Perizzites

The Perizzites (meaning: dwelling in villages) were one of the pre-Israelite peoples of Canaan, listed alongside the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites in the divine promise of the land to Abraham. They appear frequently in the conquest lists as one of the peoples Israel was commanded to drive out, and they were known to dwell in the hill country and forested regions alongside the Rephaim. Like other Canaanite peoples, the Perizzites were not fully exterminated, and their continued presence contributed to the religious syncretism that plagued Israel through the period of the judges and monarchy.