, and forced her:
Moreover, I give unto thee a portion of land above thy brethren which I gat out of the hands of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow."
Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, came down and smote them and hewed them: even unto Hormah.
Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, came down and smote them and hewed them: even unto Hormah.
depart therefore and take your journey and go unto the hills of the Amorites and unto all places nigh thereunto, both fields, hills and dales: and unto the south and unto the sea's side in the land of Canaan, and unto Lebanon: even unto the great river Euphrates.
And then we departed from Horeb and walked through all that great and terrible wilderness, as ye have seen along by the way that leadeth unto the hills of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us, and came to Kadesh Barnea. And there I said unto you, 'Ye are come unto the hills of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth give unto us.
Then the Amorites, which dwelt in those hills, came out against you and chased you as bees do, and hewed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.
Then the Amorites, which dwelt in those hills, came out against you and chased you as bees do, and hewed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.
And thus we took, the same season, the land out of the hand of two kings of the Amorites on the other side Jordan, from the river of Arnon unto mount Hermon - which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion, but the Amorites call it Senir - read more. all the cities in the plain and all Gilead and all Bashan unto Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Giants: behold, his iron bed is yet at Rabbah, among the children of Ammon: nine cubits long and four cubits broad, of the cubits of a man.
on the other side Jordan in the valley beside Bethpeor in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites which dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote after they were come out of Egypt, and conquered his land and the land of Og king of Bashan two kings of the Amorites on the other side Jordan toward the sun rising: read more. from Aroer upon the bank of the river Arnon, unto mount Sirion which is called Hermon,
And the LORD shall do unto them, as he did to Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto their lands - which kings he destroyed.
For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the reed sea before you, when you came out of Egypt, and what you did unto the two kings of the Amorites on the other side Jordan; Sihon, and Og, which ye utterly destroyed.
and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites beyond Jordan, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan which dwelt at Ashtaroth.
But the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua unto the host to Gilgal, saying, "Withdraw not thy hands from thy servants, but come up to us: for all the kings of the Amorites which dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us."
And the LORD turmoiled them before Israel and slew of them a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron and slew them till they came to Azekah and Makkedah.
And the LORD delivered them into the hands of Israel: and they smote them and chased them, into great Sidon, and unto the hot waters, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward: and smote them until they had none remaining of them.
for there was no city that made peace with the children of Israel, save those Hittites that inhabited Gibeon. All other they took with battle,
Thereto, the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel came again to Israel, even from Ekron to Gath, with the coasts of the same, which Israel plucked out of the hands of the Philistines. For there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
And the king called the Gibeonites and spake unto them. Now these Gibeonites are not of the children of Israel, but a remnant of the Amorites - and the children of Israel sware unto them. And yet Saul sought to slay them, for a zeal that he had to the children of Israel and of Judah.
Hastings
An ancient people whose presence can be traced in Palestine and Syria and also in Babylonia. From De 3:9 it appears that their language differed only dialectically from Canaanite, which was Hebrew. This view is confirmed by many proper names from the monuments. They were accordingly of the same race as the Canaanites. Contract tablets of the time of Hammurabi (b.c. 2250) show that Amorites were in Babylonia at that time (cf. Meissner, Altbab. Privatrecht, No. 42). At this period their country was designated by the ideogram MAR-TU. It has long been known that this ideogram stood for Palestine and Syria. At that time, then, the Amorites were already in the West.
Because of the identity of their proper names, it is believed that the Amorites were identical in race with that Semitic wave of immigration into Babylonia which produced the first dynasty of Babylon, the dynasty of Hammurabi (cf. Paton, Syria and Palestine, 25
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The Amalekites dwell in the south country, and the Hittites, Jebusites and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along by the coast of Jordan."
And they departed thence and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which river is in the wilderness, and cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and put out the Amorites that were therein.
- which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion, but the Amorites call it Senir -
And I brought you into the land of the Amorites which dwelt on the other side Jordan. And they fought with you: and I gave them into your hands. And ye conquered their country. And I destroyed them in your sight.
And the LORD did cast out before us all the nations with the Amorites which dwelt in the land, wherefore we will serve the LORD - for he is our God."
