Land of Canaan

Standard designation for the Land of ISRAEL from patriarchal times until the Second Temple era. Canaan's name, mentioned in Akkadian documents and in the Tell El-Amarna letters (Egypt, 14th cent. BCE), has biblical associations with the son of Ham and grandson of Noah, upon whom a curse was invoked (Gen. 9:20ff.). There are repeated allusions to the land and its inhabitants (Heb. Kena'anim) throughout the Pentateuch, Joshua, and Judges; God's promise to give Abraham and his descendants "all the Land of Canaan" is likewise reiterated in the Bible (Gen. 17:8; Num. 34:2ff.; Ps. 105:11, etc.). As a geographical region, however, Canaan is not clearly defined: it was evidently thought to encompass about 6,000 square miles of territory "from Dan to Beersheba" and west of the Jordan river, but the inclusion of other territory (parts of Lebanon, Syria, and Transjordan) was sometimes also mentioned. From c. 3000 BCE, Canaan's inhabitants were predominantly Semitic tribesmen (Amorites, Canaanites, and Jebusites), although Indo-European invaders (Hittites and the "Sea Peoples" or Philistines) later penetrated the area. "Canaanite" and "Amorite" are synonymous designations for the indigenous population (I Sam. 7:14). They had a fairly advanced civilization, spoke a language akin to biblical Hebrew, and on the eve of Israel's conquest under Joshua owed allegiance to the Egyptian pharaoh. Having defeated no fewer than 31 petty rulers of Canaan (Josh. 12), the Israelites gradually overcame or absorbed these tribes, but had to contend with the menace of Canaanite idolatry and pagan practices for centuries to come.

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