Why did God annihilate the Canaanites?

Answer 1

The destruction of the people of Canaan was actually a devine judgment against them for their gross wickedness including child sacrifices to their pagan gods.

the Canaanites were severely depraved people, and Jehovah, the God of the Isrealites decreed that they would be destroyed and the Promised Land would be cleansed. (Leviticus 18:1, 24-28; Deuteronomy 20:16-18) God had also punished practicers of wickedness in Noah's time, and also again in Sodom and Gomorrah. At this time, he used the Isrealites to carry out his divine judgment against the Canaanites.-Genesis 6:12, 17; 19:13, 24, 25.

God told the Isrealites to act as his executioners apon these wicked people, who were engaged in demon-worship. Their rituals included gross sexual immorality and the sacrifice of children to their gods. -Deuteronomy 7:1-5; 2 Chronicles 28:3.

In the Book, The Bible Handbook, written by Henry H. Halley, we read that at the ancient ruins of Megiddo were found ruins of a temple of Ashtoreth, goddess-wife of Baal. Mr. Halley writes: "Just a few steps from this temple was a cemetery, where many jars were found, containing remains of infants who had been sacrificed in this temple . . . Prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth were official murderers of little children." "Another horrible practice was [what] they called 'foundation sacrifices.' When a house was to be built, a child would be sacrificed, and its body built into the wall."

Halley further writes: "The worship of Baal, Ashtoreth, and other Canaanite gods consisted in the most extravagant orgies; their temples were centers of vice. . . . Canaanites worshiped, by immoral indulgence, . . . and then, by murdering their first-born children, as a sacrifice to these same gods. It seems that, in large measure, the land of Canaan had become a sort of Sodom and Gomorrah on a national scale. . . . Did a civilization of such abominable filth and brutality have any right longer to exist? . . . Archaeologists who dig in the ruins of Canaanite cities wonder that God did not destroy them sooner than He did."

Answer #2

the Canaanites were severely depraved people, and Jehovah, the God of the Isrealites decreed that they would be destroyed and the Promised Land would be cleansed.

The later Scriptures tell, the above is a lie, and the god of the Israelites is a false god.

Because they have committed villainy in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.

[JEREMIAH 9:23.]

Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for yeare not my people, and I will not be yourGod.X Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people,there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. [HOSEA 1:9-10.]

And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. [ROMANS 9:26.]

Answer 2

It was because of the child sacrifice, immorality, idolatry, dishonesty, materialism and greed of their culture, and their disrespect toward nature and toward one another, that marked them as unworthy to survive. The only remaining detail left to be worked out was the question of who would be sent to do the job.

Answer 2

One reason was because of the Canaanites' 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).
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 Semite (Genesis ch.11). 2) The Israelites did not simply slaughter the Canaanites. They fought them in proper battle (Joshua ch.10).
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). Most of the Canaanites insisted on fighting, and attacked the Israelites with a massive army (Joshua ch.11).
4) Whenever fighting, the Israelites offered conditional peace (Deuteronomy 20). 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).

Answer 3

God told the Israelites to go to the land of Canaan for it was the promised land given to them by the covenant of Abraham. In order to settle in the land of Canaan they had to defeat the Canaanites.

Answer 4

I assume that you are asking "Why did God oversee the annihilation of the Canaanites?" There are three viable answers to this question (although each one is exclusive).

1) One cannot suppose to know the mind of God. Any attempt to do this is fraught with difficulty because God's plans are beyond the capabilities of rational thought.

2) God commanded the Israelites to remove the Canaanites who were occupying the land that he had promised to the Israelites. Therefore, strictly speaking, God did not annihilate the Canaanites, the Ancient Israelites did at God's command. (This is as opposed to the demise of Korah, where God literally had the Earth swallow Korah.)

3) If we can venture to guess what God's underlying purpose was, it was to ensure the survival of monotheist thought. The Canaanites might have prevented the survival of the monotheist Israelite Kingdom. In God's plan Israel was more important than the Canaanites. Note as well that the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Babylonians were responsible for slaughter of Canaanite tribes as well.

Addendum:Without disagreeing with existing suggestions, there is an additional possibility, perhaps an extension of what has already been offered. It is harshly practical.

In a hostile environment, one does not leave enemies behind to foment eventual retribution. That is, if you leave behind survivors, they will one day come back and kill you.

This does not agree with modern ideals of ethics or morality, even those laid out in the supposed rules of war such as represented by documents such as those of the Fourth Geneva Convention, but the Geneva Convention did not exist in the Old Testament times of the Exodus, and cannot be used as a moral guide in such a case.

Answer:Deuteronomy 7:2, in which I assume this question is directed, must be interpreted in the immediate context of the words "neither shall thou make marriage with them" (vs. 3) and "for they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods" (vs. 4). God instructs His people, this is what you are to do to them: "ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire" (vs. 5). As such, the aim of God's command was not the obliteration of the wicked but the obliteration of wickedness.

Additional Answer:

As mentioned above, the people living in the land of Canaan had turned to other false gods of stone and wood instead of the one true God. They also committed a range of immoral, lustful things. Perhaps the most offensive of all was their sacrificing their young children to death by fire to appease a false god

2 Kings 16:3New King James Version (NKJV)

3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed he made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel.

Answer:

The Torah states explicitly that the command to take Canaan from the Canaanites was because of their wickedness (Leviticus 18:24-30; Deuteronomy 18:9-12).

Answer 5

The Israelites were to kill the Canaanites as God's judgment on them, because of the Canaanites' wickedness. Deuteronomy 9:4-5 explains it plainly. The Canaanites' wickedness and rejection of God finally brought God's judgment on them.

Answer 6

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 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).See also the Related Links.

Link: The reliability of the Hebrew record

Link: About Joshua

Link: What difficulties did Joshua face?

Link: Contents of the Book of Joshua

Answer 7

According to The Bible, they were so wicked that God wanted them all destroyed so that the Israelites could take their land.