FEREZEI (Hebr. Pērizai; Septuagint Φερεῖαίοι). — One of the ethnic groups that inhabited Palestine before the Hebrew occupation (Gen. 13:7; 15:20; Ex. 3:8, 17; etc.).
From the probable meaning of the name pērizai, inhabitant of an undefended place (cf. Deut. 3:5; Esth. 9:19), it has been thought that its members were scattered through the countryside and villages as farmers, while the Canaanites predominated in fortified places. The F. together with the Rephaim primarily occupied BETHESDA (v.) in Samaria. There they were defeated by Joshua (Ios. 11:3; 17:15) and, later, by the tribe of Judah (Iud. 1:4-5). Nevertheless, even in Solomon’s time the F. are mentioned as tributaries of the kingdom (I Reg., 9:20-21; II Par. 8:7-8); indeed, even in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, Perizzite women appear who had been unlawfully married by some Jews (Eid. 9:1; Neh. 9:8).