And the Amorites kept the children of Dan in the mountains, and suffered them not the come down to the valleys. And so the Amorites went and dwelled in mount Heres in Aijalon and in Shaalbim. Neverthelater, the hand of Joseph waxed heavy upon them, so that they became tributaries. read more. And the coasts of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, and from the rock upward.
Now when I went by thee, and looked upon thee: behold, thy time was come; yea, even the time to vow thee. Then spread I my clothes over thee, to cover thy dishonesty: Yea, I made an oath unto thee, and married myself with thee, sayeth the LORD God; and so thou becamest mine own.
Thou art even thy mother's own daughter, that hath cast off her husband and her children. Yea, thou art the sister of thy sisters, which forsook their husbands and their children. Your mother is a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
"'Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, that was as high as the Cedar trees, and as strong as the oaks: notwithstanding I destroyed his fruit from above and his root from under. Again: I brought you out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, that ye might have the Amorites' land in possession.
Morish
Am'orites
A people descended from Canaan, son of Ham. Ge 10:16, They dwelt in the mountains, as their name signifies, and were apparently at times in the mountains both east and west of the Jordan. Nu 13:29; Jos 5:1; Jg 1:34-36; 10:8; 1Ki 4:19. Being the most dominant and the most corrupt people or tribe they sometimes represent the Canaanites generally. Ge 15:16; 1Ki 21:26. When Abraham was at Hebron some confederated with him. Ge 14:13. A remnant out of the Gentile nations was thus associated with the heir of promise, though Lot (a type of Israel after the flesh) had separated from him.
When Israel approached the promised land, they were in the east, and refused to let Israel pass; but they were overcome, their cities taken, and the people slain, with Sihon their king. Nu 21:21-26; De 2:24; Am 2:9-10. Some must have escaped, for we read of them later, and one of the controversies Jehovah had with Israel was for worshipping their gods. Ezr 9:1-2. Solomon made them tributary. 1Ki 9:20-21; 2Ch 8:7-8. The Gibeonites were a remnant of the Amorites. 2Sa 21:2. After this nothing is heard of them. The low state of Jerusalem (Judah) by nature is described by stating her origin, her father being an Amorite and her mother a Hittite, but God in grace had compassion upon her in her degradation, and raised her into great glory; though, alas, she was shamefully unfaithful. Eze 16:3-43.
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Then came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; which dwelt in the oak grove of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and Aner, which were confederate with Abram.
and in the fourth generation they shall come hither again, for the wickedness of the Amorites is not yet full."
The Amalekites dwell in the south country, and the Hittites, Jebusites and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along by the coast of Jordan."
And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, "Let us go through thy land; We will not turn into thy fields nor into thy vineyards, neither drink of the water of the wells: but we will go along by the common way, until we be past thy country." read more. And Sihon would give Israel no license to pass through his country, but gathered all his people together and went out against Israel into the wilderness. And he came to Jahaz and fought with Israel. And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword and conquered his land, from Arnon unto Jabbok: even unto the children of Ammon. For the borders of the children of Ammon are strong. And Israel took all these cities and dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites: in Heshbon and in all the towns that long thereto. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites which Sihon had fought before with the king of the Moabites, and had taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon.
'Rise up, take your journey and go over the river Arnon. Behold, I have given into thy hand Sihon the Amorite king of Heshbon, and his land. Go to, and conquer and provoke him to battle.
And when all the kings of the Amorites which dwelt beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Cananites which lie on the sea, heard how the LORD had dried up the water of Jordan before the children of Israel, until they were over, their hearts fainted in them. And there was no spirit in them any more, for fear of the coming of the children of Israel.
And the Amorites kept the children of Dan in the mountains, and suffered them not the come down to the valleys. And so the Amorites went and dwelled in mount Heres in Aijalon and in Shaalbim. Neverthelater, the hand of Joseph waxed heavy upon them, so that they became tributaries. read more. And the coasts of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, and from the rock upward.
which pilled and oppressed the children of Israel in those days eighteen years, all that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites in Gilead.
