Canaan

From New World Encyclopedia

Canaan is an ancient term for a region approximating present-day Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, plus adjoining coastal lands and parts of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.

Canaanites are mentioned extensively in the Bible, as well as in Mesopotamian and Ancient Egyptian texts. Various Canaanite sites have been excavated by archaeologists, most notably the town of Ugarit.

The land of Canaan was also the "promised land" which God gave to Abraham and his descendants in the Bible. The Canaanites themselves, however, were considered to be the implacable enemies of the Israelites, to be either shunned, driven out, or killed.

Historical overview

The term Caanan and Canaanite first appear around the 15th century B.C.E. in cuneiform, Phoenician, and Egyptian, inscriptions. Human habitation, however, goes far back with both Cromagnon and Neanderthal skeletons having been unearthed dating back to Paleolithic times. A settled agricultural commnity was present at Jericho from about 8,000 B.C.E. By 3,000 B.C.E., settlement in towns and villages was widespread.

Semitic peoples are thought to have appeared in the early Bronze Age, prior to 2,000 B.C.E. Writing began to appear shortly thereafter. The Semitic people known as the Amorites became the dominant population group during this period, migrating from the northeast. Also entering from the north were the Hurrians (Horites). Egyptians and the Hyksos, (see below) entered the region from the south.

In the Late Bronze age (1550-1200 B.C.E.), the Egypt controlled most of Canaan through a system of vassal city-states. Hittite and Apiru (possibly Hebrew) invaders sometimes captured Canaanite towns or harrassed them from the countryside. Israelite civilization began to emerge in the historical record around the twelth century B.C.E. Historians debate whether Israel's rise represented an invasion, gradual infiltration, a cultural transformation of native Canaanite populations, or a combination of the above. Philistine and Phoenician cultures, probably originating from the northern Mediterranean and occupying the western coastlands, co-existed with the Israelite peoples (though not always peacefully), along with other populations such as the Amorites, Edomites, and Moabites to the east and south. From the tenth through the seventh centuries, these nations were strongly pressured and sometimes conquered by Syrian, Assyrian, Egyptian, and finally Babylonian forces. The latter finally came to a position of complete dominance in the sixth century B.C.E.

Etymology

The Canaanite language refers to a group of closely related Semitic languages. Hebrew was once a southern dialect of the Canaanite language, and Ugaritic a northern one. Canaanite is the first language to use a Semitic alphabet, from which most other scripts derive.

The name Canaan is of obscure origins, a likely possibility being the Akkadian word Kinahhu, related to the blue/purple die for which as a valuable Canaanite trading commodity.

The Bible, however, attributes the name to a single person, Canaan, the son of Ham and the grandson of Noah, whose offspring correspond to the names of various ethnic groups in the land of Canaan,(Genesis 10).

Nowadays, the English word Canaanite can describe anything pertaining to Canaan, especially its culture, languages, religions, and inhabitants.

Canaan in Mesopotamian inscriptions

Historically, one of the first mentions of Canaan appears in a document from the eighteenth century B.C.E. found in the ruins of Mari, a former Sumerian outpost in Syria. Apparently, Canaan at this time existed as a distinct political entity (probably a loose confederation of city-states).

Soon after this, the great law-giver Hammurabi (1728-1686 B.C.E.), first king of a united Babylonia, extended Babylonian influence over Canaan and Syria.

Tablets found in the Mesopotamian city of Nuzi use the term Kinahnu ("Canaan") as a synonym for red or purple dye, apparently a renowned Canaanite export commodity. The purple cloth of Tyre in Phoenicia was well known far and wide.

Archaeological excavations of a number of sites later identified as Canaanite, show that prosperity of the region reached its zenith during this Middle Bronze Age period.

Egyptian Canaan

The name Canaan occurs in hieroglyphs as kAnana on the Merneptah Stele in the 13th century B.C.E.

During the second millennium B.C.E., Ancient Egyptian texts refer to Canaan as an Egyptian province, whose boundaries generally corroborate the definition of Canaan found in the Hebrew Bible: bounded to the west by the Mediterranean Sea, to the north in the vicinity of Hamath in Syria, to the east by the Jordan Valley, and to the south by a line extended from the Dead Sea to around Gaza (Numbers 34).

At the end of the Middle Kingdom era of Egypt, a breakdown in centralized power allowed for the assertion of independence by various rulers. Around 1674 B.C.E., the Semitic people known as Hyksos came to control northern Egypt, evidently leaving Canaan an ethnically diverse land. Ahmose, the founder of the 18th dynasty, ended a century of Hyksos rule and the Hyksos were pushed northward, some of them probably settling permanently in Canaan. The ancient Jewish historian Josephus considered the Hyksos to be Hebrews, although scholarship today leans to the idea that were only one of several proto-Israelite groups.

Among the other migrant tribes who appear to have settled in the region were the Amorites. Some biblical sources describe them as located in the southern mountain country, (Gen. 14:7, Josh. 10:5, Deut. 1:19, 27, 44). Other verses speak of Amorite kings residing at Heshbon and Ashtaroth, east of the Jordan (Num. 21:13, Josh. 9:10, 24:8, 12, etc). Still other passages seem to regard Amorite virtually synonymous with "Canaanite" (Gen. 15:16, 48:22, Josh. 24:15, Judg. 1:34, etc) — except that "Amorite" is not used for the population on the coast, of described as Philistines.

