Page 10 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Revised

Chapter 2: Canaanite Backgrounds and the Patriarchal Period
(Genesis 13-46)

Connect…

In modern scholarship and apologetics, the Canaanites have resurfaced as an important topic. The issue
is whether God was justified in having the Canaanites killed. This issue is considered highly important by
atheists and agnostics. They say this action demonstrates that God is not good. That is an important
issue, to be certain, but to have a hope of accurately answering it, we must be able to answer
foundations questions. Who were the Canaanites? Where were they originate from, and where did they
live? What was their religious culture? In this chapter, we will examine these issues briefly.

Objectives…

1. Students should be able to summarize the origins and location of Canaan and Canaanites.

2. Students should be able to explain how the Canaanite government worked.

3. Students should be able to describe the nature of the Canaanite religious practice.

4. Students should be able to explain the significance and cultural conception of the devotion to the
destruction of the Canaanites.
5. Students should be able to justify why God was just commanding Joshua to kill all the Canaanites
while taking the land.

The Lesson ...

Canaanite Backgrounds and the Patriarchal Period.

Canaan was not a large piece of land. It was in what would
later be called Palestine. It was 150 miles long (241.4
kilometers) and ranged from 30-80 miles wide (48.28 – 128.75
kilometers). It ranged from Dan in the North to Beersheba in
the South. The eastern boundary is the Jordan River. The
Western boundary was the Mediterranean Sea.
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The Canaanites are mentioned over 150 times in the Bible.
They were wicked, idolatrous people descended from Noah’s
grandson Canaan, who was a son of Ham (Genesis 9:18).
Canaan was cursed because of his and his father’s sin against Noah (Genesis 9:20–25). In some

14 Voss, Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Manners and Customs, 29-30.

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