Who are the…
Canaanites

Origin

The Canaanites are descendants of the man Canaan, a son of Ham and grandson of Noah.

Migrating from their original home, they seem to have reached the Persian Gulf, and to have lived there for some time. They then “spread to the west, across the mountain chain of Lebanon to the very edge of the Mediterranean Sea, occupying all the land which later became Israel, also to the northwest as far as the mountain chain of Taurus.

Spread

This group was very numerous, and broken up into a great many peoples, as we can judge from the list of nations (Genesis 10), the ‘sons of Canaan’.” 6 different tribes are mentioned in Exodus 3:8, 17; 23:23; 33:2; 34:11.

In Exodus 13:5 the “Perizzites” are omitted. The “Girgashites” are mentioned in addition to the foregoing in Deuteronomy 7:1; Joshua 3:10.

The “Canaanites,” as distinguished from the Amalekites, the Anakim, and the Rephaim, were “dwellers in the lowlands” (Numbers 13:29), the great plains and valleys, the richest and most important parts of Israel.

Cities

Tyre and Sidon, their famous cities, were the centers of great commercial activity; and hence the name “Canaanite” came to signify a “trader” or “merchant” (Job 41:6; Proverbs 31:24, literally “Canaanites;” compare Zeph. 1:11; Ezek. 17:4).

A more generalized use of the name “Canaanite”

The name “Canaanite” is also sometimes used to designate the non-Israelite inhabitants of the land in general (Genesis 12:6; Numbers 21:3; Judges 1:10).

Wars

The Israelites, when they were led to the Promised Land, were commanded utterly to destroy the descendants of Canaan then possessing it (Exodus 23:23; Numbers 33:52-53; Deuteronomy 20:16-17. This was to be done “by little and little,” lest the beasts of the field should increase (Exodus 23:29; Deuteronomy 7:22-23).

The history of these wars of conquest is given in the Book of Joshua. The extermination of these tribes, however, was never fully carried out. Jerusalem was not taken till the time of David (2 Samuel 5:6-7). In the days of Solomon bond-service was exacted from the fragments of the tribes still remaining in the land (1 Kings 9:20,21). Even after the return from captivity survivors of five of the Canaanitish tribes were still found in the land.

Skills

They were famous as merchants and seamen, as well as for their artistic skill.

Idolatrous religions

The chief object of their worship was the sun-god, who was addressed by the general name of Baal, “lord.” Each locality had its special Baal, and the various local Baals were summed up under the name of Baalim, “lords.”

Other names/variations

In the Tell-el-Amarna tablets, Canaan is found under the forms of Kinakhna and Kinakhkhi.

Under the name of Kanana, the Canaanites appear on Egyptian monuments, wearing a coat of mail and helmet, and distinguished by the use of spear and javelin and the battle-axe.

They were called Phoenicians by the Greeks and Poeni by the Romans.

More information

Article Version: July 2, 2021