The Canaanites descend from the grandson of Noah, Canaan. He was cursed because of his sin against Noah (Genesis 9:20-25). In Genesis 10:15-19 we read of 11 groups in the area of Syria and Palestine that descended from Canaan. Thus, at times the Canaanites point to a specific group of people (Joshua 11:3) but also it can refer to any of those who are mentioned in the Genesis 10 table of nations. This is why many scholars today consider the Canaanites more of an ethnic unit than a nation, per se. Some even consider them to be a specific social class (merchants). But much of these references is based upon Egyptian and Mari history. What specifically was considered Canaanite territory? Walter Elwell helpfully draws the geographical boundaries for us: “The first six [of the 11 people groups from Genesis 10] evidently occupied territory at or south of Sidon, whereas the others lived farther north. The northerners mostly settled on the edge of the coastal plain; in the south, settlement spread eastward to the upland areas. To the north, Canaan extended to Latakia, just south of Ugarit, and inland to Hamath. To the south, Canaanite territory stretched to the Negeb desert area, with no clear boundaries. OT references specifically placed the Canaanites in western Palestine’s valleys and coastal areas; the upland country was occupied by Amorites and other peoples.” But what kind of people were the Canaanites? It seems from God’s promise to Abraham that they were wicked and idolatrous people. In Genesis 15:16 the LORD made reference to the Canaanites when he said, “the sin of the Amorites (Canaanites) has not yet reached its full measure.” God was waiting to fulfill his justice against this people. And it seems that as history trudged along, the Canaanites became increasingly wicked.
Canaan was an ancient Semitic-speaking civilization and region of the Southern Levant during the late 2nd millennium BC. Canaan had significant geopolitical importance in the Late Bronze Age Amarna Period (14th century BC) as the area where the spheres of interest of the Egyptian, Hittite, Mitanni, and Assyrian Empires converged or overlapped. Much of present-day knowledge about Canaan stems from archaeological excavation in this area at sites such as Tel Hazor, Tel Megiddo, En Esur, and Gezer. The name "Canaan" appears throughout the Bible as a geography associated with the "Promised Land". The demonym "Canaanites" serves as an ethnic catch-all term covering various indigenous populations—both settled and nomadic-pastoral groups—throughout the regions of the southern Levant. It is by far the most frequently used ethnic term in the Bible. Biblical scholar Mark Smith, citing archaeological findings, suggests "that the Israelite culture largely overlapped with and derived from Canaanite culture ... In short, Israelite culture was largely Canaanite in nature." The name "Canaanites" is attested, many centuries later, as the endonym of the people later known to the Ancient Greeks from c. 500 BC as Phoenicians,[7] and after the emigration of Phoenicians and Canaanite-speakers to Carthage (founded in the 9th century BC), was also used as a self-designation by the Punics (as "Chanani") of North Africa during Late Antiquity. The English term "Canaan" (pronounced since c. 1500, due to the Great Vowel Shift) comes from the Hebrew כנען (Kənaʿan), via the Koine Greek Χανααν Khanaan and the Latin Canaan. It appears as Kinâḫna (Akkadian: 𒆳𒆠𒈾𒄴𒈾, KURki-na-aḫ-na) in the Amarna letters (14th century BC) and several other ancient Egyptian texts In Greek, it first occurs in the writings of Hecataeus (c. 550–476 BC) as "Khna" (Χνᾶ). It is attested in Phoenician on coins from Berytus dated to the 2nd century BC. The etymology is uncertain. An early explanation derives the term from the Semitic root knʿ, "to be low, humble, subjugated". Some scholars have suggested that this implies an original meaning of "lowlands", in contrast with Aram, which would then mean "highlands", whereas others have suggested it meant "the subjugated" as the name of Egypt's province in the Levant, and evolved into the proper name in a similar fashion to Provincia Nostra (the first Roman colony north of the Alps, which became Provence). An alternative suggestion, put forward by Ephraim Avigdor Speiser in 1936, derives the term from Hurrian Kinaḫḫu, purportedly referring to the colour purple, so that "Canaan" and "Phoenicia" would be synonyms ("Land of Purple"). Tablets found in the Hurrian city of Nuzi in the early 20th century appear to use the term "Kinaḫnu" as a synonym for red or purple dye, laboriously produced by the Kassite rulers of Babylon from murex molluscs as early as 1600 BC, and on the Mediterranean coast by the Phoenicians from a byproduct of glassmaking. Purple cloth became a renowned Canaanite export commodity which is mentioned in Exodus. The dyes may have been named after their place of origin. The name 'Phoenicia' is connected with the Greek word for "purple", apparently referring to the same product, but it is difficult to state with certainty whether the Greek word came from the name, or vice versa. The purple cloth of Tyre in Phoenicia was well known far and wide and was associated by the Romans with nobility and royalty. However, according to Robert Drews, Speiser's proposal has generally been abandoned.
