OVERVIEW
The land known as Canaan was an area of Palestinian territory west of the Jordan River. The Israelites regarded it as their Promised Land. During Joshua’s time, they moved into the territory and conquered many Canaanite cities. Canaan also included portions of southern Syria. Describing the northern region of Canaan is difficult, however, because no exact boundaries were ever defined. Scholars today give the name "Canaanite" to all the peoples who lived in western Palestine before the Israelites came.
LAND AND PEOPLE
Noah’s grandson Canaan is included in the list of men who fathered nations (described in Genesis 10). He was the ancestor of eleven peoples that lived in the area of Syria and Palestine. The first six groups probably occupied the land in or south of Sidon; the others lived farther north. In the south, Canaan’s descendants spread eastward to the upland areas. The northern tribes mostly settled on the edge of the coastal plain. In the Old Testament, we find references that mention Canaanites in western Palestine’s valleys and coastal areas. A group known as the Amorites occupied the upland country. The Amorites first appeared about 2000 BC as immigrants from Mesopotamia and soon blended in with the native population (see Numbers 13:29; Joshua 5:1; Joshua 7:9; Judges 1:27-36).
Just as "Canaan" became a generic description of the western area of Palestine, so "Canaanite" over time became a term for labeling the area’s inhabitants. The term "Canaanite" itself did not refer to any particular racial or ethnic attributes. The various groups that lived in western Palestine before the Israelites occupied the land probably spoke related dialects of the Northwest Semitic linguistic family. In fact, it is difficult to say if there was a specifically Canaanite language. We do know, however, that our own alphabet originated in Canaan between 1700 BC and 1500 BC. Alphabetical writing was passed on through the Hebrews and Phoenicians to the Greeks, who gave our present alphabet its familiar form.
In recent times, archeologists have discovered artifacts that support biblical descriptions of the Canaanites. Discoveries at Tell Mardikh (Ebla) show that a thriving Canaanite empire existed in Syria about 2500 BC, and that both Amorite and Canaanite peoples were firmly settled in Syria and Palestine by 2000 BC. Tablets found at sites such at Mari and Memphis confirm that other civilizations knew about the Canaanites. Egypt, in fact, dominated many of the Canaanite city-states.
Other evidence shows that the Amorites, who were one of the main tribal groups in Palestine, were associated with the Canaanite culture. The Alalakh and Tell el-Amarna tablets describe the presence of Amorite rulers in Hazor and in what is present-day Lebanon. Therefore, it is not surprising that the names for the Amorites and Canaanites are used almost interchangeably during Moses’ time.
HISTORY
We know from texts discovered at Mari and Ugarit that the Canaanites had contacts with Mesopotamia from about 2000 BC. Evidently Amorites, Hurrians, early Assyrians, and other peoples periodically settled in Canaan, bringing with them new political and social ideas. The Egyptians frequently raided Palestine during their fifth and sixth dynasties. Beginning around 2000 BC, they began to control much of the region both politically and economically. To the north, the Hittites extended their rule over the remaining northern Canaanite city-states.
A few hundred years later, Egyptian control over western Palestine had disappeared by the time the Israelites invaded Canaan. The enemies Joshua faced were mostly Canaanites and Amorites. Many of the Canaanite city-states were already weak and had lost what little power they had possessed. The Israelite invasion and the advance of the Sea Peoples from the coastal areas crushed what was left of the influence of these city-states. After about 1100 BC, Canaanite culture could only be found in Tyre, Sidon, and a few other places.
CANAAN’S RELIGION
Before the modern Ugaritic discoveries, all we knew about Canaanite religion came from Old Testament descriptions. Based on contemporary findings, scholars believe that the Canaanites worshipped a family of gods and goddesses.
Canaanite deities had two striking features: their personality and power were constantly changing, and their names had meanings and sources that could be easily traced. From these facts, most scholars have concluded that the Canaanite religion was relatively primitive. The Canaanite pantheon (a Greek word for a temple dedicated to all gods) had several important personalities that are described below.
El
The general Canaanite word for "god" probably meant "the strong, powerful one." The primary god was called El ("the mighty one"). El, a distant and mysterious figure, lived far away from Canaan "at the source of the two rivers," that is, paradise. He apparently had three wives who were also his sisters: Astarte, Anath, and Athirat. He presided over a divine council of gods who were his children. He was often called Lutpan ("the kindly one") and was described as an old man with white hair and a beard.
