(Semitic: kana, to bow down; hence, lowlands) <\/p>\n
Term applied in a limited sense by biblical writers to the northern coast of modern Palestine, or Phenicia; or to the lowland of the Philistines on the southern coast. They identify it more generally with the whole of Western Palestine, including the mountainous districts occupied by the Amorrhites, and enclosed within the generally accepted boundaries of 33 degrees 18 minutes north latitude. On the north, 30 degrees 33 minutes north latitude on the south, the Mediterranean on the west, and the Dead Sea and lower course of the Jordan on the east. According to British surveyors its maximum area was about 9,700 square miles. Among the famous places in what constituted the former country of Chanaan are Jerusalem , the Holy City; Bethlehem , the birthplace of Our Lord; Nazareth, the scene of His private life; Joppe, Hebron, Gaza, and Bersabee . The land has numerous brooks and fountains, fine pasturages, and a most fertile region in the valley of the Jordan. Its famous mountains are Carmel , Gelboe, and Thabor. <\/p>\n
Canaan, the ancient name of that portion of Palestine which lay to the west of the Jordan (Gen 13:12; Num 33:51; Deu 11:30; Jdg 21:12), the part beyond the Jordan eastward being distinguished by the general name of Gilead (comp. Jdg 21:12). The denomination Canaan included Philistia and Phoenicia (comp. Isa 23:11; Eze 16:29; Zep 2:5). The name occurs on Phoenician coins, and was not even unknown to the Carthaginians. For an account of the geography, etc. of the country, see Palestine.<\/p>\n
[Ca’naan]<\/p>\n
The land possessed by the descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham, which was until recently called PALESTINE. The whole of it was promised to Abraham, and a further territory was also promised ‘from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.’ Gen 15:18; Gen 17:8. The word used here thrice for ‘river’ is nahar, which is not applicable to a winter stream, so that ‘river of Egypt’ doubtless refers to the most easterly branch of the Nile, called Pelusiac. These limits of Abraham’s promised possession are on the S.W. and N.E.; the Mediterranean being the western limit, the eastern being undefined; but the ‘river Euphrates’ boundary must be on the north part of that river, which indeed was reached by Solomon at Tiphsah (about 35 50′ N, 39 E). 1Ki 4:24.<\/p>\n
In Num 34:5-8 directions are given as to the boundaries of the land to be then possessed by the tribes, and here a different word is used for ‘river’ (nachal ) in ‘river of Egypt.’ This word signifies ‘brook in a valley,’ and cannot refer to the Nile; indeed the places also mentioned are more in the latitude of the wady called el Arish, 31 5′ N, near to the ancient city Rhinocolura. This is not so far south as the country over which Solomon had dominion, which extended to Ezion-geber on the gulf of Akaba. In Num 34:9-11 the north border is also given, and though some of the places cannot be traced, it is yet clear that the border did not extend as far as was possessed under Solomon, who anticipated for the moment the possession which will yet be inherited by Israel under Christ. ‘From Dan to Beersheba’ became the common way of describing the whole of Canaan. This comprised about 150 miles from north to south. In Deu 1:7 the borders are named as between ‘the mount of the Amorites,’ near the Dead Sea on the south, to ‘Lebanon and the river Euphrates’ on the north.<\/p>\n
The land is declared to be like no other country on earth, presenting as it does in so small a compass such diversity of surface; some parts being fruitful plains; other parts rugged rocks and spacious caves, and mountains with their sides covered with vineyards. One part is 1200 feet below the level of the sea, with a tropical atmosphere; its highest part 9000 feet above the sea, with an Alpine temperature. In some places it is a garden of flowers; in others an arid desert. See SEASONS.<\/p>\n
The land of Canaan may be described as having four zones: by the Mediterranean Sea a plain runs from north to south, much wider in the south than in the north; it is broken into by Mount Carmel running across it. Parallel with the plain is a zone of hill country from Lebanon to the south, varying in height, and with some mountains. To the east of this is the valley in which runs the Jordan with the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. To the east of the Jordan valley is another range of hill country, which declines into the desert on its east. In the west, south of Aijalon, 31 51′ N, is a district called the Shephelah. It is distinct from the plain by the sea coast, and distinct from the hill country. It is sometimes described as low hills or ‘the lowland.’ It was the part where the Israelites were so often attacked by the Philistines.<\/p>\n
