A: I recently read where a well-known Christian Bible teacher said “when you read of the… “ites” (in the Bible), you have a picture of the enemy of God in the flesh.” I found this intriguing, so I thought, “I will make a list all of these ites.” Well….. I don’t know if you have ever paid attention to how many “ites” are in the Bible (I hadn’t), but I finally gave up at 193, and I know I missed some! So…, we are not going to have a list of ALL of the “ites,” nor am I going to study every single “ite.”

     Instead, I am going to make a list of the top “ites” that were enemies of God’s chosen people (the Israelites) in the Old Testament. As we look at these, keep in mind that the suffix “ite” means a “descendant” of. Therefore, the Canaanites are descended from the man named Canaan, the Midianites from Midian, etc… So, here we go.

“Ite” People (Times Mentioned): Amelekites (24)
Descended From: Amalek: Son of Eliphaz (1 Chr 1:36)(Gen 36:11-12), Grandson of Esau (1 Chr 1:35)(Gen 36:9-10)
Verses: (Ex 17:8-16)(Num 14:39-45)(1 Sam 1:1-31)
Interesting Fact: For failing to destroy everything in Amalek, God rejected Saul as king (1 Sam ch. 15).

“Ite” People (Times Mentioned): Ammonites (36)
Descended From: Ben-Ammi: Son of Lot (by youngest daughter) (Gen 19:36-38)
Verses: (Deut 23:3-4)(1 Sam 11:1-11)(2 Chr 20:1-23)
Interesting Fact: They humiliated a peace delegation of men sent from David, shaving off half their beards, and cutting off half their garments (2 Sam 10:1-5). This brought war.

“Ite” People (Times Mentioned): Amorites (73)
Descended From: Canaan the ancestor of: (Gen 10:15-16)(1 Chr 1:13-14)
Verses: (Num 21:21-32)(Josh 12:1-6)(1 Kin 9:20-21)
Interesting Fact: Og, a king of the Amorites, in the land of Bashan, had a bed made of iron that was 13′ long and 6′ wide (Deut 3:11).

“Ite” People (Times Mentioned): Canaanites (72)
Descended From: Canaan: Son of Ham (Gen 10:6), Grandson of Noah (Gen 10:1)
Verses: (Gen 9:18-28)(Judg 1:1-36)(Josh 17:12-13)
Interesting Fact: Judah, in the lineage of Jesus (Mt 1:3), married a Canaanite woman named Shua (Gen 38:2).

“Ite” People (Times Mentioned): Hittites (48)
Descended From: Canaan the ancestor of: (Gen 10:15) (Likely through his 2nd son Heth)
Verses: (Josh 1:26)(2 Sam 11:1-27)(2 Chr 8:7-8)
Interesting Fact: Abraham purchased land (the “cave of Machpelah” ) from Ephron the Hittite in which he, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah were all buried (Gen ch. 23)(Gen 49:29-32).

“Ite” People (Times Mentioned): Hivites (25)
Descended From: Canaan the ancestor of: Canaan the ancestor of: (Gen 10:15-17)(1 Chr 1:13-15)
Verses: (Gen 34:1-2)(Ex 23:23-28)(Josh 9:1)
Interesting Fact: Esau married a Hivite woman named Aholibamah, with whom he had 3 sons (Gen 36:2,5,14).

“Ite” People (Times Mentioned): Jebusites (39)
Descended From: Canaan the ancestor of: Canaan the ancestor of: (Gen 10:15-16)(1 Chr 1:13-14)
Verses: (Josh 15:63)(2 Sam 5:6-8)(2 Sam 24:16-25)
Interesting Fact: The original inhabitants of Jerusalem (Jebus) (Judg 1:21)(Judg 19:10-11).

“Ite” People (Times Mentioned): Midianites (25)
Descended From: Midian: (Gen 25:1-4)(1 Chr 1:32-33) (Son of Abraham by Keturah)
Verses: (Num 25:6-18)(Num 31:1-11)(Judg 6:1-7:25)
Interesting Fact: When Moses fled from Egypt, He went to Midian (Ex 2:11-15). He later married Zipporah, who was from Midian (Ex 2:21-22).

“Ite” People (Times Mentioned): Moabites (22)
Descended From: Midian: Moab: Son of Lot (by oldest daughter) (Gen 19:36-38)
Verses: (Deut 23:3-6)(1 Sam 14:47)(2 Kin 3:21-27)
Interesting Fact: Ruth, in the lineage of Jesus (Mt 1:5), was a Moabite (Ruth 1:4).

“Ite” People (Times Mentioned): Perizzites (23)
Descended From: Unknown
Verses: (Josh 17:15)(Judg 1:4-5)(1 Kin 9:20-21)
Interesting Fact: Jacob feared them (Gen 34:30).

     God gave the land of six of these to the Israelites as the Promised Land: Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Jebusites, Perizzites (Gen 15:18-21)(Deut 7:1)(Josh 3:9-10). I list many of the Pagan/false gods these cities worshipped here.

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