Biblical Hittites

Biblical Hittites

The Hittites (also Hethites) and children of Heth are a people or peoples mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. They are listed in Book of Genesis as second of the twelve Canaanite nations, descended from one Heth (חת ḤT in the consonant-only Hebrew script). Under the names בני-חת (BNY-ḤT "children of Heth") or חתי (ḤTY "native of Heth") they are mentioned several times as living in or near Canaan since the time of Abraham (estimated to be between 2000 BC and 1500 BC) to the time of Ezra after the return from the Babylonian exile (around 450 BC). Heth (Hebrew: חֵת, H̱et Ḥēṯ) is said in Genesis to be a son of Canaan, son of Ham, son of Noah.

In the early 20th century, the Biblical Hittites were identified with a newly discovered Indo-European-speaking empire of Anatolia, a major regional power through most of the 2nd millennium BC, who therefore came to be known as the Hittites. This nomenclature is used today as a matter of convention, regardless of debates about possible identities between the Anatolian Hittite Empire and the Biblical Hittites.

Read more about Biblical Hittites:  Identification Hypotheses