FEREEZI (Hebr. Perissi; LXX Depezzati). — One of the ethnic groups inhabiting Palestine before the Hebrew occupation (Gen. 13:7; 15:20; Ex. 3:8, 17; etc.).
From the probable meaning of the name *Perissi*, "inhabitant of an undefended place" (cf. Deut. 3:5; Esth. 9:19), it has been thought that its members were scattered in the countryside and villages as farmers, while the Canaanites held fortified strongholds. The Fereezites, together with the Raphaim, predominantly occupied the region between Shechem and Bethel (q.v.) in Samaria. There they were defeated by Joshua (Josh. 11:3; 17:15) and later by the tribe of Judah (Judg. 1:4–5). Nevertheless, even in Solomon’s time, the Fereezites are mentioned as tributaries of the kingdom (1 Kgs. 9:20–21; 2 Chr. 8:7–8); indeed, they appear even in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah as foreign women married unlawfully by some Jews (Ezra 9:1; Neh. 9:8).
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ANGELO PENNA