And the king called the Gibeonites and spake unto them. Now these Gibeonites are not of the children of Israel, but a remnant of the Amorites - and the children of Israel sware unto them. And yet Saul sought to slay them, for a zeal that he had to the children of Israel and of Judah.
And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel, the children of the said nations that were left in the land, because the children of Israel were not able to destroy them, did Solomon make tributaries unto this day.
Then all this was performed, the rulers came to me, and said, "The people of Israel, and the priests, and Levites are not separated from the nations in the lands as touching their abominations, namely of the Cananites, Hittites, Perezites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. For they have taken the daughters of the same, and their sons, and have mixed the holy seed with the nations in the lands: and the hand of the rulers and lords of council hath been principal in this trespass."
and say, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God unto Jerusalem: Thy progeny and kindred came out of the land of Canaan, thy father was an Amorite, thy mother a Hittite. In the day of thy birth when thou wast born, the string of thy navel was not cut off; thou wast not bathed in water to make thee clean; thou wast neither rubbed with salt, nor swaddled in clouts; read more. No man regarded that so much, as to do any of these things for thee, or to show thee such favour, but thou wast utterly cast out upon the field: yea, despised wast thou in the day of thy birth. "'Then came I by thee, and saw thee trodden down in thine own blood, and said unto thee, 'Thou shalt be purged from thine own blood; from thine own blood, I say, shalt thou be cleansed.' So I planted thee, as the blossom of the field. Thou art grown up, and waxen great: thou hast gotten a marvelous pleasant beauty, thy breasts are come up, thy hair is goodly grown; whereas thou wast naked and bare afore. Now when I went by thee, and looked upon thee: behold, thy time was come; yea, even the time to vow thee. Then spread I my clothes over thee, to cover thy dishonesty: Yea, I made an oath unto thee, and married myself with thee, sayeth the LORD God; and so thou becamest mine own. Then washed I thee with water, and purged thy blood from thee; I anointed thee with oil, I gave thee change of raiments; I made thee shoes of Taxus leather; I girded thee about with white silk; I clothed thee with kerchiefs; I decked thee with costly apparel; I put rings upon thy fingers, a chain about thy neck, spangles upon thy forehead, earrings upon thine ears, and set a beautiful crown upon thine head. Thus wast thou decked with silver and gold, and thy raiment was of fine white silk, of needle work and divers colors. Thou didst eat nothing but simnels, honey and oil: marvelous goodly wast thou, and beautiful, yea even a very Queen wast thou. Insomuch, that thy beauty was spoken of among the Heathen, for thou wast excellent in my beauty, which I put upon thee, sayeth the LORD God. "'But thou hast put confidence in thine own beauty, and played the harlot, when thou hadst gotten thee a name. Thou hast committed whoredom with all that went by thee, and hast fulfilled their desires: Yea, thou hast taken thy garments of divers colors, and decked thine altars therewith, whereupon thou mightest fulfill thine whoredom, of such a fashion as never was done, nor shall be. The goodly ornaments and Jewels which I gave thee of mine own gold and silver, hast thou taken, and made thee men's images thereof, and committed whoredom withal. Thy garments of divers colors hast thou taken, and decked them therewith: mine oil and incense hast thou set before them. My meat which I gave thee, as simnels, oil and honey to feed thee withal, that hast thou set before them, for a sweet savour. And this came also to pass, sayeth the LORD God. Thou hast taken thine own sons and daughters, whom thou hast begotten unto me: and these hast thou offered up to them, to be their meat. Is this but a small whoredom of thine, thinkest thou, that thou slayest my children, and givest them over to be burnt unto them? And yet in all thy abominations and whoredom, thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth:, how naked and bare thou wast at that time, and trodden down in thine own blood. After all these thy wickednesses, woe, woe unto thee, sayeth the LORD. Thou hast builded thy stews and brothel houses in every place: yea, at the head of every street hast thou builded thee an altar. Thou hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, thou hast laid out thy legs to every one that came by, and multiplied thine whoredom. Thou hast committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, which had much flesh: and thus hast thou used thine whoredom to anger me. Behold, I will stretch out mine hand over thee, and will diminish thy store of food, and deliver thee over into the wiles of the Philistines thine enemies, which are ashamed of thy abominable way. Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, which might not satisfy thee. Yea, thou hast played the harlot, and not had enough. Thus hast thou still committed thy fornication from the land of Canaan unto the Chaldeans, and yet thy lust not satisfied. How should I circumcise thine heart, sayeth the LORD God, seeing thou doest all these things, thou precious whore? Building thy stews at the head of every street, and thy brothel houses in all places? Thou hast not been as another whore, that maketh boast of her winning; but as a wife that breaketh wedlock, and taketh other instead of her husband. Gifts are given to all other whores, but thou givest rewards unto all thy lovers; and offerest them gifts, to come unto thee out of all places and to commit fornication with thee. It is come to pass with thee in thy whoredoms, contrary to the use of other women: yea, there hath no such fornication been committed after thee, seeing that thou profferest gifts unto other, and no regard is given thee. This is a contrary thing. "'Therefore hear the word of the LORD, O thou harlot. Thus sayeth the LORD God: Forsomuch as thou hast spent thy money, and discovered thy shame - through thy whoredom with all thy lovers, and with all the Idols of thy abominations, in the blood of thy children whom thou hast given them - Behold therefore, I will gather together all thy lovers, unto whom thou hast made thy self common. Yea, and all them whom thou favourest, and euery one that thou hatest: and will uncover thy shame before them, that they all may see thy filthiness. Moreover, I will judge thee as a breaker of wedlock and a murderer, and recompense thee thine own blood in wrath and jealousy. I will give thee over into their power, that shall break down thy stews, and destroy thy brothel houses: they shall strip thee out of thy clothes, all thy fair and beautiful Jewels shall they take from thee, and so let thee sit naked and bare. Yea, they shall bring the common people upon thee, which shall stone thee, and slay thee down with their swords. They shall burn up thy houses, and punish thee in the sight of many women. Thus will I make thy whoredom to cease, so that thou shalt give out no more rewards. Should I make my wrath to be still, take my jealousy from thee, be content, and no more to be displeased? Seeing thou rememberest not the days of thy youth, but hast provoked me to wrath in all these things? Behold therefore, I will bring thine own ways upon thine head, sayeth the LORD God: howbeit, I never did unto thee, according to thy wickedness and all thy abominations.
"'Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, that was as high as the Cedar trees, and as strong as the oaks: notwithstanding I destroyed his fruit from above and his root from under. Again: I brought you out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, that ye might have the Amorites' land in possession.
Watsons
AMORITES, the descendants of Amori, or Haemorri, or Amorrhaeus, Ge 10:16, the fourth son of Canaan, whose first possessions were in the mountains of Judea, among the other families of Canaan: but, growing strong above their fellows, and impatient of confinement within the narrow boundaries of their native district, they passed the Jordan, and extended their conquests over the finest provinces of Moab and Ammon; seizing and maintaining possession of that extensive and almost insulated portion of country included between the rivers Jordan, Jabbok, and Arnon. This was the kingdom, and Heshbon the capital, of the Amorites, under Sihon their king, when the Israelites, in their way from Egypt, requested a passage through their country. This request, however, Sihon refused; and came out against them with all his force, when he was slain, his people extirpated, and his kingdom taken possession of by the Israelites. It was subsequently divided between the tribes of Reuben and Gad, Nu 13:29; 21:13,25; Jos 5:1; 11:3; Jg 11:19,22.
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The Amalekites dwell in the south country, and the Hittites, Jebusites and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along by the coast of Jordan."
And they departed thence and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which river is in the wilderness, and cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
And Israel took all these cities and dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites: in Heshbon and in all the towns that long thereto.
And when all the kings of the Amorites which dwelt beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Cananites which lie on the sea, heard how the LORD had dried up the water of Jordan before the children of Israel, until they were over, their hearts fainted in them. And there was no spirit in them any more, for fear of the coming of the children of Israel.
and unto the Canaanites both by east and west: and unto the Amorites, Hittites, Perezites, and Jebusites in the mountains; and unto the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh:
And then Israel sent messengers unto Sihon, king of the Amorites, and king of Heshbon, and said unto him, 'Let us pass through thy land unto our own country.'
And they conquered all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness unto Jordan.