Who were the people living in the promised land when Isralites conquered the land?

Answer 1

The Israelites who entered the Promised Land (Joshua ch.3-4) were the descendants of Jacob (see Genesis ch.45-46 and Exodus ch.3). By the time of Moses, they numbered 600,000 men, each with a family.

Answer 2

According to the Book of Joshua, the Canaanites lived in the land conquered by Joshua and the Israelites, occupying great cities such as Jericho and Ai.

However, scholars say that these cities did not exist at the time attributed to the conquest of the Promised Land, and that the military conquest of Canaan did not really occur. They say that the Canaanites occupied the rich coastal plains and foothills, while the mountainous hinterland was very sparcely occupied until the arrival of the Hebrews around 1250 BCE. We know little about the few scattered farmers in what was to become Israel. They may have regarded themselves as part of some Canaanite community, but they were not ruled from any of the Canaanite cities on the coast.

• Answer 2

The Canaanites. They were a Hamitic people (Genesis 10).

God promised Israel (Canaan) to the Israelites (Genesis ch.28, Exodus ch.3), and commanded them to take the land (Deuteronomy ch.1 and many other passages). One major reason was because of the Canaanites' egregious wickedness, which included bestiality, incest (Leviticus ch.18), sorcery (Deuteronomy ch.18), temple-prostitution, human sacrifice (ibid.) and idolatry. God predicted that if the Israelites were lax in the fulfillment of the command, they would stray after the Canaanite gods (Numbers 33:55), and that is what later came to pass (Judges ch.1-2).

The Israelites did not like to fight, and in fact allowed large segments of the Canaanite population to remain as they were (Judges, ibid).

Note:

1) Israel (Canaan) originally belonged to the Semites (after the Flood) and was gradually seized from them by the Canaanites (Rashi commentary, Genesis 12:6). This was one of the reasons why God gave the land to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis ch.13), since he was a righteous Semite (Genesis ch.11).

2) The Israelites did not simply slaughter the Canaanites. They fought them in proper battle (Joshua ch.10) with miraculous assistance from God (Exodus ch.23).

3) They warned the Canaanites concerning God's command to take Canaan (Jerusalem Talmud, Shevi'it 6:1), and gave them a chance to leave the land (ibid). The Girgashites took the warning seriously and departed to Africa (ibid.), while the Gibeonites made a treaty with the Israelites (Joshua ch.9). The rest of the Canaanites insisted on fighting, and attacked the Israelites with a massive army (Joshua ch.11).

4) Whenever fighting, the Israelites never completely surrounded any town. They offered conditional peace, and then (if peace was rejected) left one area open for escape so that whoever wanted to flee could do so (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of kings and war ch.6).

5) The fact that the Israelites killed Canaanites need not bother you. Since secular writers claim that the evidence of Joshua's conquest comes from the Hebrew records exclusively, they must, logically, accept the Hebrew records in full, which clearly state that this was done at God's command, and give the reason too (Numbers 33:55). Even the Canaanites were impressed (Joshua 9:3-10, and 6:27).

Quote:

"Although critics contended that the Hebrew Bible is untrustworthy, time and time again, the archaeological record supports places, times, and events mentioned in Scripture." (Professor John Arthur Thompson, The Bible and Archaeology). The personal names Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are names of the time and area mentioned in the Bible (ibid).

"One city after another, one civilization after another, one culture after another, who were known only from the Bible, have been restored to their place in ancient history through archaeology" (Prof. Gleason Archer, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction).

No parchment, scroll, or inscription has ever been found that would support the Bible-critics' JEPD (different sources) hypothesis, which remains a set of mere postulates. And those ancient writers who mention, describe, summarize or translate the Torah (Josephus, Samaritans, Targum, Septuagint etc.), describe it in its complete form.

Archaeological finds, such as the Ugarit documents and those of Nuzu, Mari, Susa, Ebla, and Tel el-Amarna, have repeatedly caused the critics to retract their claims. The entire social milieu portrayed in the Torah, once criticized as anachronistic, has been shown to be accurate, including customs of marriage, adoption, contracts, inheritance, purchases, utensils, modes of travel, people's names and titles, etc. Professor Gleason Archer states: "In case after case where inaccuracy was alleged as proof of late and spurious authorship of the biblical documents, the Hebrew record has been vindicated by the results of excavations, and the condemnatory judgment of the Documentary theorists have been proved to be without foundation."

Answer 3

Biblical tradition says that Abraham left Mesopotamia and travelled westwards to the promised land. After the captivity in Egypt, the descendants of Israel, the Israelites, are said to have spent forty years in the wilderness, then entered the promised land by overwhelming military force.

Archaeologists say that the biblical story does not accord with the evidence they have found. According to them, the original Israelites entered the Canaanite hinterland peacefully and seem to have been West Semitic people closely related to the Canaanites. The legends of the great patriarchs and the military conquest of Canaan were written long afterwards.

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Answer 4

It was the Philistines.