Deuteronomy 2:23
“and the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and lived in their place.)”
What does Deuteronomy 2:23 mean?
This verse is a brief historical note tucked into Moses' recounting of Israel's journey. It simply tells us that the Caphtorim (likely people from Crete or Egypt) displaced an earlier group called the Avvim who had lived in the southern coastal region. Moses mentions it as part of explaining the various peoples and lands surrounding Israel, showing that the displacement of populations wasn't unique to what Israel was about to do, but was part of the broader ancient world's patterns of settlement and conflict. The verse's real purpose is to normalize what's coming: just as other nations had claimed their lands through displacement, Israel too would enter and settle in Canaan. It's not meant to justify anything morally, but rather to situate Israel's story within the larger human experience of migration and territorial change that was common in the ancient Near East.