Canaan (redirected from Chanaan)

Canaan (kā`nən).

1 According to biblical ethnography, Canaan was the son of Ham and the ancestor for whom the Canaanites were named.

2 Territory, the same as ancient Palestine, lying between the Jordan, the Dead Sea, and the Mediterranean and sometimes including Transjordan. It was the Promised Land of the Israelites, and after their delivery from Egypt they subjugated it. The land held a number of pre-Israelite peoples listed in several passages in the Bible. See Ugarit; Asherah; Baal; Philistia; Phoenicia.

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Canaan

Ancient name for an area of shifting boundaries but centred on Palestine. Coastal Canaanite civilization dates to the Paleolithic Period; towns developed in Neolithic times (c. 7000–4000 BC). The name appears in writings from the 15th century BC. Invaded by the Hebrews (c. 1200 BC), who settled in southern areas, it was later invaded by the Philistines. In the 10th century BC the Israelites, under King David, broke Philistine power, and Canaan became thereafter the Land of Israel, the “Promised Land” of the biblical book of Exodus.

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Canaan

an ancient region between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean, corresponding roughly to Israel: the Promised Land of the Israelites

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Canaan

ancient region on Jordan river; promised by God to Abraham. [O.T.: Genesis 12:5–10]

See : Paradise

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Canaan

the ancient name for the territory of Palestine, Syria, and Phoenicia, before the Israelite conquest. The etymology of “Canaan” has not been precisely determined. It has been suggested that the name meant “purple” and originally referred to Phoenicia, where purple dye was produced. Later, the name was extended to the entire region of Canaan. The population consisted chiefly of Canaanites; non-Semitic peoples included the Hurrians and Hittites.

The known history of Canaan begins in approximately the eighth millennium B.C. During the 16th and 15th centuries B.C., Canaan was politically and economically dominated by Egypt, whose influence began to wane in the 14th century. In the 13th century, after a war between Egypt and the Hittite kingdom, those powers divided Canaan into spheres of influence. The conquest of Canaan by Israelite tribes began in the 13th century B.C. The name “Canaan” was later applied to Phoenicia; the term “Canaanites” sometimes referred to the Poeni, who were the inhabitants of Phoenician colonies in North Africa.

REFERENCES

D’iakonov, I. M. Iazyki drevnei Perednei Azii. Moscow, 1967.
Bohl, F. M. T. Kanaanáer und Hebräer. Leipzig, 1911.
Gray, J. The Legacy of Canaan: The Ras Shamra Texts and Their Relevance to the Old Testament. Leiden, 1957.