The Canaanites are described in the Bible as the indigenous peoples who inhabited the land of Canaan before and during the early Israelite presence. They are frequently depicted as various connected tribes living in the region that roughly corresponds to parts of modern Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and western Syria, along the eastern Mediterranean coast. Key points about the Canaanites in the biblical narrative
- Origin and name: The term Canaanites derives from Canaan, the grandson of Noah (son of Ham). The Bible traces their presence in the land that would become Israel and surrounding areas, often using “Canaan” and “Canaanites” to refer to multiple related groups (Genesis through Joshua). They are portrayed as the pre-Israelite inhabitants of the land.
- Geographic scope: The land of Canaan stretches roughly from Lebanon in the north to the desert south of the land, and from the Mediterranean Sea inland toward the Jordan Valley and beyond, encompassing a mosaic of city-states and small kingdoms inhabited by various Canaanite groups (as described in Genesis 10 and Numbers 34, among other places).
- Religion and practices: The Canaanites are depicted as practicing idolatry and ritual worship centered on deities such as Baal and Asherah, among others. These religious practices are given as a theological contrast to Israelite faithfulness in the biblical narrative (notably in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, and reinforced in Joshua and Judges).
- Interaction with Israel: The biblical text presents repeated interactions—sometimes hostile—between the Israelites and the Canaanites. The accounts include military campaigns, tension over worship and intermarriage, and, in some passages, commands attributed to God regarding destruction or separation from Canaanite practices during the conquest and settlement of the land (e.g., Deuteronomy and Joshua).
- Narrative role: The Canaanites function as a backdrop against which the unfolding promises to Abraham and the later conquest of the land are developed. They are part of the larger storyline that frames Israel’s emergence as a people in a land God promised to their ancestors.
If you’d like, I can tailor these points to a specific biblical book (e.g., Genesis, Exodus, Joshua) or provide short excerpts and their contexts, with brief explanations of how scholars interpret the references to the Canaanites.
