Talk:Canaan

Biblical scholar

Biblical scholar Mark Smith, citing archaeological findings, suggests "that the Israelite culture largely overlapped with and derived from Canaanite culture... In short, Israelite culture was largely Canaanite in nature."

A declaration promoting the idea that the Canaanites were Jews could be interpreted as excluding other Semitic peoples who lived in ancient Palestine. However, it is important to recognize the diversity of the region's ancient populations, including various Semitic groups such as the Phoenicians and nowdays Palestinians. Thus, framing the history of ancient Palestine in a way that recognizes the complexities and diversities of its peoples would be more appropriate and respectful.

@Iskandar323 Considering your familiarity with the history of the region, may I ask for your opinion on the matter? Sarah SchneiderCH (talk) 21:23, 27 April 2023 (UTC)

I think you are looking at the statement the wrong way around. There is actually a growing thesis among archaeologists that Israelite culture emerged from within Canaanite culture, with one of the distinguishing features being that they worshipped a foreign god, i.e. Yahweh, who by most accounts was first worshipped to the south in Edom, Seir or perhaps Northern Arabia. The statement does not imply that all Canaanites were Israelites, but rather the converse: that Israelites were an offshoot from the Canaanites. Iskandar323 (talk) 04:17, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

"The name "Canaan" appears throughout the Bible as a geography associated with the "Promised Land",

- this is irrelevant and unacademic, it denotes a biblical claim which shouldn't be in the article as it infers religious supremacist dictate and politicized theological claim.

The demonym "Canaanites" serves as an ethnic catch-all term covering various indigenous populations,

- This is also irrelevant because it Canaanites were specifically and explicitly Phoenician-Caananites.

by far the most frequently used ethnic term in the Bible -

this piece of information is irrelevant as it references the bible, which isnt academic and is fictitious.

This biblical section should be removed from the article. It serves no purpose but infer that caananites were Jews and that the geography is promised land according to magical sky god that doesnt exist.

please remove it. 102.38.17.215 (talk) 03:44, 15 November 2023 (UTC)

Map incorrect

The map of the Canaanite lands excludes other historically accepted places such as SIDON AND BYBLOS. Lebanesebebe123 (talk) 00:27, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

True, it's not a great map. A better one needs either sourcing or creating from sources by the map people here. Iskandar323 (talk) 04:19, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

Honestly the way it is set up now is very exclusionary and misleading. Erasure and exclusion from claiming Canaanite and Phoenician identity. We can create maps that are sourced? Also I think that there has to exist a map of Canaanite lands in its entirety Lebanesebebe123 (talk) 00:47, 9 September 2023 (UTC)

I have replaced it for now with a map that at least clearly shows the entire geography relevant to the term. Better options might be available, but at least the main image is now no longer misrepresentative. Iskandar323 (talk) 07:08, 9 September 2023 (UTC)

Where? Boundaries?

It's the only article about a region I can think of that lacks a geographical definition - at all, and clearly in the intro/lead. Useless.

PS: Of course this isn't about borders in the modern sense. Arminden (talk) 10:34, 29 October 2023 (UTC)

How would you improve the lede, and based on which sources? As far as I know, this is a vague geographical term, and the lede locates it clearly in the Southern Levant, which is very roughly the same area discussed throughout the article and depicted in the several maps. I do not find it confusing, much less "useless", but there is always room for improvement. Qoan (talk) 09:57, 30 October 2023 (UTC)

It's my way of trying to push things. But if one comes here to learn about Canaan's geography, it's utterly useless.

The Egyptians left lots of relevant texts. Philology can also help. Britannica starts, as it's to be expected from any encyclopedia, with the location, but it only offers some very vague info, basically mentioning two versions, but w/o proper context, i.e. when & by whom (here). Arminden (talk) 11:22, 17 February 2024 (UTC)

Geographically, the regions of Canaan and Southern Levant are identical. Perhaps adding an image of the region, the same one in the Southern Levant article, can solve the issue. Adjacent to the line that states the "Southern Levant".

Southern Levant#/media/File:Southern Levant map.svg

Thewildshoe (talk) 20:55, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

If there is additional text necessary, you can add that its rough borders are the Sinai peninsula in the south, the Mediterranean in the west, the Arabian desert in the east and Damascus in the north.

Thewildshoe (talk) 20:59, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

etymology

"kаnaʿan - a sunny garden" - i.e. "promised land" - "kan - the sun", "ana - a plot of cultivated land",, Dog Nogai (talk) 19:14, 31 October 2023 (UTC)

Excellent! And the source is ... ?? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 115.70.29.185 (talk) 03:02, 10 December 2023 (UTC)

Canaanites: when do they appear?

"History: The Levant was inhabited by people who referred to the land as ka-na-na-um as early as the mid-third millennium BCE."

Then we read that the term Canaan was used in inscriptions almost only in C16-11, during Egyptian domination.

Elsewhere there's talk of the Chalcolithic period (c. 4500-3600 BCE).

This are truly wild variations. Endonyms and exonyms are not essential to the existance of a culture, so the question is:

What do reliable sources say on the apparition of a continuous culture that can be called Canaanite?

This inf. is essential - and missing. Arminden (talk) 16:34, 11 February 2024 (UTC)

I agree that the article isn't clear about distincting between Canaan/Canaanite as a region, culture and civilization referring to vastly different time periods.

This requires multiple minor edits to make the article more historically accurate. I'm unsure as to what those edits will be, but I suggested one small edit from the article's introduction.

Thewildshoe (talk) 19:53, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

We should deal with that, and add a page strictly about the Canaanites as such. Otherwise we'll be left with a similar conundrum here as we have with every other term used for the same region or parts of it, see "Palestine", which always has to be qualified as "P. region". Canaan for the Canaanites! :) Across all kinds of rivers and up to at least one sea. Arminden (talk) 11:38, 31 March 2024 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 5 March 2024

Change: was a Semitic-speaking civilization and region of the Southern Levant in the Ancient Near East during the late 2nd millennium BC.

To: was a Semitic-speaking region of the Southern Levant in the Ancient Near East during the late 2nd millennium BC.

Summary: Removal of the word "civilization" from that specific paragraph.

Explanation: Nowhere in the article, or external historical and archaeological sources, is there evidence of a "Canaanite civilization" in the late 2nd millenium BCE. At the time frame suggested, the Canaan region had an assortment of seperate tribes and city-states with little commonality, therefore not meeting the criteria of "Civilization". Calling it a "Canaanite civilization" for that time frame, is not established in the article, as the article explicitly lists distinct civilizations during the late 2nd millenium BCE, all living in the region of Canaan. Thewildshoe (talk) 16:13, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

Ok. Researcher (Hebrew: חוקרת) (talk) 08:07, 6 March 2024 (UTC)