Who were the Amorites?

A people established early in Canaan, the origin of whom is not known, except that they were descended from Canaan. Gen. 10:16; Gen. 15:21; Deut. 7:1; Joshua 3:10; Joshua 24:11; 1 Chr. 1:14; Neh. 9:8.

The descendants of Canaan the son of Ham, of whom the Jubusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites were branches. They were "spread abroad, and the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza: as thou goest unto Sodom and Gomorrha, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha." Gen. 10:15-19. In Gen. 15:18-21, where the land promised to Abram extends to the river Euphrates, there are ten nations mentioned: the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaims, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. Deut. 7:1; Joshua 3:10. Here and elsewhere the Canaanites are only one people of many; whereas in other places the term Canaanite appears to include any of the inhabitants of Canaan, as in Joshua 17:12-13; Neh. 9:24; Obadiah 20; Zech. 14:21. The same Hebrew word is translated 'merchant' in Job 41:6; Prov. 31:24; Isa. 23:8; so the passage in Zech. 14:21 may signify "there shall no more be the merchant in the house of the Lord of hosts." cf. John 2:16.

As for the races mentioned after these, little more is to be said than what lies on the surface of scripture: "And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite" (vers. 16-18). The Jebusites held Jerusalem, though defeated by Joshua, but not dispossessed till David. The Amorite was in the mountain land of Judah, but pushed east where on their full or expulsion the two and a half tribes settled east of the Jordan. The Girgashites disappeared from view. Of the Hivites we have the remarkable tale the Book of Joshua tells, and of its consequences, at least of those in Gibeon; for there were others further north and outside, near whom settled the latter five families, or on the coast, and also in the isle of Aradus.

The notices of the Canaanite families are more minute, as God considered His people whose duty it was to execute judgment and dispossess them of the promised land. However they might be "spread abroad" or dispersed, and seen to flourish for a while, the curse was on them, from the first on moral grounds, aggravated at last by enormities against God and man which to His eyes called for extermination.

"Amorites" nearly all the learned now follow the lead of Simonis in supposing to mean "mountaineers;" and this, says Grove, "is quite in accordance with the notices in the text, which, except in a few instances, speak of the Amorites as dwelling in the elevated portions of the country. In this respect they are contrasted with the Canaanites, who were the dwellers in the lowlands; and the two thus formed the main broad divisions of the Holy Land." Spite of the consensus of commentators, this does not, however, seem so sure. "Canaanite" can hardly be "lowlander" as distinct from "Amorite," "highlander," when Canaan is the father of all, and "Canaanite" is too firmly identified with the thought of "trader" to allow the separation. Keil disputes both derivations, saying that "the derivation [of 'Amorite'] from amir, 'summit,' is not established." Indeed, no such word is in the Bible, according to which the Amorites would rather be "talkers," a meaning to which the terrible words of the epistle of James are not needed to give a bad sense. "Our tongues are our own," is the very language of rebellion; who is lord over us?"

Six nations in which these cities were included are also mentioned in verse 8. Hittites are "the children of fear," and remind us of those "who through fear, of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb.2:15). Conquering the fear of death is part of true Christian character. The meaning of Amorites is "sayers." Sadly, such Amorite character was later found among the leaders of Israel, of whom the Lord Jesus said, "they say, and do not" (Mt.23:2-3). But let every believer fully judge the evil of a glib tongue without proper action to back it up. Canaanites means "traffickers," speaking of those who make merchandise of the things of God, such as we see when the Lord cast out of the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers (Jn.2:14-16). We too must judge fully the evil of using the precious truth of Christ as a means of material gain.

The account closes with Dan, who should have been a leader and a judge. He fails not only to drive out those who dwell in his cities, but the Amorites force him into the mountains and dwell in the fat valleys themselves. Ah! what decline is there; the enemy taking possession of the valley. The valley suggests lowliness and fruitfulness; fruitfulness because of lowliness. It is because the Lord went down into the valley of death that He could bear fruit for us, and it is only as we enter by faith into the reality of His death, and have the sentence of death in ourselves that we can be fruitful for God. And here you have instead of the people of God dwelling in the valleys, the Amorites. Amorites mean "the lofty ones" — those who are lifted up, but it is striking in what way they are lifted up. The Amorite means the lofty speaker. It means a people who talk a great deal. Their proper place, as the archaeologists tell us, was in the mountains, they were the highlanders. They are high talkers, and they drive God's people out of the valleys. Whenever you find the people of God given to talking instead of reality, making great profession, speaking great swelling words, you may rest assured that there is no lowly inhabitant of the valleys, therefore no fruitfulness.

From Moab Moses sent messengers to Sihon, an Amorite king, to request passage through their land (vs.21-22). When Sihon refused, however, Israel did not turn away, as they did from Edom. Sihon came out with an army to fight against Israel. What is the character of the Amorites? Their name means "Sayer," which reminds us of the Lord's words as to the scribes and Pharisees, "they say, and do not do" (Mt.23:3). They are those who have a form of godliness, but only know how to use their tongue to get their own way. Psalm 12:3-4 tells us, "May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things, who have said, 'With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?'"

As Israel was called to fight against the Amorites, so it is only right that we should judge in ourselves the tendency to merely speak well and not act on the truth. For this character is actually dishonest. But it does too often attack the people of God.

In the fourth generation Israel would return to the land of Canaan (v. 16), because only then would “the iniquity of the Amorites” be complete. God tells Abram this because He intended to dispossess the Amorites of their land in order for Israel to possess it, but would not do so until the wickedness of that nation had risen to a height that required the judgment of God.

Already in Gen. 15:16 God had said to Abraham: "For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." The Amorites were one of the main nations of Canaan. The idolatry of the Canaanites with their idols Baal ("Lord"), Moloch ("King") and Astaroth ("Spouse") was linked with dreadful moral excesses such as child offering and prostitution. And yet God showed grace towards these nations for more than 400 years. But once Israel came to live in Canaan the extermination of these idolatrous nations was a necessary spiritual task. On the one hand God used Israel to punish the ungodliness of these nations. On the other hand this was the only way to preserve the people of God from defilement and from taking over these sinful customs. Israel became God's instrument so to say to fulfil His moral goals (Sodom and Gomorra likewise had been exterminated by God for the same reason - but without human intervention). The disobedience of Israel in this respect unfortunately let idolatry creep in amongst the people of God. -

When Israel approached the promised land, they were in the east, and refused to let Israel pass; but they were overcome, their cities taken, and the people slain, with Sihon their king. Num. 21:21-26; Deut. 2:24; Amos 2:9-10. Some must have escaped, for we read of them later, and one of the controversies Jehovah had with Israel was for worshipping their gods. Ezra 9:1-2. Solomon made them tributary. 1 Kings 9:20-21; 2 Chr. 8:7-8. The Gibeonites were a remnant of the Amorites. 2 Sam. 21:2. After this nothing is heard of them. The low state of Jerusalem (Judah) by nature is described by stating her origin, her father being an Amorite and her mother a Hittite, but God in grace had compassion upon her in her degradation, and raised her into great glory; though, alas, she was shamefully unfaithful. Ezek. 16:3-43.