The Avim, Avvim () or Avvites of Philistia in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

were a people dwelling in Hazerim, or "the villages" or "encampments", on the south-west corner of the sea-coast. Their name is first used in in a description of the conquests that had taken place in the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

before the Israelites arrived. The passage relates that they were conquered by the Caphtorites who usurped their land. They were also theorized to be

Rephaim In the Hebrew Bible, as well as non-Jews, Jewish ancient texts from the region, the Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic term Rephaite or Repha'im (cf. the plural word in ; , ) refers either to a people of greater-than-average height and ...

based on the chapter's overall focus on historic wars against the Rephaim. A trace of them is afterwards found in . These verses mention that their land was considered part of the Canaanite land to be conquered by the Israelites: While the

Philistines Philistines (; LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philistines origi ...

at the time of the Judges and the monarchy are understood to be predominantly descended from the invading Caphtorites, the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

(''Chullin 60b'') notes that the Avim were part of the

Philistine Philistines (; Septuagint, LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philist ...

people in the days of

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

and records that they originated from Teman (land to the south). The

Table of Nations The Generations of Noah, also called the Table of Nations or ''Origines Gentium'', is a genealogy of the sons of Noah, according to the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, Genesis ), and their dispersion into many lands after Genesis flood narrative ...

in Genesis 10 and 1 Chronicles 1 also mentions Philistines coming from the

Casluhim The Casluhim or Casluhites () were an ancient Egyptian people mentioned in the Bible and related literature. Biblical accounts According to the Book of Genesis () and the Books of Chronicles (), the Casluhim were descendants of Mizraim (Egypt) so ...

. As part of the earlier Philistines they were subjects of

Abimelech Abimelech (also spelled Abimelek or Avimelech; ) was the generic name given to all Philistine kings in the Hebrew Bible from the time of Abraham through King David. In the Book of Judges, Abimelech, son of Gideon, of the Tribe of Manasseh, is ...

who ruled from

Gerar Gerar ( ''Gərār'', "lodging-place") was a Philistine town and district in what is today south central Israel, mentioned in the Book of Genesis and in the Second Book of Chronicles of the Hebrew Bible. Identification According to the Internati ...

. Because of an oath that Abraham had sworn to Abimelech the Israelites were not originally permitted to conquer their land, but after the Caphtorites had usurped them, the oath was no longer valid. Rabbinic tradition in

Genesis Rabba Genesis Rabbah (, also known as Bereshit Rabbah and abbreviated as GenR) is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is an expository midrash comprising a collection of ...

26:16 views them as one of the early races of giant stature together with the

Rephaite In the Hebrew Bible, as well as non-Jewish ancient texts from the region, the Northwest Semitic term Rephaite or Repha'im (cf. the plural word in ; , ) refers either to a people of greater-than-average height and stature in Deuteronomy 2:10-11, o ...

s and others. In the context of his New Chronology,

David Rohl The New Chronology is an alternative chronology of the ancient Near East developed by English Egyptologist David Rohl and other researchers beginning with ''A Test of Time: The Bible - from Myth to History'' in 1995. It contradicts mainstream E ...

surmises that after the Inachids were conquered by Caphtor, the Avim, whom he identifies as

Aamu Aamu () was a name used to designate West Asians in ancient Egypt. It is often translated as "Western Asiatic", but it might refer specifically to Canaanites or Amorites. The Egyptologist and linguist Thomas Schneider (Egyptologist), Thomas Sch ...

, moved to adopt

Hathor Hathor (, , , Meroitic language, Meroitic: ') was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god R ...

as patron, setting themselves up in lesser Hyksos

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

as petty rulers such as

Yakbim Sekhaenre Sekhaenre Yakbim or Yakbmu was a ruler during the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt. Although his dynastic and temporal collocation is disputed, Danish Egyptologist Kim Ryholt believes that he likely was the founder of the Levantine-blooded Fo ...

Ya'ammu Nubwoserre Nubwoserre Ya'ammu (also rendered as Ya'amu, Jamu and Jaam) was a ruler during the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt. This Asiatic-blooded ruler is traditionally placed in the Sixteenth Dynasty, an hypothesis still in use nowadays by scholars ...

, Qareh Khawoserre and Ammu Aahotepre. He suggests

Ahhotep II Ahhotep II was an ancient Egyptian queen, and likely the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Kamose. Different Ahhoteps The naming / numbering by Egyptologists of the queens named Ahhotep has changed during the years. During the late nineteenth century, ...

, who drove the Greater

Hyksos The Hyksos (; Egyptian language, Egyptian ''wikt:ḥqꜣ, ḥqꜣ(w)-wikt:ḫꜣst, ḫꜣswt'', Egyptological pronunciation: ''heqau khasut'', "ruler(s) of foreign lands"), in modern Egyptology, are the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt ( ...

Caphtorim out of Egypt, was a descendant of this earlier Canaanite group, and became the inspiration behind the legend of Io.D. Rohl, ''The Lords of Avaris.'' 2007

References

{{Eastons Hebrew Bible nations Rephaites Gaza Strip