In Egyptian inscriptions, the terms Amar and Amurru are applied to the more northerly mountain region east of Phoenicia, extending to the Orontes. Later on, Amurru became the Assyrian term for both southern and northern Canaan. At this time the Canaanite area was apparently divided between two confederacies, one centred upon Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley, the second on the more northerly city of Kadesh on the Orontes River.

In the centuries preceding the appearance of the Biblical Hebrews, Canaan again became tributary to the Egypt, although domination was not so strong as to prevent frequent local rebellions and inter-city struggles. Under Thutmose III (1479–1426 B.C.E.) and Amenhotep II (1427–1400 B.C.E.), the regular presence of the strong hand of the Egyptian ruler and his armies kept the Canaanites sufficiently loyal. The reign of Amenhotep III, however, was not quite so tranquil for the Asiatic province. It is believed that turbulent chiefs began to seek their opportunities, although as a rule could not succed without the help of a neighboring king.

Egyptian power in Canaan suffered a setback when the Hittites (or Hatti) advanced into Syria in the reign of Amenhotep III and became even more threatening in that of his successor, displacing the Amurru and prompting a resumption of Semitic migration. The Canaanite city-king Abd-Ashirta and his son Aziru, at first afraid of the Hittites, afterwards made a treaty with them. Joining with other external powers, they attacked the districts remaining loyal to Egypt.

In the el Amarna letters (c. 1350 B.C.E.) sent by governors and princes of Canaan to their Egyptian overlord Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) in the 14th century B.C.E. we find, beside Amar and Amurru (Amorites), the two forms Kinahhi and Kinahni, corresponding to Kena' and Kena'an respectively, and including Syria in its widest extent, as Eduard Meyer has shown. The letters are written in the official and diplomatic language Babylonian/Akkadian, though "Canaanitish" words and idioms are also in evidence.

One of the Amarna letters

In one such letter, Rib-Addi of Biblos sends a touching appeal for aid to his distant Egyptian ruler Amenhotep IV, who was apparently too engaged in his religious innovations to respond to such messages. Rib-addi also refers to attacks from the Apiru, but thought by scholars to refer to bands of proto-Iraelites (Apiru is etymologically similar to "Hebrews") that had attacked him and other Canaanite kings during this period. The period corresponds to the biblical era just prior to the judges.

Rib-addi says to his lord, the King of Lands, the Great King, the King of Battle... Let my lord listen to the words of his servant, and let him send me a garrison to defend the city of the king, until the archers come out. And if there are no archers, then all the lands will unite with the 'Apiru... Two cities remain with me, and they (the Apiru) are also attempting to take them from the king's hand. Let my lord send a garrison to his two cities until the arrival of the archers, and give me something to feed them. I have nothing. Like a bird that lies in a net, a kilubi/cage, so I am in Gubla.[1]

Seti I (ca. 1290 B.C.E.) is said to have conquered the Shasu, Arabian nomads living just south and east of the Dead Sea, from the fortress of Taru in "Ka-n-'-na." Likewise, Ramesses III (ca. 1194 B.C.E.) is said to have built a temple to the god Amen in "Ka-n-'-na." This geographic name probably meant all of western Syria and Canaan. Archaeologists have proposed that Egyptian records of the thirteenth century B.C.E. are early written reports of a monotheistic belief in Yahweh noted among the nomadic Shasu.[1][2].

Biblical Canaanites

In the biblical narrative, Canaan was the "promised land" given to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants by God after Abraham responded to God's call and migrated with his family from Haran. Although it was already inhabited by the "Canaanites," God instructed Moses, Joshua, and the Israelites to drive out its inhabiants and take the land as their own possession.

File:Ancient-sirael-map.png
Map of Canaan during period of Israelite ascendancy.

The part of the book of Genesis often called the Table of Nations describes the Canaanites as being descended from an ancestor himself called Canaan. It also lists several peoples about Canaan's descendants, saying (Genesis 10:15–19):

Canaan is the father of Sidon, his firstborn; and of the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans scattered and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

A biblical story involving Noah's grandson Canaan seems to represent an origin legend concerning the ancient discovery of the cultivation of grapes around 4000 B.C.E. around the area of Ararat, which is associated with Noah.[3] The story also accounts for the supposed superiority of the Semitic people over the Canaanites, who were to be their servants.

After the Flood, Noah planted a vineyard, made wine but became drunk. While intoxicated, an incident occurred involving him and his youngest son, Ham. Afterward, Noah cursed Ham's son Canaan to a life of servitude to his brothers. (Genesis 9:20–27) Whilte "Canaan" was the ancestor of the Canaanite tribes, "Shem" was the ancestor of the Israelites, Moabites, Eddomites, and Ammonites, who dominated the inland areas around the Jordan Valley.

