AMORITES Sept. 'ApeAkaioc, the descendants of one of the sons of Canaan : Sept. ?bee 'Apegaiew ; Auth. Vers. the Emorite), the most powerful and distinguished of the itish nations. We find them first noticed in Gen.
xiv. the Amorites that dwelt in Hazezon tamar,' inn rsvn, the cutting of the palm-tree, afterwards called Engedi, 4-0-0, fountain of the kid, a city in the wilderness of Judma not far from the Dead Sea. In the promise to Abraham (Gen.
xv. 21), the Amorites are specified as one of the nations whose country would be given to his pos terity. But at that time three confederates of the patriarch belonged to this tribe ; Mamre, Aner, and Eschol (Gen. xiv. 13, 24). When the Israelites were about to enter the promised land, the Amor ites occupied a tract on both sides of the Jordan. That part of their territories which lay to the east of the Jordan was allotted to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. They were under two kings—Sihon, king of Heshbon (fre quently called king of the Amorites), and Og, king of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtaroth [and] in [at] Edrei,' nirintm (Deut. i. 4, compared with Josh. xii. 4; xiii. 12). Before hostilities com menced messengers were sent to Sihon, requesting permission to pass through his land ; but Sihon re fused, and came to Jahaz and fought with Israel ; and Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Anion (Modjeb) unto Jabbok (Zerka) (Num. xxi. 24). Og also gave battle to the Israelites at Edrei, and was totally defeated. After the capture of Ai, five kings of the Amorites, whose dominions lay within the allot ment of the tribe of Judah, leagued together to wreak vengeance on the Gibeonites for having made a separate peace with the invaders. Joshua, on being apprised of their design, marched to Gibeon and defeated them with great slaughter (Josh. x. so). Another confederacy was shortly after formed on a still larger scale ; the associated forces are described as much people, even as the sand upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many' (Josh. xi. 4). Josephus says that they consisted of 300,000 armed foot soldiers, ro,009 cavalry, and 20,00o chariots (An lig. v. 1, 18). Joshua came suddenly upon them
by the waters of Merom (the lake Samachonitis of Josephus, Antig, v. I, 17, and the modern Bahrat al-Huleh), and Israel smote them until they left none remaining (Josh. xL 8, 7). Still, after their severe defeats, the Amorites, by means of their war-chariots and cavalry, confined the Danites to the hills, and would not suffer them to settle in the plains : they even succeeded in retaining possession of some of the mountainous parts. ' The Amorites would obstinamnent se, J. H. Michaelis) dwell in Mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries. And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, tvimpy 163)13 (the steep of Scorpions) from the rock and upwards' (Judg. i. 34-36). It is mentioned as an extraordinary circumstance that in the days of Samuel there was peace between Israel and the Amorites (I Sam. vii. 14). In Solomon's reign a tribute of bond-service was levied on the remnant of the Amorites and other Canaanitish nations (1 Kings ix. 21; 2 Chron. viii. 8).
A discrepancy has been supposed to exist be tween Deut. i. 44, and Num. xiv. 45, since in the former the Amorites are said to have attacked the Israelites, and in the latter the Amalekites; the obvious explanation is, that in the first passage the Amalekites are not mentioned, and the Amorites stand for the Canaanites in the second passage. From the language of Amos (ii. 9) it has been in ferred that the Amorites in general were of extra ordinary stature, but perhaps the allusion is to an individual, Og, king of Bashan, who is described by Moses as being the last ' of the remnant of the giants' (Deut. iii. II). The Gibeonites in Josh. ix. 7, are called Hivites, yet in 2 Sam. xxi. 2, are said to be of the remnant of the Amorites,' pro bably because they were descended from a common stock, and were subject to an Amoritish prince.' (See journal of Sacred Literature, April 1852, and January I853).—J. E. R.