← People

Person · Early Patriarch

Heth

Man living at the time of the Patriarchs

Heth was a son of Canaan and the ancestor of the Hittites, a prominent people group in the ancient Near East.

🗺 Places mentioned alongside Heth on the map →

Also known as Hittite

Heth, also known as the Hittites, was a descendant of Canaan, the son of Ham, according to the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 (Gen.10.15; 1Ch.1.13). The Hittites were a prominent people group in the ancient Near East, and they are frequently mentioned throughout the Old Testament. Abraham had dealings with the Hittites when he purchased the cave of Machpelah as a burial site for his wife Sarah (Gen.23). This cave later became the burial place for Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Israel (or 'Jacob') (Gen.25.9-10; 49.29-32; 50.13). Esau, Isaac's son, married two Hittite women, which caused grief for his parents (Gen.26.34-35; 27.46). The Hittites are listed among the inhabitants of the Promised Land that God would drive out before the Israelites (Exo.3.8,17; 13.5; 23.23,28; 33.2; 34.11; Deu.7.1; 20.17; Jos.1.4; 3.10; 9.1; 11.3; 12.8; 24.11; Jdg.3.5; 1Ki.9.20; 2Ch.8.7; Ezr.9.1; Neh.9.8). During the time of the united monarchy, the Hittites are mentioned in connection with David's reign, particularly in the story of Uriah the Hittite, one of David's mighty men (2Sa.11; 23.39; 1Ch.11.41). Solomon had trade relations with the Hittites and even married Hittite women (1Ki.10.29; 11.1; 2Ch.1.17). The Hittites are also mentioned in the prophetic books as a point of comparison or as part of a list of nations (Isa.1.1; Ezk.16.3,45).

Family

Father
Canaan

Bible dictionary

Heth Easton Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

Dread, a descendant of Canaan, and the ancestor of the Hittites (Gen. 10:18; Deut. 7:1), who dwelt in the vicinity of Hebron (Gen. 23:3, 7). The Hittites were a Hamitic race. They are called “the sons of Heth” (Gen. 23:3, 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20).

Read the full entry →

Heth Smith Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1863)

(terror), the forefather of the nation of the Hittites. In the genealogical tables of (Genesis 10:15) and 1Chr 1:13 Heth is a son of Canaan. (Genesis 24:3,4; 28:1,2)

Read the full entry →

Heth Hitchcock Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary (1869)

trembling; fear

Read the full entry →

Heth Hastings Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (1898)

HETH (terror), one of the sons of Canaan, of the family of Ham, and progenitor of the Hittites. Gen 10:15; Gen 23:3,Gen 23:5,Gen 23:7,Acts 23:10,Gen 23:16,Gen 23:18,Gen 23:20; Gen 25:10; Gen 27:46; Gen 49:32; 1 Chr 1:13. See Hittites.

Read the full entry →

Heth Schaff Schaff’s Dictionary of the Bible

HETH (terror), one of the sons of Canaan, of the family of Ham, and progenitor of the Hittites. Gen 10:15; Gen 23:3,Gen 23:5,Gen 23:7,Acts 23:10,Gen 23:16,Gen 23:18,Gen 23:20; Gen 25:10; Gen 27:46; Gen 49:32; 1 Chr 1:13. See Hittites.

Read the full entry →

Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.

Where Heth appears

58 verses in 15 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H2845

Genesis18
Exodus7
Numbers1
Deuteronomy2
Joshua6
Judges2
1 Samuel1
2 Samuel8
1 Kings4
2 Kings1
1 Chronicles2
2 Chronicles2
Ezra1
Nehemiah1
Ezekiel2

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.