| Ca'naan. (subjected, low land). The land God gave to Israel. It is also called Palestine. The name “Canaan” derives from one of Noah’s grandsons, the offspring of Ham (Genesis 10:6-19; 1 Chronicles 1:8-16; Numbers 13:29; Joshua 11:3). Canaan was cursed because of his father Ham’s immoral and improper conduct toward Noah, and it was from Canaan that the land of Palestine was originally inhabited prior to the days of Moses and Joshua. Of Canaan originated the Philistines, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, and the Hivites (1 Chronicles 1:8-16; Deuteronomy 20:16-18). The exact nature of Ham’s offense is not known, but it is to be noted that all of the nations which descended from him were involved in deep immorality (Leviticus 20:10-23). “The nations which God destroyed before Israel were descended from Canaan; and so were the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians, who were at length subjugated with dreadful destruction by the Greeks and Romans. The Africans who have been bought and sold like beasts, were also his posterity” (Treasury). Smith's Bible Dictionary or |