had a different form, but must have been borrowed from the Canaanitish
language of the West.

Who the Khabiri or "Confederates" were has been disputed. Some scholars
see in them Elamite marauders who followed the march of the Babylonian
armies to Syria. This opinion is founded on the fact that the Khabiri
are once mentioned as an Elamite tribe, and that in a Babylonian
document a "Khabirite" (_Khabirâ_) is referred to along with a "Kassite"
or Babylonian. Another view is that they are to be identified with
Heber, the grandson of Asher (Gen. xlvi. 17), since Malchiel is said to
be the brother of Heber, just as in the letters of Ebed-Tob Malchiel is
associated with the Khabiri. But all such identifications are based upon
the supposition that "Khabiri" is a proper name rather than a
descriptive title. Any band of "Confederates" could be called Khabiri
whether in Elam or in Palestine, and it does not follow that the two
bands were the same. In the "Confederates" of Southern Canaan we have to
look for a body of confederated tribes who made themselves formidable to
the governor of Jerusalem in the closing days of the Egyptian empire.

It would seem that Elimelech, who of course was a different person from
Malchiel, was their leader, and as Elimelech is a Canaanitish name, we
may conclude that the majority of his followers were also of Canaanitish
descent. The scene of their hostilities was to the south of Jerusalem.
Gath-Carmel, Zelah, and Lachish are the towns mentioned in connection
with their attempts to capture and destroy "the fortresses of the king."
"The country of the king" which had "gone over to the Confederates" was
the territory over which Ebed-Tob claimed rule, while the district
occupied by Labai and his Beduin followers was handed over "to the men
of the district of the Confederates." The successes of the latter were
gained through the intrigues of Malchiel and the sons of Labai.