Canaan, area variously defined in historical and biblical literature, but always centered on the region of Palestine. Its original pre-Israelite inhabitants were called Canaanites. The names Canaan and Canaanite occur in cuneiform, Egyptian, and Phoenician writings from about the 15th century bce as well as in the Hebrew Bible. In these sources, “Canaan” refers sometimes to an area encompassing all of Palestine and Syria, sometimes only to the land west of the Jordan River, and sometimes just to a strip of coastal land from Acre (ʿAkko) northward. The Bible identifies Canaan as the Promised Land—the land promised to the Israelites by God—and the Israelites settled in Canaan beginning in the late 2nd millennium bce, or perhaps earlier. The origin of the term Canaan is disputed, but it may derive from an old Semitic word denoting “reddish purple,” referring to the rich purple or crimson dye produced in the area or to the wool colored with the dye. Biblically, Canaanites are identified in Genesis as descendants of Canaan, a son of Ham and grandson of Noah. See also Phoenicia. The human habitation of coastal Canaan can be traced back to Paleolithic and Mesolithic times, and excavations have revealed that a settled community and an agricultural way of life existed at the site of Jericho by 8000 bce. More widespread settlement in fixed towns and villages appears not to have occurred until the Neolithic Period (c. 7000–c. 4000 bce). The following period, called the Chalcolithic Age (c. 4000–c. 3000 bce), was characterized by the use of pottery and copper and by houses of uncut stones, with walls of mud brick. 
After examining the DNA of 93 bodies recovered from archaeological sites around the southern Levant, the land of Canaan in the Bible, researchers have concluded that modern populations of the region are descendants of the ancient Canaanites. Most modern Jewish groups and the Arabic-speaking groups from the region show at least half of their ancestry as Canaanite. In the study, published in Cell in May, 2020, the researchers explain that they used existing DNA analysis of 20 individuals, from sites in Israel and Lebanon, and then added 73 more, taking DNA from the bones of individuals found at Tel Megiddo, Tel Abel Beth Maacah and Tel Hazor (Northern Israel), Yehud (central Israel) and Baq’ah (central Jordan). By first eliminating individuals closely related to other individuals in the sample, then comparing the remaining 62 DNA samples against a dataset of 1,663 modern individuals, they were able to establish the genetic link to the modern populations. The ethnic groups either still living where Canaan once dominated, or from that area prior to moving elsewhere, are largely descended from the Canaanites. Canaanite culture was dominant in the Southern Levant during the Bronze Age (3,500-1,200 B.C.E.) As Iron Age I began, the Canaanite city-states faded. The Israelites self-identified as a separate group. As Volkmar Fritz speculates in Israelites and Canaanites, the Israelites may have formed distinct living arrangements, establishing small villages on peripheral land not previously settled and living mostly in four-room houses. Ultimately, the Israelites formed the states of Israel and Judah, while other biblical states, Ammon, Moab, Aram-Damascus, and Phoenician city-states, emerged. Today, the region consists of Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, and southwest Syria. The study in Cell not only establishes that the ancient Israelites were descended from the Canaanites, but also establishes that the Canaanite people across the separate city-states of the southern Levant, and over a period of 1,500 years, were a genetically cohesive people. 
