Canaanites: The descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham. Migrating from their
original home, they seem to have reached the Persian Gulf, and to
have there sojourned for some time. They thence "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
Palestine, also to the north-west as far as the mountain chain of
Taurus. This group was very numerous, and broken up into a great many
peoples, as we can judge from the list of nations
(Genesis 10:1)ff the
'sons of Canaan.'" Six different tribes are mentioned in
(Exodus 3:8,17)
(Exodus 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
Palestine. Tyre and Sidon, their famous cities, were the centres of
great commercial activity; and hence the name "Canaanite" came to
signify a "trader" or "merchant"
(Job 41:6; Proverbs 31:24) lit.
"Canaanites;" comp.
(Zephaniah 1:11; Ezekiel 17:4) 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) 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. 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. By race the Canaanites were Semitic. They were famous as
merchants and seamen, as well as for their artistic skill. 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."
