The Perizzites were one of several groups living in the land of Palestine before and after the Israelites conquered it (Genesis 15:20; Exodus 3:8, 17; 23:23; 33:2; 34:11; Deuteronomy 7:1; 20:17; Joshua 3:10; 9:1; 11:3; 12:8; 24:11; 1 Kings 9:20; 2 Chronicles 8:7; Ezra 9:1; Nehemiah 9:8). The Bible mentions these peoples for different reasons, not just for historical or geographical information.
Sometimes the Bible lists them to show that God would defeat these people when the time was right, no matter how many they were (Genesis 15:20; Exodus 3:8). At other times, they are mentioned to show God's enemies were opposed to Israel as they moved into the land God had promised them (Joshua 9:1; 11:3; 24:11). The Bible also describes them as conquered people forced to work for the Israelites (Joshua 12:8; 1 Kings 9:20). After the Israelites returned from exile, the Perizzites were still seen as a threat to the purity of the community that had recently settled back in their homeland (Ezra 9:1).
A few times, the word "Perizzites" appears together with "Canaanites" (Genesis 13:7; 34:30; Judges 1:4–5). Once, it appears together with "Rephaite" (Joshua 17:15). The name "Pirizzi" also appears once in the ancient tablets of El Amarna.
Scholars are not sure exactly who the Perizzites were. In places where they are mentioned withh "Canaanites" they seem to be one of the main groups living in Canaan. Some scholars suggest that the Perizzites lived in Canaan before the Canaanites did, since they are not listed in Genesis 10. But this cannot be proven.
Others have tried to understand the name as meaning "people who live in unwalled villages." This view is supported by the Hebrew word, perazoth, which means "unwalled villages" (Esther 9:19; Ezekiel 38:11; Zechariah 2:4; see also perazi, which means “open country,” Deuteronomy 3:5; 1 Samuel 6:18). But since the name appears so often among other peoples whose identity we know, we should be careful about this approach.
ome scholars, instead of seeing the Perizzites as one of the main groups in Canaan, have tried to place them in specific areas:
near Bethel (compare Genesis 13:7),
near Shechem (Genesis 34:30), or
in the territory of Judah (Judges 1:4–5).
But these locations are not near each other. The mention of the Rephaim in Joshua 17:15 has led some to suggest that the Perizzites were from the region east of the Jordan River (Transjordan). But the context and the use of "Rephaim" elsewhere do not support this.