Deuteronomy 2:23

“And the Avim, which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, etc.] The same with the Avites, who appear to have inhabited some part of the land of the Philistines, in which Azzah or Gaza was, which was one of the five lordships of the Philistines, (<061303>Joshua 13:3). The word Hazerim signifies courts, and a learned man f29 interprets it of tents or huts placed in a square or circular form, so as to have an area in the middle; and in such the Avim may be supposed to dwell, while in Palestine, as far as Gaza: the Caphtorim, which came from out of Caphtor, destroyed them; according to the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, these were Cappadocians, that…”

“These verses, like Deuteronomy 2:10-12, are in all likelihood an addition made by a later reviser. Deuteronomy 2:20 Zamzummims - A giant race usually identified with the Zuzims of Genesis 14:5. Deuteronomy 2:23 The Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah - Read (Gaza, of which Azzah is the Hebrew form. “Hazerim” is not strictly a proper name, but means “villages,” or “enclosures,” probably such as are still common in the East. The Avims are no doubt identical with the Avites of Joshua 13:3, and were doubtless a scattered remnant of a people conquered by the Caphtorim (Genesis 10:14 note) and living in their “enclosures” in the neighborhood of Gerar. The word, which means “ruins,” seems…”

“The Caphtorim - A people a - kin to the Philistines, Gen 10:14, and confederate with them in this enterprize, and so dwelling together, and by degrees uniting together by marriages, they became one people. Caphtor - Which is by the learned thought to be Cappadocia: whither these people might make an expedition out of Egypt, either because of the report of the great riches of part of that country which drew others thither from places equally remote, or for some other reason now unknown. Deuteronomy 2:25”

“2:23 The Caphtorites were descendants of Ham and were originally from Crete, a large island south of the Greek peninsula. The Caphtorites are usually identified with the Philistines (see Gen 10:6-14; 1 Chr 1:8-12). The Philistine presence in Canaan resulted from two separate movements, one in the time of the Hebrew patriarchs (see study note on Gen 21:32) and another that began about 1200 BC (see study notes on Josh 13:2; Judg 3:3). This passage apparently refers to the earlier settlement. • The Avvites were indigenous inhabitants of the lower Mediterranean coastal plain; they were supplanted in Gaza by the early wave of Philistines (cp. Josh 13:2-4).”

“the Avims: Jos 13:3, Avites Azzah: Kg1 4:24; Jer 25:20; Zep 2:4; Zac 9:5, Gaza the Caphtorims which came: Gen 10:14; Jer 47:4; Amo 9:7; Act 17:26 Deuteronomy 2:24”