Amorites (ăm'o-rîtes), mountaineers. Genesis 10:16. A Syrian tribe descended from Canaan, and among the most formidable of the tribes with whom the Israelites contended. They were of gigantic stature and great courage, Amos 2:9, and inhabited one of the most fertile districts of the country, being bounded on three sides by the rivers Amon, Jabbok, and Jordan. The Israelites asked permission of the king to travel through their territory, promising to injure nothing, not even to draw water from their wells; but the request was refused. The Amorites collected and attempted to oppose their progress, but were totally defeated, and their territory taken and divided between the tribes of Reuben and Gad.