Baal
Baal, the great storm god, king of the gods, soon eclipsed El in importance. Baal was El’s second-in-command and eventually dethroned him. Over time, Baal became associated with Hadad, the ancient Semitic storm god. (A monument found at Ugarit shows Baal carrying a thunderbolt at his left side and a mace in his right hand.) He alone reigned over all others and was the giver of fertility. When he died, all vegetation and procreation ceased. Baal was sometimes called the "son of Dagon." (Dagon, meaning "fish," was the chief god of the Philistine city-state of Ashdod; see 1 Samuel 5:1-7).
The Canaanites explained natural events as acts of their gods. Each god represented some force of nature. The moon, sun, important stars, and visible planets were each considered a god or goddess. Baal, seen as god of the thunderstorm, personified the power of all nature. The actions of the gods accounted for the succession of the seasons. The dry period from April to the end of October was the season of Baal’s death. Toward the end of October, with the beginning of the autumn rains, Baal revived and nourished the earth through water and vegetation.
Female Deities
Archeologists have recovered many small terra-cotta figurines representing Canaanite goddesses. A center devoted to the cult of the goddess Anath, excavated at Byblos in Phoenicia, probably involved religious prostitution, orgies, and fertility rites. Other cult objects included sacred pillars (massebah) and wooden images (asherah), most likely of the goddess Asherah herself. In the King James Bible, the name Asherah was often translated "grove." Asherah was portrayed by a wooden cult object set up in "high places" next to incense altars and stone pillars.
The Canaanite goddesses had an abundance of names, as shown below.
Atharat
She was a fertility goddess often worshipped through dancing and self-mutilation with knives and whips and also known by the following names:
1. Astarte
2. Ashtaroth (Deuteronomy 1:4)
3. Astaroth (Judges 2:13, KJV)
4. Ashtar
5. Venus, the evening star
Anath
Anath was the name of the father of one of Israel’s judges (Judges 3:31). Anathoth was also the name of a town in the Old Testament.
Athirat
She was goddess of the sea and the wife of El. The cult of Asherah is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament. She was also known as Elat (feminine form of El) and Asherah.
All three goddesses concerned themselves mainly with sex and war. They served Baal by engaging in sexual relations with him on a yearly cycle. Ironically, the goddesses were considered "sacred" prostitutes. They were sometimes called the "holy ones." Idols representing the goddesses were often nude and sometimes had exaggerated sexual features. Although we have little detail about the practice of Canaanite religion, we do know that both male and female temple prostitutes participated in this bizarre form of worship. The fertility deities were also warlike. In the Baal Epic of Ugarit, Anath has a thirst for blood. Egyptian sources portray Astarte as a ferocious cavalry warrior, carrying a shield and lance.
Sacrifices in Worship
As the Canaanites struggled to survive in a hostile land, they offered sacrifices to the gods they believed would help them prosper. If the gods and goddesses were pleased by the worship, the result would be a plentiful harvest. Canaanite worship featured a shrine or "high place" where sacrifices were offered. Archaeological evidence indicates that animals of all sizes were offered at great temple—shrines such as Beth-shan. (Cities often received their names from the temple located there: beth means "temple," and Shan was patron deity of that particular city.)
One grim practice that Canaanites came to include was human sacrifice. Second Kings 3:27 mentions Mesha, king of Moab, who offered up his son as a burnt offering to his god Chemosh after losing a battle.
CANAAN’S INFLUENCE ON ISRAEL
During the Amarna Age (15th-14th centuries BC), the Canaanites engaged in unrestrained sexual activity as part of their worship. This practice began to influence other peoples in the Near East. It even began to affect the conservative religions of Egypt and Babylonia. Canaanites celebrated four annual festivals that they associated with the agricultural events, such as planting and harvesting of crops. These festivals almost always led to wild celebrating, drunkenness, and sexual excess. Canaanite religion may have been the most sexually immoral of any in the ancient world.
In the ancient Near East, people moved freely from one territory to another, bringing with them their religious practices. Over time, this led to syncretism, or the borrowing of ideas and practices from different peoples. The Arameans and Philistines who settled in Canaan, for instance, adopted the religious practices of the Canaanites. The Amorites accepted much of the Sumerian religion as their own when they settled in Mesopotamia. The Hebrews, however, resisted the exchange of religious ideas. Their God was unique, holy, and greater than any being in heaven or on earth. He demanded exclusive allegiance. Such a concept ran against the grain of all the religions of the day.
