What do we know about the Hittites?

Quick answer

The Hittites were a people group who interacted with the Israelites from Abraham to David.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

The Hittites, an ancient people descended from Heth, son of Canaan, ruled areas of Syria and eastern Turkey during biblical times. They are mentioned in various contexts in the Old Testament, including interactions with figures like Abraham and Esau. The Hittites were among the groups promised to be removed for the Israelites to inherit the Promised Land, and even during David's time, Hittites like Ahimelech and Uriah served in his army, highlighting continued cultural interaction. Their story teaches us the importance of respecting and engaging with people from different backgrounds.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Hittites were an ancient people group that existed as early as the time of Abraham in the Old Testament. Descended from Heth the son of Canaan (Genesis 10:15), they ruled areas of Syria and eastern Turkey early in their history.
The Hittites are first specifically mentioned in Genesis 15:20, where the Lord promised Abraham that the land of the Hittites would one day belong to Him.
In Genesis 23, Abraham buried his wife Sarah among the Hittites in Hebron, indicating that at least some of the Hittites lived in this area during his lifetime.
The same tomb bought from Hittites by Abraham was the burial place of many key figures in Genesis—Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah (Genesis 49:31–32; Genesis 50:12–14).
Abraham's grandson Esau married two Hittite women (Genesis 26:34–35), something that his mother Rebekah despised (Genesis 27:46).
In Exodus, the Hittites were mentioned as one of the groups God would remove so the Israelites could live in the Promised Land: "I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and 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 Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites" (Exodus 3:8).
During the time of David, Ahimelech the Hittite (1 Samuel 26:6) and Uriah the Hittite were both mentioned as people who served in his army. Uriah was an important figure as he was one of David's mighty men (2 Samuel 23:39) and his wife Bathsheba was the woman with whom David had an affair. David later set Uriah up to die in battle (2 Samuel 11).
Second Kings 7:6 notes, "For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, 'Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us.'" At this time, the Hittites continued to have some influence; "kings" would have been leaders of areas of some significance.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Hittites are not mentioned in the New Testament.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

The story of the Hittites in the Bible teaches us the importance of cultural engagement and understanding. Descended from Heth, son of Canaan, the Hittites were an ancient people who ruled areas of Syria and eastern Turkey. Biblical figures like Abraham interacted with them, indicating their presence in the region during ancient times. Despite cultural differences, these interactions were significant, from Abraham burying Sarah among the Hittites to Esau marrying Hittite women. The Hittites were also among the groups God promised to remove for the Israelites to inherit the Promised Land. Even during David's time, Hittites like Ahimelech and Uriah served in his army, showing continued cultural interaction. We ought to see and treat people as being made in God’s image, valuing the differences in cultures around us. At the same time, cultural practices that are ungodly are not to be valued. We can value people and seek to understand them even if we don't condone all their practices, cultural or not.

UNDERSTAND

The Hittites were an ancient people mentioned in the Old Testament, descended from Heth, son of Canaan.
They lived in areas of Syria and eastern Turkey, and Abraham interacted with them, burying Sarah among them in Hebron.
The Hittites were among the groups God promised to remove for the Israelites to inherit the Promised Land, and during David's time, Hittites like Ahimelech and Uriah served in his army.

REFLECT

How does the story of the Hittites challenge your understanding of cultural interactions in the Bible?
Reflecting on Abraham's interactions with the Hittites, what can you learn about respecting and engaging with people from different backgrounds?
How can you seek understanding of different cultures without condoning ungodly practices or beliefs?

ENGAGE

Outside of the Bible, archaeological discoveries have been made to confirm the existence of the Hittites and provide additional information about this group. Their religion, for example, was polytheistic, believing in many gods. A leader named King Telepinus also left records that in some ways resemble the covenant language found in the books of Moses. This group existed as early as the 15th to 16th centuries BC, with modern finds affirming the mention of the Hittites in the Bible.
Why does the Bible include accounts of interactions between Israelites and the Hittites? What significance do these interactions hold?
How do the interactions between biblical figures like Abraham, Esau, and David with the Hittites reflect about how we are to interact with others different culturally from us?