Lexical Summary
Kna'aniy: Canaanite
Original Word:כְּנַעַנִי
Part of Speech:Adjective; name, of a people; substantive; noun masculine
Transliteration:Kna`aniy
Pronunciation:kuh-nah-ah-nee
Phonetic Spelling:(ken-ah-an-ee')
KJV: Canaanite, merchant, trafficker
Word Origin:[patrial fromH3667 (כְּנַעַן - Canaan)]
1. a Kenaanite or inhabitant of Kenaan
2. (by implication) a pedlar (the Canaanites standing for their neighbors the Ishmaelites, who conducted mercantile caravans)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Canaanite, merchant, trafficker
Patrial fromKna'an; a Kenaanite or inhabitant of Kenaan; by implication, a pedlar (the Canaanites standing for their neighbors the Ishmaelites, who conducted mercantile caravans) -- Canaanite, merchant, trafficker.
see HEBREWKna'an
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. and
of I. ; — usually masculine singularGenesis 38:2;Numbers 21:1 +; feminine singularGenesis 46:10 =Exodus 6:15;1 Chronicles 2:3 masculine plural Obadiah 20;Nehemiah 9:24; —Genesis 38:2 (J). with article as
,Numbers 21:1 (J) and henceNumbers 33:40 (P or R); feminineGenesis 46:10 =Exodus 6:15 (P)1 Chronicles 2:3.
usually collective (with article) of pre-Israel in-habitants of (q. v.)Genesis 12:6;Genesis 24:3,37;Genesis 50:11 (all J),Numbers 21:3 (J),Joshua 13:3 (D),Judges 1:1,3,9,10,17, many of whom continued to live in the midst of Israel,Judges 1:27;Judges 1:28;Judges 1:29;Judges 1:29;Judges 1:30;Judges 1:32;Judges 1:33;Joshua 16:10 (twice in verse);Joshua 17:12,13,16,18 (all J E),1 Kings 9:16; plural only Obadiah 20, andNehemiah 9:24;Genesis 10:18,Genesis 10:19 (both J),Exodus 13:11 (JE),Ezekiel 16:3; often ofpart of the inhabitants,Joshua 7:9 (JE),Deuteronomy 11:30; with other proper name, of a people, +Genesis 13:7;Genesis 34:30 (both J),Judges 1:4,5, +Deuteronomy 1:7;Joshua 5:1;Joshua 13:4 (all D); +2 Samuel 24:7; +Numbers 14:25,43,45; especially in the list of peoples dispossessed by Israel,Genesis 15:21;Exodus 3:8,17;Exodus 13:5;Exodus 23:23,28;Exodus 33:2;Exodus 34:11;Numbers 13:29 ( dwelling by the sea and along Jordan [compareDeuteronomy 1:7;Deuteronomy 11:30;Joshua 5:1;Joshua 11:3;Joshua 13:4]; all these J E),Deuteronomy 7:1;Deuteronomy 20:17;Joshua 3:10;Joshua 9:1;Joshua 11:3;Joshua 12:8;Joshua 24:11 (all J E D),Judges 3:3,5; henceEzra 9:1;Nehemiah 9:8. compare DrDt. p. 11, 13 f., 97, 133.
II. (compare II. ); only singular (but see below): —Zechariah 14:21 (probably);Proverbs 31:24 ("" ). plural suffix (si vera lectio)Isaiah 23:8 ("" ). InZechariah 11:7,11 read perhaps for , , , StaZAW, 1881. 26 (who compare as to senseHosea 12:8), compare Klo We Marti.
Topical Lexicon
Genealogical BackgroundThe Canaanites trace their lineage to Canaan, the grandson of Noah through Ham (Genesis 10:6 – 18). In the Table of Nations the term functions as an umbrella for several related peoples—Sidonians, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, and others—who occupied the narrow Levantine corridor between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Scripture introduces them as early possessors of the land promised to Abram: “At that time the Canaanites were in the land” (Genesis 12:6). From the outset the word therefore serves to mark a theological tension between divine promise and current occupancy.
Territorial Extent and Centers of Influence
Genesis 10:19 places the borders of Canaan from Sidon in the north to Gaza in the south and eastward toward the Dead Sea region. Key urban hubs—Jericho, Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer, and Shechem—were Canaanite strongholds noted both for fortification and for commerce (Joshua 11:10; 17:11;Judges 1:29). Archaeological data from these sites corroborate the picture of walled cities, advanced metallurgy, and wide-ranging trade that Scripture alludes to by sometimes translating the same root as “merchant” (e.g.,Job 41:6;Zechariah 14:21).
Religious and Moral Character
Mosaic texts describe the Canaanite ethos as saturated with idolatry, ritual prostitution, and child sacrifice (Leviticus 18:21 – 27;Deuteronomy 12:31). These abominations explain the divine decree of expulsion: “Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for by all these things the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves” (Leviticus 18:24). Their cultic centers at Bethel, Megiddo, and Hazor revealed high places, standing stones, and altars to Baal and Asherah—physical reminders of the moral danger of syncretism.