God Himself describes the land as “a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.” Deu 8:7-9. Universal testimony is given to the great productiveness of the soil if it were properly cultivated; but under the judgement of God and the misrule of man comparatively little has been produced until the State of Israel was founded in the twentieth century.<\/p>\n
Ruins of former greatness abound everywhere showing how the judgements predicted by God have been fulfilled; but it is well to remember that the predictions as to future blessing will as certainly be fulfilled as were those as to judgements. It will yet be ‘the holy land,’ Zec 2:12; ‘Immanuel’s land,’ Isa 8:8; for it is ‘the land of promise,’ Heb 11:9. It is called CHANAAN in Act 7:11; Act 13:19.<\/p>\n
It is estimated that there are now 4.8 million Jews in Israel [AD2000], many are resorting thither, but, alas, in unbelief. There were only 100,000, 100 years ago. There are other ethnic groups in Israel, as well as Gaza and Jordan, particularly Palestinian Muslims who were defeated by Israel in the war of 1948. The Palestinians number about 3.6 million of which 0.9 million are in Israel itself.<\/p>\n
The name Palestine is often now used as synonymous with Canaan, but in the scripture that term and ‘Palestina’ refer to the land of the Philistines, the narrow border on the sea coast in the south of Canaan. Exo 15:14; Isa 14:29; Isa 14:31; Joe 3:4.<\/p>\n
The land on the west of the Jordan and some portions on the east have been surveyed, firstly by the officers of the Palestine Exploration Fund, which has been the means, as far as their judgement goes, of identifying many Biblical sites. Their map enabled the longitude and latitude of the principal places being given in this work. The modern State of Israel has ensured that much is now known of the geography of the country.<\/p>\n
(A) MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS Gen 11:31<\/span>; Gen 12:5<\/span>; Gen 13:12<\/span>; Gen 16:3<\/span>; Gen 17:8<\/span>; Gen 42:5<\/span>; Gen 49:30<\/span>; Exo 6:4<\/span>; Exo 15:15<\/span><\/p>\n Num 32:32<\/span>; Jos 5:12<\/span>; 1Ch 16:18<\/span>; Isa 8:8<\/span><\/p>\n –SEE 632 Gen 12:7<\/span>; Gen 13:15<\/span>; Gen 15:7<\/span>; Gen 15:18<\/span>; Gen 17:8<\/span>; Gen 50:24<\/span>; Exo 6:8<\/span>; Lev 20:24<\/span><\/p>\n Num 14:8<\/span>; Deu 6:10<\/span>; Deu 31:20<\/span>; Jos 5:6<\/span>; Jdg 2:1<\/span><\/p>\n –SEE<\/strong> Earthly Heritage, INHERITANCE<\/p>\n (3) Fruitful Land<\/strong><\/p>\n Exo 3:8<\/span>; Num 13:27<\/span>; Deu 8:8<\/span>; Deu 11:9<\/span>; Jer 2:7<\/span><\/p>\n (4) Polluted, <\/strong>by sin<\/p>\n Lev 18:25<\/span>; Num 35:34<\/span>; Psa 106:38<\/span>; Isa 24:5<\/span>; Jer 2:7<\/span>; Jer 3:2<\/span>; Jer 16:18<\/span><\/p>\n Mic 2:10<\/span><\/p>\n –SEE<\/strong> Pollutions (2), DEFILEMENT<\/p>\n (5) Heathen Cast out <\/strong>of, Because of sin<\/p>\n Exo 34:24<\/span>; Lev 18:24<\/span>; Lev 20:23<\/span>; Deu 6:19<\/span>; Deu 7:1<\/span>; Deu 9:4<\/span>; Jos 13:12<\/span><\/p>\n 2Ki16:3<\/span>; 2Ki17:8<\/span>; 2Ki21:2<\/span>; 2Ch 28:3<\/span>; 2Ch 33:2<\/span>; Psa 18:42<\/span>; Psa 78:55<\/span>; Psa 80:8<\/span><\/p>\n (6) Wars of Extermination<\/strong> Waged against Early Inhabitants of<\/p>\n Num 31:7<\/span>; Deu 7:2<\/span>; Deu 13:15<\/span>; Deu 20:17<\/span>; 1Sa 15:3<\/span><\/p>\n –SEE<\/strong> Destruction (3), DESTRUCTION<\/p>\n (B) NAMES OFF Beulah<\/p>\n Isa 62:4<\/span><\/p>\n Canaan SEE CANAAN, LAND OF Zec 2:12<\/span><\/p>\n Immanuel’s Land<\/p>\n Isa 8:8<\/span><\/p>\n Land of Israel<\/p>\n 1Sa 13:19<\/span><\/p>\n Land of the Hebrews<\/p>\n Gen 40:15<\/span><\/p>\n Land of the Jews<\/p>\n Act 10:39<\/span><\/p>\n Land of Promise<\/p>\n Heb 11:9<\/span><\/p>\n Palestina<\/p>\n Exo 15:14<\/span><\/p>\n Pleasant Land<\/p>\n Dan 8:9<\/span><\/p>\n The Lord’s Land<\/p>\n Hos 9:3<\/span><\/p>\n (2) <\/strong> Modern Name, Palestine<\/p>\n (C) DESCRIPTION OF<\/strong><\/p>\n Gen 13:10<\/span>; Deu 8:7<\/span>; Deu 11:11<\/span><\/p>\n (D) DIVISION OF<\/strong><\/p>\n —By Joshua, among the tribes 1Ki 4:7<\/span><\/p>\n —Into Kingdoms<\/p>\n 1Ki 11:35<\/span><\/p>\n —Into Roman Provinces<\/p>\n Luk 3:1 Canaan, land of (Semitic: kana, to bow down; hence, lowlands) Term applied in a limited sense by biblical writers to the northern coast of modern Palestine, or Phenicia; or to the lowland of the Philistines on the southern coast. They identify it more generally with the whole of Western Palestine, including the mountainous districts occupied … Continue reading “CANAAN, LAND OF”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-encyclopedic-dictionary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31770\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
(1)<\/strong> General References to<\/p>\n
(2) Promised to Abraham<\/strong><\/p>\n
(1)<\/strong> Ancient Names<\/p>\n
Holy Land<\/p>\n
Joshua, Chapters 14-17
—Into Provinces<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\nFuente: Thompson Chain-Reference Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"