The Canaanites were the Indigenous people of the ancient Levant (modern Israel, Palestine, Transjordan, Lebanon and coastal Syria). They spoke a Semitic language related to Hebrew. During the Early Bronze Age, as trade with Egypt increased, strongly defended cities developed throughout the region which formed the centers of independent states. Egyptian campaigns were occasionally launched against some Canaanite cities but relations were normally maintained through trade. Starting around 2000 B.C.E., Canaanites began to infiltrate the Egyptian Delta, and their donkey caravans can be seen on a number of Egyptian tomb paintings. By 1700 B.C.E. they had seized control of the Delta and established a local dynasty known as the Hyksos or “Shepherd Kings.” This period (1700–1480 B.C.E.) saw the development of a rich and imaginative artistic style, and it was at this time too that the Canaanites developed an alphabetic writing system that was passed on to the Phoenicians. Around 1550 B.C.E. the Hyksos were driven from Egypt by the energetic kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty, and Tuthmosis III (1504–1450 B.C.E.) put the entire Canaanite region under direct imperial control. Throughout the period of the Egyptian Empire, disaffected and dispossessed Canaanites, known to the Egyptians as Habiru migrated to the hill country regions. This Habiru population formed the kernel of what was to become historical Israel, and it was referred to as such by the pharaoh Merneptah (reigned 1236–1223 B.C.E.) on a victory stele now in the Cairo Museum. This bronze figurine wears a broad belt fastened in front with a pair of ribbons, which suggests that he is a warrior. His headgear can be identified as a feathered crown. His hands are pierced and he probably originally carried weapons. He has been compared with Anatolian seals of the same period where a figure stands with a weapon in either hand before a seated god. The figurine was probably cast in a double stone or clay mould. The channels along the back perhaps show that it was originally decorated with sheets of precious metal. Already in the third millennium B.C.E. several kinds of metal were used in the Levant for both casting and hammering. Lead, copper and bronze were generally used for solid-casting, while gold and silver were mainly hammered. It is generally thought that human figurines such as this are images of deities. They may have served as cult idols (statues of deities to which prayers and offerings were made). It is perhaps more likely, though, that they were votive objects, given by worshippers with prayers to enlist the god’s favor or help.
The Canaanites are well known as the inhabitants of the Promised Land, whom the Israelites clashed with at the end of their Exodus. They were a people known for barbarism and paganism, a people God had condemned to judgment at the hand of the Israelites. Yet there are many not-so-well-known details in the biblical account about the Canaanites. And there is much that archaeology has to say about them, directly paralleling the biblical account. Writing about the Canaanites as one people would be akin to writing about Latin America as one nation. The Canaanites actually made up a number of smaller kingdoms and tribes, separately described in the Bible, and collectively referred to as the Canaanites. This article will cover Canaanite history in general and a description of the each Canaanite tribe. Canaan was the grandson of Noah, born around the mid-third millennium b.c.e. As discussed in the previous article on the Egyptians, Canaan’s father, Ham, was the forefather of the darker-skinned races. Canaan was cursed for a sexually depraved encounter with his drunk and unconscious grandfather, Noah. That curse, which befell Canaan and his descendants, was one of slavery (Genesis 9:18-27). And Canaan’s history is certainly one of oppression—in contrast to the general power and ancient renown of his brothers, especially Mizraim (Egypt) and Cush (Ethiopia). The name “Canaan” comes from a root word meaning “humiliated” or “humbled”—something that evidently befell Canaan and his descendants. From Canaan descended a slew of various tribes, listed in Genesis 10:15-18. Verse 19 confirms that these inhabited the land within the modern-day boundaries of Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Archaeology shows that the name Canaan (pronounced Cna’an in Hebrew) was almost exclusively used during the 16th to 12th centuries b.c.e. The name virtually disappears after this period. This fits with the biblical account. The Israelites arrived in Canaan by 1406 b.c.e. Canaan had already been well established by that point. The Israelites began immediately conquering the land, but many Canaanites were allowed to remain living alongside the Israelites—it appears that this Canaanite presence continued largely for the next few centuries, before they were finally driven out, corresponding to the period in which we all but lose sight of the term “Canaan.”
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