SPECIAL TOPIC: AMORITE

SPECIAL TOPIC: AMORITE (BDB 57, KB 67)

The term "Amorite" (Akkadian, "land to the west" or "west wind") is used in four senses.

one of the several indigenous tribes of Canaan (e.g. Gen. 10:16; 15:18-21; Exod. 3:8,17; Deut. 20:17; Josh. 24:11; Ezra 9:1; Neh. 9:8 [nomadic tribes from Akkadian texts])
a general name for people to the west of Mesopotamia (cf. Jdgs. 6:10; 2 Kgs. 21:11; Ezek. 16:3, also from Assyrian and Babylonian texts)
inhabitants of the highlands as opposed to Canaanites who occupy the lowlands (cf. Num. 13:29; Deut. 1:7,19,20,44)
five Amorite kings opposed Joshua's conquest of Canaan but were defeated (cf. Josh. 10:5-10)
"Canaanite" and "Amorite" are both used in a collective sense to designate all the indigenous tribes of Palestine/Canaan (cf. Gen. 15:16; Jdgs. 6:10; Josh. 7:7; 1 Sam. 7:14; 1 Kgs. 21:26; 2 Kgs. 21:11). Usually "Canaanite" denotes those living on the coastal plain, while "Amonite" denotes those dwelling in the hill counry (#3).
For more detailed information, see ABD, vol. 1, pp. 199-202.