Amorite

Amorite

The word ‘Emoriy (אֲמֹרִי)‎ from which we get Amorite is believed by some to be "a patronymic" term "derived from the name of their original lordship" derived from 0559 אָמַר‎ ‘amar to speak or avow one self.

They were believed to be just east of Canaan and beyond the Jordan river. Some will say they were "dispossessed by the Israelite incursion from Egypt". But the archeological record suggests these people like the Canaanites were in a bad way because these Amurru worshipped a god named Martu, who was a Mesopotamian with the divine personification undern the influence of under the Sumerian systems of city-states.

They had personal religion but were structured with an influence of the Hammurabi Codes which produced a monarchical hierarchy. Their political polity included a division of power into three main center which included an assembly of elders, a hereditary ruler of the assembly. There was also a high priest who was the patron of the people as a manager of their social safety net like we saw in Sumer the support of which was codified and legislated through the assembly and enforced by it president.

Documents note that they received compelled offerings in a temple where they worshiped in the Enindabadua, literally the "house where bread portions are baked". So, these temple systems provided the free bread where the people developed an appetite for benefits at the expense of the most industrious. Such covetous practices leads to corruption and the rise of tyrants. These systems were likely a part of the temple complex of Gula which suggests that besides the free bread, they also managed some assistance to their health and safety.

The Amorite were a tall people who lived in the mountains described in Genesis 10:16 and a as descendant of Canaan, the son of Ham and may have been healthier than the lowland Canaanites but still suffering from oppression.