God provided Israel with a moral code that was defined by the covenant laws that Moses brought from Mount Sinai. It was starkly different from the practices of Canaanite life. The Hebrews, who followed one God, could find nothing in common with the Canaanites and their wayward, sinful worship of fertility gods. It was clear that the two systems could not coexist. Thus God issued strict instructions that the Canaanites and their ways were to be eliminated from the Promised Land (Exodus 23:24; Exodus 34:13-16; Deuteronomy 7:1-5).
The Hebrews were a covenant people. Their loyalty to God required that they keep away from the influences of the Canaanites. That turned out to be far from easy. For one, the Hebrews and Canaanites shared a similar language, and ideas could be easily exchanged. Also, the invading Israelites likely discovered that the Canaanites were skilled in building stone structures and in making metal tools, implements, and weapons. To overcome their backward condition, the Israelites began to share technical knowledge with the Canaanites. King Solomon, for instance, enlisted Canaanites from Phoenicia to design and construct the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. Canaanites tried to claim that they had similar worship practices. Like the Israelites, they offered sacrifices and shared certain titles for addressing God. These similarities were superficial, but they made it difficult for Israel to maintain its cultural distinctiveness.
Except for the items that were set apart when Jericho was destroyed (Joshua 6:18-19), the Israelites carelessly decided to make use of Canaanite goods captured in battle. This exposure to a seductive culture weakened their efforts to destroy the Canaanite religion. Many years later, King Ahab completed the corruption by establishing the worship of Baal in the northern kingdom of Israel. The people of Israel by then had lost much of their spiritual purity. Their priests, who should have guarded the covenant faith against false worship, found it easier to imitate the Canaanite ways. Worse, they openly encouraged the people of Israel to do likewise (see 1 Samuel 2:22). Only the prophets whom God sent to convict his people of their sin remained loyal to God. They proclaimed that Israel would have to be purified by war and exile before it could hope to be restored.
The lesson of Canaan teaches us to be on guard against false religion. When we become careless or indifferent to God’s commands, we can easily slide into immorality.
What?
What was Canaan? Canaan was an ancient nation of diverse peoples and widespread idolatry. The Israelites, led by Joshua, conquered many of the Canaanite city-states.
Where?
Where was the land of Canaan? The land occupied much of Palestine west of the Jordan river and some parts of southern Syria.
When?
When did Canaan exist? It existed from about 2500 BC until about 1100 BC. It eventually disappeared as the Israelites conquered the western territories and the Philistines invaded from the coastal areas.
Why?
The Canaanites were notorious for their orgies and other perverted forms of worship. The Israelites had to fight a constant battle to avoid the decay that came from the dangerous idolatry of Canaan.
How?
How did God choose to end the evil influence of the Canaanites? The Lord ordered Joshua to destroy the idols and everything associated with Canaan’s corrupt culture. Sadly, many Israelites refused to take the warning seriously and harmed their nation.
Anath
Ashdod
Asherah
Baal
Babylon
Chemosh
Dagon
Egypt
El
Hazor
Jericho
Jordan River
Joshua
Lebanon
Megiddo
Mesopotamia
Moab
Mount Sinai
Palestine
Phoenicia
Sidon
Syria
Tyre
Ahab
Amorites
Arameans
Assyrians
Hittites
Joshua
Moses
Noah
Philistines
Solomon
BEHIND THE MUSIC
As the Promised Land of the Israelites, Canaan has found its way into several Christian songs and hymns—but most of these lyrics come from at least a century ago. Hymn writers often drew the parallel between the wilderness wanderings and our life on earth, with heaven as our Promised Land (or Canaan).
On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand
. . . and cast a wistful eye to Canaan’s fair and happy land
Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah
Land me safe on Canaan’s side
Who’s on the Lord’s Side?
We’re marching to Canaan with banner and song
Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand
Oh then what raptured greetings on Canaan’s happy shore
A Few More Marchings Weary
A few more partings on the strand and then away to Canaan’s land
Jerusalem My Happy Home
I’ve Canaan’s goodly land in view and realms of endless day