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H3774 · Hebrew · Old Testament
פְּרִזִּי
Perizziy
Proper Noun — People
villager / open-country dweller

Definition

Perizziy (H3774) refers to the Perizzites, one of the seven nations inhabiting Canaan before Israel's conquest. The name likely means 'villager' or 'those of the open country' (from perazah — unwalled village). They represent the human spiritual condition before divine covenant.

Usage & Theological Significance

The Perizzites appear in nearly every catalog of Canaan's inhabitants (Gen 15:20, Ex 3:8, 23:23, Josh 3:10). God promised Abraham the land occupied by these peoples, not because they were merely obstacles, but because their 'iniquity was not yet complete' (Gen 15:16) — a profound statement about divine patience in judgment. In the conquest narratives, defeating the Perizzites was tied to taking possession of covenant promises. Spiritually, the 'Perizzites' represent everything in the soul's landscape that must be displaced so God's Word can possess its rightful territory.

Key Bible Verses

Genesis 15:20 The Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim...
Exodus 3:8 To bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites.
Joshua 3:10 The living God is among you... he will without fail drive out the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites.
Judges 1:4 The LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand.
Ezra 9:1 The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites.

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