S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

 Though rather obscure in the scope of world history, the Hittite nation played an important role in the history of the Old Testament, and has since helped verify the accuracy of the Bible. For man...

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July 01 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jeffrey Johnson Supporter

Who were the Hittites?

In the Bible, the Hittites are described as a people who lived in the land of Canaan, descended from Heth, a grandson of Canaan. 

In Joshua's day, the Hittites are described as inhabiting the land that covered an area "from the wilderness and this Lebanon to the great river, the river Euphrates, that is, all the land of the Hittites." (Jos 1:4) Apparently, they lived mainly in the mountainous regions, which would include Lebanon and, possibly, areas in Syria.​—Nu 13:29; Jos 11:3.

They are mentioned as interacting with the patriarchs, such as Abraham burying Sarah in Hebron after buying land from a Hittite, and later as being integrated into the Israelite army, with figures like Uriah the Hittite being a notable soldier in David's army. 

In Leviticus, God described the land that the Hittites and other associated nations occupied as "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Ex 3:8). But these nations had become so corrupt that their presence defiled the land. (Le 18:25, 27)

Concerning the so-called cuneiform Hittite, Martin Noth stated: "The term 'Hittite' is not found in the ancient texts, but was invented by modern students, resting on the historical connection between this language and the kingdom of Hatti in Asia Minor." He goes on to say regarding the "Hittite hieroglyphs": "The conventional term Hittite is irrelevant and confusing when applied to them." (The Old Testament World, 1966, p. 231) 

Another historian, E. A. Speiser, concludes: "The problem of the Hittites in the Bible is complex. To begin with, there is the question as to which type of Hittites may be involved in any given Biblical passage: Hattians, Indo-European Hittites of the cuneiform records, or hieroglyphic Hittites."​—The World History of the Jewish People, 1964, Vol. 1, p. 160.

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