עַוִּי
an Avvite or native of Avvah (only plural)
Definition
The Hebrew word עַוִּי (ʻAvvîy) refers to the Avvites, a people group native to the region of Avvah. In the Old Testament, it is used exclusively in the plural form to denote this ethnic population. The Avvites are described as one of the peoples displaced by the Caphtorim (Philistines) from the area around Gaza (Deuteronomy 2:23). Later biblical references indicate some Avvites persisted in the land, as they are listed among the nations that Israel failed to drive out (Joshua 13:3), and their gods were worshipped by the foreign settlers brought into Samaria after the Assyrian conquest (2 Kings 17:31).
Biblical Usage
The term is used only three times in the Old Testament, always in historical contexts describing the inhabitants of Canaan and their displacement. It appears in Deuteronomy 2:23 within a historical recap of territorial changes, in Joshua 13:3 in a list of unconquered lands, and in 2 Kings 17:31 in a list of foreign gods worshipped by new settlers in Samaria. The usage consistently identifies them as a pre-Israelite people group of the coastal region.
Etymology
Derived from the root עִוָּה (ʻāvâ, H5755), meaning 'to distort' or 'to bend.' The noun is a patrial form (indicating origin) from the place name Avvah, meaning essentially 'native of Avvah.' The connection to the root may imply a characteristic of the people or location, though the exact semantic development is unclear.
Semantic Range
The Avvites represent the persistent presence of pagan nations in the Promised Land due to Israel's incomplete obedience to God's command for conquest (Joshua 13:13). Their mention in 2 Kings 17:31, where settlers worship 'Nibhaz and Tartak,' gods of the Avvites, illustrates the syncretic idolatry that led to Israel's exile. Understanding this group highlights themes of divine judgment, the dangers of compromise with pagan cultures, and the consequences of failing to fully embrace God's covenant instructions.
The Avvites were one of several ancient, pre-Israelite peoples inhabiting Canaan. Their mention alongside other groups like the Caphtorim and Sidonians places them within the complex ethnic tapestry of the ancient Near East. The biblical record treats them not as a major power but as a subsidiary people, often listed among other small nations that were conquered or assimilated by larger empires like Assyria or by the Philistines.
פְּלִשְׁתִּי (Pĕlishtî, H6430) — Philistine; a distinct, more powerful coastal people group who displaced the Avvites. כְּנַעֲנִי (Kĕnaʻănî, H3669) — Canaanite; a broader term for the indigenous inhabitants of the land, which included groups like the Avvites.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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