Lexical Definition

‎עַוִּים‎ ʻAvvîym (av-veem') Avvim ^{N:N--L / N:N--LG}
plural of ‎עַוִּי‎

Avim.

• § Avim = "ruins"
• Avvim (as inhabited by Avvites), a place in Palestine (with the article prefix)

n pr m
1) a people among the early inhabitants of Palestine located in the southwest corner of the seacoast
n pr loc
2) a city in Benjamin

Extended Information

• People who lived in modern Gaza, first mentioned at Deu.2.23

Brown-Driver-Briggs

‎עַוִּים‎ proper name

1. of a people ‎׳‎‎הָע‎ people on southwest coast of Mediterranean before the ‎כַּפְתֹּרִים‎ (q. v.) came Deut 2:23, and remaining thereafter Josh 13:3 (D²), ᵐ5 Ευαιοι.

2. location ‎׳‎‎הָע‎ city in Benjamin Josh 18:23 (= ‎הָעַי‎ ?), ᵐ5 Αιειν, Αυειμ. — See also [‎עַוִּי‎] above

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Group • Ancient people who inhabited the Gaza area

People who lived in modern Gaza

The Avvim were an ancient people who inhabited the Gaza area before being destroyed by the Caphtorim (Deut 2:23; Josh 13:3).

• People who lived in modern Gaza, first mentioned at Deu.2.23;
• only referred to as Avvim עַוִּים.

The Avvim were an ancient people mentioned in the Old Testament as early inhabitants of the Gaza region. In Deuteronomy 2:23, it is stated that the Avvim lived in villages as far as Gaza until the Caphtorim (Philistines) came from Caphtor and destroyed them, settling in their place. Joshua 13:3 also mentions the Avvim as one of the groups living in the land that remained to be conquered by the Israelites. The Avvim are not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible, and little is known about their culture or history outside of these brief references. Their destruction by the Caphtorim (Philistines) suggests that they were one of the many people groups displaced or assimilated during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age in the region.

All entries for Avvim: עַוִּים