The Canaanites Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Canaanites - Research Paper Example Actually speaking, God allowed Canaanites a time span of 400 years so that their abominations could ripen to receive the justice of God. By ordering the Israelites to attack and exterminate the Canaanites, God achieved two objectives. First and foremost, He brought a true and righteous judgment on the deserving Canaanites. The Canaanites’ gods were known to engage in varied types of abominations that included bestiality and incest. Secondly, by commanding the extermination of the Canaanites, God succeeded in preparing the land for His true followers so as to give way to an appropriate religious setting to justify the advent of the Messiah, who had to redeem both the Israelites and the Gentiles. Therefore, to be able to grasp a possible insight into the ways of God within a Biblical context, it is imperative to delve on the history, religion and the culture of the abominable people like Canaanites. History of Canaanites Canaanites are the people variedly described throughout th e historical and biblical records. Yet, most of the times the Canaanites were shown to be centered in Palestine (Driver 24). Perhaps the native, pre Israelite inhabitants of Palestine were known by the name Canaanites. The term Canaan and Canaanites could be traced in the ancient Egyptian records dating back to fifteenth century BC and more profusely in the Old Testament. Geographically speaking, varied biblical and historical records tend to place Canaanites in varied locations. As per some records, Canaan referred to an area encompassing most of Syria and Palestine (Driver 136). As per some other records, Canaan ascribed to the land lying to the west of Jordan River (Driver 136). Some records consider Canaan merely to be a strip of coastal land to the north of Acre (Driver 146). It was some time at the ebb end of the second millennium BC that the Israelites conquered and exterminated Canaanites. The Holy Bible tends to justify the extermination of Canaanites by associating Canaan with the Promised Land that was promised by God to the Israelites and their descendents. The origins of the word ‘Canaanite tends to be a bit disputed. However, many historians believe that the word ‘Canaanite’ originated from an ancient Semitic word meaning â€Å"reddish purple†, related to the rich purple dye that was manufactured in the area of Canaan or the wool dyed in a rich purple color (Driver 135). The Bible identifies Canaanites to be the descendents of Ham. Canaan happened to be the brother of Mizarim and the fourth son of Ham. Actually speaking, it was Canaan who happened to be the grandson of Noah, who was cursed by Noah in Genesis. In that context, historically speaking, Canaanites tend to have a vicious and evil ancestor. Perhaps, with the passage of time, Canaanites metamorphosed into a general term referring to all the tribes that inhabited the west of Dead Sea and the East of Jordan River. As per the available historical findings, the paga n ancestry of the Canaanites could be traced back to Paleolithic and Mesolithic ages (McCown 77). It was sometime during the Bronze Age that Semitic people are known to appear in the area known by the name Canaan (McCown 77). It was primarily the Semitic Amorites who entered Canaan from the northeast