Lexical Definition

‎כְּנַעַן‎ Kᵉnaʻan (ken-ah'-an) Canaan ^N:N--L
from ‎כָּנַע‎; humiliated

Canaan, merchant, traffick.

• § Canaan = "lowland"
• Kenaan, a son a Ham
• also the country inhabited by him

n pr m
1) the 4th son of Ham and the progenitor of the Phoenicians and of the various nations who peopled the seacoast of Palestine
n pr loc
2) the land west of the Jordan peopled by the descendants of Canaan and subsequently conquered by the Israelites under Joshua
n m
3) merchant, trader

See Greek: Χαναάν

Extended Information

• the land west of the Jordan peopled by the descendants of Canaan and subsequently conquered by the Israelites under Joshua

Brown-Driver-Briggs

I. ‎כְּנַ֫עַן‎₉₀ proper name, masculine and of a territory Canaan (ᵐ5 Ξανααν, Phoenician ‎כנען‎ = Phoenicia; Ξνα = ‎כנע‎, Hecataeus, see Müller^{Fr.Hist.Gr.i,17} and others; Egyptian Ka-n-±-na WMM^{As.u.Europa,205 ff.}; Tel Amarna Kina—na, Kina——i, etc., Bez^{BM Tablets, 150} Wkl^{TA 39}; etymology dubious GFM^{PAOS Oct. 1890. lxvii ff.}; see also GASm^{Geogr. 4 f.} Buhl^{Geogr. § 42}); —

1. as proper name, masculine, son of Ham Gen 9:18; Gen 9:22; Gen 9:25; Gen 9:27; Gen 10:15 (as ancestor of Canaanites and Phoenicians; all J); Gen 10:6 (P); 1Chr 1:8; 1Chr 1:13 (from Gen 10:6; Gen 10:15).

2. a. land, west of Jordan, into which Hebrews came, and where they settled, subduing the inhabitants; ‎מַלְכֵי כְּנַעַן‎ Judg 5:19, ‎׳‎‎מלך כ‎ Judg 4:2; Judg 4:23; Judg 4:24 (twice in verse); hence ‎׳‎‎מַמְלְכוֺת כ‎ Ps 135:11 ‎׳‎‎ישְׁבֵי כ‎ Exod 15:15 (song in E); compare ‎׳‎‎מִלְחֲמוֺת כ‎ Judg 3:1 ‎׳‎‎עֲצַבֵּי כ‎ Ps 106:38 idols of Canaan, i.e. of the former inhabitants; especially ‎׳‎‎אֶרֶץ (ֿ) כ‎, ‎׳‎‎אַרְצָה כ‎ Gen 44:8; Gen 46:31; Gen 47:1; Gen 47:4; Gen 47:13; Gen 47:14; Gen 47:15; Gen 50:5; Gen 50:13 (all J), Gen 35:6; Gen 42:5; Gen 42:7; Gen 42:13; Gen 42:29; Gen 42:32; Gen 45:17; Gen 45:25; Josh 24:3 (all E), Gen 11:31; Gen 12:5 (twice in verse); Gen 13:12 (opposed to ‎עָרֵי הַכִּכָּר‎ v^b), Gen 16:3; Gen 17:8 (all P) + 40 t. P, Judg 21:12; 1Chr 16:18 = Ps 105:11 also ‎׳‎‎הָאָרֶץ כ‎ Num 34:2 (P); ‎׳‎‎בְּנוֺת כ‎ Gen 28:1 daughters of Canaan = women of the land, so vGen 28:6 vGen 28:8; Gen 36:2 (all P); ‎כנען‎ is personified Hos 12:8* = apostate Israel; ‎׳‎‎שְׂפַת כ‎ Isa 19:18 = the Hebrew language (without evil implication).
b. the coast, especially Phoenicia Isa 23:11 compare ‎אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים‎ ‎׳‎‎כ‎ Zeph 2:5.

II. ‎כְּנָ֫עַן‎ noun [masculine] merchant (s) (because Canaanites, especially Phoenicians, were traders); — ‎כָּלעַֿם כְּנַעַן‎ Zeph 1:11 ‎׳‎‎אֶרֶץ כ‎ Ezek 16:29 (omitted by ᵐ5 B and others Co), Ezek 17:4 a land of merchants; compare ‎כנעני‎ near the end.

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Canaan • Ancient region; descendants of Ham; promised to Abraham's descendants

Canaan was the ancient region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, named after Noah's grandson and later promised to Abraham's descendants.

• A location first mentioned at Gen.10.18;
• referred to as Canaan or Canaanite כְּנַעַן, or Canaanite כְּנַעַנִי, or "trading" (KJV= Canaan, NIV= "merchants") כְּנַעַן, or Canaan (KJV= Chanaan) or Canaan (KJV= Chanaan) Χαναάν, or Canaanite Χανααναῖος.
  

Canaan refers to both a region and a people group in the Bible. As a region, Canaan was the ancient name for the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and parts of Syria and Jordan. It was the land God promised to give to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 12:5-7; 17:8).

The Canaanites were the descendants of Canaan, the grandson of Noah through Ham (Genesis 10:18-19). They were known for their idolatry and wickedness, which led to God commanding the Israelites to drive them out of the land (Deuteronomy 20:17). The term "Canaanite" was also used to refer to merchants or traders (Job 41:6; Proverbs 31:24), possibly due to their reputation for trading.

After the Exodus, the Israelites conquered parts of Canaan under Joshua's leadership, but they failed to completely drive out the Canaanites (Judges 1:27-36). This led to ongoing conflicts and religious influences throughout Israel's history. The prophets often rebuked Israel for adopting Canaanite practices and worshipping their gods (Ezekiel 16:3).

All entries for Canaan or "traders": כְּנַעַן ☩ כְּנַעַנִי ☩ Χαναάν ☩ Χανααναῖος ☩ כְּנַעַן