Bible Dictionary
Dehavites
The Dehavites were a people settled in Samaria by the Assyrian authorities after the exile of Israel. Their precise identity is uncertain, though they may have been a Persian or nomadic eastern people.
Definition
The Dehavites were one of the peoples settled in Samaria by Assyrian authorities after the exile of Israel. Their name occurs only in connection with the colonists mentioned in Ezra.
Biblical Usage
They are listed among the peoples who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem and wrote to the Persian king concerning the Jews.
Historical Background
Their exact identity is uncertain. They were thought to have been a nomadic Persian tribe, possibly the Dai or Dahi, from the region east of the Caspian Sea and near the Sea of Azov.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Villagers, one of the Assyrian tribes which Asnapper sent to repopulate Samaria (Ezra 4:9). They were probably a nomad Persian tribe on the east of the Caspian Sea, and near the Sea of Azof.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
mentioned only once in Scripture, (Ezra 4:9) among the colonists planted in Samaria after the completion of the captivity of Israel. They are probably the Dai or Dahi, mentioned by Herodotus (i. 125) among the nomadic tribes of Persia.