The Bible describes God cautioning the Israelites against the idolatry of the Canaanites and their fertility cult (Leviticus 18:27). Thus the Land of the Canaanites was thus deemed suitable for conquest by the Israelites partly on moral grounds (Deuteronomy 20:16–17). The are to be "driven out," their enslavement is allowed, and one passage states that they are not to be left alive in the cities conquered by the Israelites.

In the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them -— the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites —-as the Lord your God has commanded you. (Duet. 20:16-17)

Critical view

Bible critics often take the view that biblical attitude toward the people of Canaan is the product of a seventh century B.C.E. outlook promulgated by priests centered in the Jerusalem Temple, especially during the reign of King Josiah. It thus represents the ideology and program of a later era, rathrer than an truly divine policy of genocide revealed to Moses.

In addition contemporary archaeologists believe that the Israelites themselves were, for the most part, originally Canaanites (including Amorites,Apiru, Shashu and possibly Hyksos and others) who federated into nations of Judah and Israel from the eleventh century B.C.E. onward, rather than descending en masse to conquer Canaan under Joshua, as the Bible reports. Stories of the biblical conquest of Canaan may, in fact, represent the memories of Apiru victories written down several centuries after the fact and filtered through the religious viewpoint of that later time.

According to this and similar theories, either only a small portion of the people later called Israelites actually migrated from Egypt, or such migrations took place in phases as various groups moved north into Canaan. Thus the distinction between Canaanites and Israelites was once very faint, if it existed at all. Eventually the Israelites came to see themselves as a people separate from the Canaanites. The Israelite religion too went through such a process, beginning with the fusion of the Canaanite god El with the Shashu deity Yahweh, and evolving into the assertion that Yahweh/El alone could be worhsiped by the Israelites. The rejection of traditional Canaanite religion resulted in the development of a religious mythology in which the Israelites were never a part of Canaante culture, and the Canaanite gods were enemies of Yahweh/El, rather than members of the assembly of the gods with El as their chief.

Canaanite Religion

The Canaanite god Baal

The religion of the Canaanites was inherited primarily from the great earlier civilizations of Mesopotamia. Lacking the rich supply of water for irrigation from such mighty rivers as the Tigris and Euphrates, however, Canaanite religion was especially concerned with rain as a key element in the fertility and life of the land.

The chief deity was El, who reigned over the assembly of the gods. Although technically the supreme god, El was not always the most important deity in terms of worship and devotion. One of his sons, Baal/Hadad was an espeically important deity, the god of rain, storm, and fertility. The Israelite god Yahweh could also be considered originally a Sashu/Canaanite diety, who in early psalms shares many characteristics with El and Baal. El's consort Ashera was a mother goddess, also associated with fertility. Another female deity, sometimes synomymous with Ashera, was Astarte or Ashtoreth, who can be viewed as the Canaanite version of the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar. Baal's sister Anat, meanwhile, was the virginal goddess of war similar to the later Greek Diana. El and Baal were sometimes associated with bull-worship, and cattle and other offerings were often sacrificed to them, as well as to Yahweh. Ancient stone pillars and horned altars have been found in numerous sites throughout Canaan, as well as the remains of temples, statuettes, and other artifacts dedicated to these deities. A number of other names are assigned to gods with similar characterstics to those of El, Baal, or Yahweh, for example Dagon, Chemosh, and Moloch.

The biblical patriarchs and later Israelites are described in the Bible as sharing with their Canaanite neighbors a recognition of El as the supreme deity. Yahweh is affirmed in the Bible to be identical with El. However, the early prophetic and priestly tradition declared that no other dieties than Yahweh/El should be worshiped by the Israelites. In this view, other gods existed, but they were specific to other peoples, and the Israelites should have nothing to do with them. Later prophets went so far as to declare that Yahweh alone was God. Archaeolgists, however, indicate that goddess worship and Baal-worship persisted among the common folk as well as the kings of Israel and Judah until at least the time of the exile.

Biblical tradition makes much of such practices as sexual fertility rites and human sacrifice among the Canaanite tribes. It is generally agreed that the worship of Baal and Ashera sometimes involved such rites, although it is difficult to know how frequent or widespread this may have been. Human sacrifice was also practiced by both the Canaanites and the Israelites. The biblical judge Jephthah, for example, offered his daughter as a burnt offering to Yahweh after the God of Israel blessed him with a military victory. The prophets would later condemn such practices and associate them with "foregin gods" only.


The Promised Land

As the land promised by God to the Israelites, "Canaan" has come to mean any place of hope. For the Jews, it was the land of promise where they would eventually return after being scattered every since the destruction of the Temple. That hope was fulfilled for many Jews with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

For Christians, "Canaan" often takes a more spiritual meaning, having to do with the afterlife, or sometimes with the realm to be established at Christ's Second Coming. In the words of the American spiritual song "Where the Soul of Man Never Dies":

To Canaan's land I'm on my way
Where the soul of man never dies
My darkest night will turn to day
Where the soul (of man) never dies

Further reading

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  1. Who Were the Early Israelites?, William G. Dever. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2003, pp. 128, 236.
  2. Neil A. Silberman and Israel Finkelstein, The Bible Unearthed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001.
  3. http://www.savoreachglass.com/articles.php/13