Role in Israel’s Conquest and Settlement
Exodus anticipates the military confrontation: “I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites” (Exodus 33:2).Joshua 3:10 lists them first among the seven nations Israel must dispossess, underscoring their representative status. Major engagements include:
• Central campaign: Jericho (Joshua 6) and Ai (Joshua 8).
• Southern campaign: Makkedah to Hebron (Joshua 10).
• Northern coalition: “Jabin king of Hazor sent word to… the Canaanites in the east and west” (Joshua 11:1).
The defeat of Hazor, “head of all these kingdoms” (Joshua 11:10), symbolizes Yahweh’s supremacy over the Canaanite order.
Survivors, Servitude, and Assimilation
Despite decisive victories, remnant Canaanite enclaves endured (Judges 1:27 – 36). Israel’s failure to complete the expulsion led to three outcomes:
1. Forced labor (Joshua 16:10;Judges 1:28).
2. Covenant violation through inter-marriage (Judges 3:5 – 6).
3. Idolatrous contamination, provoking cycles of oppression and deliverance in the Judges era.
Later monarchs pressed the remnant into corvée (1 Kings 9:20 – 21), illustrating both political domination and lingering spiritual risk.
Prophetic and Eschatological Outlook
Zechariah employs the name in a climactic vision of holiness: “On that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of Hosts” (Zechariah 14:21). The prophecy foresees a purified worshiping community, free of the commercialized ritual and moral compromise the Canaanites epitomized. By reversing the merchant connotation of the word, Zechariah anticipates Messiah’s cleansing of the temple (compareMatthew 21:12 – 13).
Redemptive Typology
1. Promise versus possession: Canaanite presence highlights the already/not-yet tension of God’s covenant land grant.
2. Sin and judgment: Their dispossession prefigures final divine judgment on all godlessness.
3. Grace and inclusion: Rahab of Jericho and the Gibeonites demonstrate that individual Canaanites who turn in faith find mercy (Joshua 2; 9). Rahab enters Messiah’s genealogy (Matthew 1:5), showcasing sovereign grace transcending ethnic lines.
New Testament Echoes
The Greek term Chananaia (Matthew 15:22) preserves the ethnic label when a “Canaanite woman” appeals to Jesus. Her faith and Christ’s favorable response anticipate the gospel’s reach to former outsiders, fulfilling the prophetic hope that the nations—including erstwhile Canaanites—will worship the God of Israel.
Ministry Applications
• Spiritual vigilance: Israel’s incomplete separation warns believers against tolerating sin that can become a snare (1 Corinthians 10:6 – 11).
• Missionary vision: God’s mercy to Rahab and the Canaanite woman encourages evangelism among those considered farthest from covenant blessing.
• Eschatological hope: Zechariah’s promise fuels anticipation of a holy temple-community where every pot is “holy to the LORD” (Zechariah 14:20), energizing present-day pursuit of purity and wholehearted worship.
Key Representative References
Genesis 13:7;Exodus 3:8;Numbers 13:29;Joshua 3:10;Judges 3:5 – 6;1 Kings 9:20 – 21;Ezra 9:1;Nehemiah 9:8;Psalm 106:34 – 35;Zechariah 14:21.
Forms and Transliterations
בַּֽכְּנַעֲנִ֑י בַּֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔י בַּֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י בכנעני הַֽ֠כְּנַעֲנִי הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֑י הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֑ית הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔י הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֗י הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֛י הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֜י הַֽכְּנַעֲנִֽי׃ הַֽכְּנַעֲנִֽית׃ הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ הַכְּנַ֣עֲנִ֔ים הַכְּנַעֲנִ֣י הַכְּנַעֲנִ֤י הַכְּנַעֲנִ֥י הַכְּנַעֲנִ֨י הכנעני הכנעני׃ הכנענים הכנענית הכנענית׃ וְהַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֑י וְהַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔י וְהַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י וְהַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֗י וְהַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ וְהַכְּנַעֲנִ֣י וְהַכְּנַעֲנִ֥י והכנעני כְּֽנַעֲנִֽים׃ כְּנַעֲנִ֖י כְּנַעֲנִים֙ כְנַעֲנִ֥י כִּנְעָנֶ֖יהָ כנעני כנעניה כנענים כנענים׃ לַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י לַֽכְּנַעֲנִֽי׃ לַכְּנַעֲנִ֨י לכנעני לכנעני׃ bak·kə·na·‘ă·nî bakkəna‘ănî bakkenaaNi chenaaNi hak·kə·na·‘ă·nî hak·kə·na·‘ă·nîm hak·kə·na·‘ă·nîṯ hakkəna‘ănî hakkəna‘ănîm hakkəna‘ănîṯ HakkenaaNi hakkeNaaNim HakkenaaNit kə·na·‘ă·nî ḵə·na·‘ă·nî kə·na·‘ă·nîm kəna‘ănî ḵəna‘ănî kəna‘ănîm kenaaNi KenaaNim kin‘ānehā kin·‘ā·ne·hā kinaNeiha lak·kə·na·‘ă·nî lakkəna‘ănî lakkenaaNi vehakkenaaNi wə·hak·kə·na·‘ă·nî wəhakkəna‘ănî
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