Hittites

The Hittites respond here with surprising respect, calling Abraham a 'prince of God' and offering their finest tombs — a generous opening that Abraham nonetheless declines in favor of a legal purchase.

The Hittites appear here as the people from whom Abraham legally purchased the cave of Machpelah — establishing that his burial ground was not seized but legitimately owned, a foothold in the promised land.

The Hittites are named here as trading partners in Solomon's international chariot and horse network — northern regional powers who bought the military assets his trade empire imported and resold.

The Hittites are listed first among the seven nations Israel will face — a powerful, established people whose presence in Canaan represents the entrenched religious culture God is commanding Israel not to assimilate into.

The Hittites are named here as one of the historically rival peoples who set aside their differences to form a united military front against Israel's advance.