What is the difference between israel and canaan

The inhabitants of Canaan were never ethnically or politically unified as a single nation. They did, however, share sufficient similarities in language and culture to be described together as "Canaanites. Israel refers to both a people within Canaan and later to the political entity formed by those people. Carmel hopes to soon expand the findings by collecting DNA from the remains of those who can be identified as Judean, Moabite, Ammonite, and other groups mentioned in the Bible and other texts.

All rights reserved. Andrew Lawler is a journalist and author who has written about controversial excavations under Jerusalem and the search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke for National Geographic. Share Tweet Email. Read This Next Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London.

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Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Environment As the EU targets emissions cuts, this country has a coal problem. Yes, there certainly were wrongs committed by the Israelites. Some of the deeds committed by the tribe of Dan are a case in point see Judges These kinds of acts were condemned in the Bible. They are the exception, not the rule. And mutilation—a common, ancient regional practice—was in practice anathema to the Israelites.

In certain cases, Israel simply requested peaceable passage through other nations on their journey into the Promised Land. In fact, Israel did not originally intend to acquire the large swathes of land east of the Jordan River which later became the territory for the tribes of Reuben and Manasseh.

But when they requested permission for peaceful passage through the land, the rulers came out looking for a fight. King Sihon of the Amorites gathered his army and attacked. The Israelites, fighting a defensive war, overcame the Amorites and conquered their land, which included many villages and cities Numbers The same thing happened later against Og, king of Bashan—the Israelites fought a defensive war and conquered his territory which included 60 cities.

This saw a wealth of territory east of the Jordan River suddenly and miraculously turned over to the Israelites. The Israelites conquered the Amalekites in a defensive battle, after they were suddenly set upon in the wilderness Numbers The Israelites fought against and conquered the Midianites because of the widespread death and destruction brought upon them by their antagonism Numbers The Jebusite-Canaanite tribe still dwelt in Jerusalem. Somehow, they had been allowed to remain in the land, occupying their powerful stronghold Jebus.

Thus the Jebusites were expunged from the territory. Or were they? This Araunah was named a Jebusite king 2 Samuel He had graciously been allowed to continue owning land within Jerusalem. David, at the end of his life, desperately required the land of Araunah upon which to build an altar to stop a massive plague. Araunah wanted David to have it free, along with oxen and equipment. But David firmly refused. He purchased the land and equipment from Araunah at full price.

This, for land directly abutting the royal palace. What other history parallels this kind of benevolence toward a Canaanite ruler? Surely very few, if any. Judges 1 contains a long list of Canaanite areas that should have been conquered—but because of Israelite complacency, were not. These remaining Canaanite tribes would later cause a whirlwind of trouble for the Israelites, especially during the time of the judges. The story of the Israelites conquest of the Promised Land is not one of a powerful tyrannical people sweeping in and butchering a once-free population.

Actually, the Canaanites were decidedly not free. They were under the yoke of an overbearing imperialist power: Egypt. The domineering and aggressive Egypt sporadically swept into the land, violently destroying Canaanite cities. To the king, my lord, my god, my sun … I fall at the feet of the king, my lord, seven times and seven times. I am the dirt under the sandals of the king, my lord.

My lord is the sun who comes forth over all lands day by day, according to the way of the sun, his gracious father, who gives life by his sweet breath and returns with his north wind; who establishes the entire land in peace, by the power of his arm: who gives forth his cry in the sky like Baal, and all the land is frightened at his cry.

The servant herewith writes to his lord that he heard the gracious messenger of the king who came to his servant, and the sweet breath that came forth from the mouth of the king, my lord, to his servant—his breath came back!

Before the arrival of the messenger of the king, my lord, breath had not come back; my nose was blocked. Now that the breath of the king has come forth to me, I am very happy.

If the king wrote for my wife, how could I hold her back? This kind of banality from the Canaanite leadership was quite common in their correspondence with the narcissistic ruler of Egypt. Several rulers in Canaan reuse many of these phrases—surely their use must have been enforced by the pharaoh.

As Israel swept through the Promised Land, Canaanite leaders within the land sent desperate, impassioned pleas to the pharaoh to send help to defend them.

Many dozens of letters have been discovered and are today known as the Amarna Letters. But their cries fell on deaf ears. No Egyptian help was sent. Contrast the following example. The Israelites, as they were entering the Promised Land, were deceived into a peace treaty with the Gibeonites. Gibeonite messengers were sent to Joshua, lying that theirs was a faraway city outside of the allotted Israelite Promised Land, and secured for themselves a peace deal.

In fact, Gibeon was a nearby city located well within the territory of Canaan that the Israelites were commanded to conquer. The Israelites were stuck—they had made an oath to the inhabitants that could not be broken Joshua 9. After this, Gibeon was set upon by surrounding Canaanite armies, aiming to punish them for their allegiance.

The leaders of Gibeon pleaded with the Israelites for help. Joshua and the Israelite army swept in to the defense of Gibeon. In the ensuing conflict, while defending these Gibeonites, the Israelites pushed back the Canaanite armies and conquered more of their territory in the process. Again, vast amounts of land were won while fighting a defensive war, and in this case not even in defense of themselves but in defense of Canaanites!

A miraculous victory—in the aim of defending a Canaanite tribe. At the end of the day, the conquest of the Promised Land was not just a blow to the Canaanites—it was a mighty blow to the Egyptian empire.

Canaanites who served under the Israelites were much better off than they were under the Egyptians. And God provided an extremely strict set of rules for servants, enforcing proper treatment, pay, and freedoms for those in the employ of the Israelites again, a separate study.

Of course, just like with the conquest of Canaan, critics including Barack Obama cry foul and accuse Leviticus of appropriating slavery. These are hardly the actions of a nation of tyrannical imperialists milking dry a helpless subjugate slave-class. It is true that God wanted the Canaanites to be wiped out. Given all of the above points—the fact that much of Canaan originally belonged to the Israelites and that much of it was reconquered through defensive battles—God did still intend to bring utter destruction upon the inhabitants of the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy says:. But of the cities of these people, which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: but thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee.

Why would God command the slaughter of the Canaanites? Was it just so the Israelites could have more territory?

Was it just because God preferred one race over another? Definitely not! Understanding the debauched lifestyle and religion of the Canaanite people helps us to understand why God condemned them. Put simply, Canaan was a veritable reincarnation of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the land was to face the same penalty of utter destruction. Leviticus 18 contains a long list of evil practices that the Israelites were to avoid—and specifically states that these were the rampant practices of the Canaanites verse They included homosexuality and bestiality.

Perhaps most egregious of all, they included child sacrifice. Archaeology sheds some light on the practices of the Canaanites. Much of our archaeological knowledge of Canaanite religion comes from texts discovered at the northern city of Ugarit. The texts confirm that Baal was one of the chief Canaanite gods. Baal is often associated with his ritualistic mother-cum-mistress, Asherah.

Believing the sexual union of Baal and Asherah produced fertility, their worshipers engaged in immoral sex to cause the gods to join together, ensuring good harvests. This practice became the basis for religious prostitution 1 Kings [see also 1 Samuel The priest or a male member of the community represented Baal.

The priestess or female members of the community represented Asherah. The Canaanites attempted to replicate the behavior of their gods. Baal would fornicate with both his mother, Asherah, and his sister Anat.