PERIZZITE pĕr’ ə zīt. A collective term for one of the older population groups of Pal., who lived in the hill country of Judah. The name is frequently coupled with those of other peoples living in Pal. before the conquest under Joshua, as Perizzites and Canaanites (Gen 13:7; 34:30; Exod 23:23; et al.); Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (Josh 9:1; 12:8; Judg 3:5; et al.); Perizzites and Hittites (Exod 3:8, 17; Josh 24:11; et al.). The older etymology that assumed the term to mean simply “villager” as distinguished from other nomadic peoples is now unacceptable. There is little question that a specific group or tribe is meant in the various Biblical lists. The Bible usually describes the pre-Israelite nations either by listing them as Canaanites in a list of ten (Gen 15:19), or by simply stating the Canaanites and summarizing all the others as Perizzites (13:7). The specific connotation and origin of the term is obscure; it seems likely, however, that it is an equivalent to Amorite. If this is so, then the name Canaanite is equivalent to W Sem. and the name Perizzite to E Sem. Cultural, linguistic, and historical data tend to support this conclusion. Unfortunately, several of the passages in which the name appears are often subjected to extensive emendation that obscures the difficulty. That the Perizzites are set over against the Hittites and not mentioned with the Philistines and Javans (Ionians) supports the judgment that they were not Indo-European but Sem. The mention of them with the Amorites (Exod 3:8, 17) prob. indicates that they were considered separate from the Amorites because of their more westerly location. The mention of the Perizzites with the Rephaim (Gen 15:20) has been the subject of much controversy as it would as sume either an E Jordan location for the Perizzites or a W Jordan location for the Rephaim. It appears that the latter is the case. The geographic locale on the basis of the OT citations was somewhere W of the Jordan and N of the Dead Sea in the hilly flanks between Beth-shan (Beisān) and Bezeq (Khirbet Ibzīq), extending to the base of the ridges. This would have placed it in the territory allocated to the tribe of Manasseh, but possibly extending down into the claim of Ephraim. To date the name is unknown in any but the Biblical citations, except for the sing. mention of an unidentified Pirati in an Egyp. vocabulary list and the remote possibility that it may occur in a fragment from Amarna.