The Patriarchs in Canaan
Adrian Curtis
Canaan
The term ‘Canaan’ is here used loosely to refer particularly to the southern Levant. There are several biblical allusions to its extent, but these do not coincide precisely. The ‘Table of Nations’ (Gen. 10: 15–19 ) suggests that its compiler understood Canaan to stretch from Gaza in the south, beyond Sidon, as far north as Hamath. But another description of the boundaries of Canaan (Num. 34: 2–12 ) puts the northern limit at Lebo‐Hamath (Lebweh), considerably further south. Numbers 33: 51 suggests that Canaan covered the whole area west of the Jordan, whereas Numbers 13:29 suggests that the Canaanites inhabited the coastal area and land along the Jordan only. Evidence from Egyptian sources suggests that the Egyptian province of Canaan comprised the territory north of Gaza, between the Mediterranean to the west and the Jordan valley to the east; unfortunately the northern limits are rather less clear.
Sonia Halliday Photographs (Jane Taylor)
Sonia Halliday Photographs (Jane Taylor)