Canaanites

The Canaanites and the Conquest

God's promise to Abraham named the land already occupied by numerous peoples grouped together as 'Canaanites' (alongside related groups like the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, and Jebusites — Genesis 15:19-21). God tells Abraham the promise's fulfillment must wait 'four generations,' because 'the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full' (Genesis 15:16) — the conquest under Joshua, centuries later, is presented not as opportunistic conquest but as delayed judgment on nations whose idolatry, by that point, included practices Scripture condemns in the strongest terms, particularly child sacrifice to gods like Molech (Leviticus 18:21-25; Deuteronomy 12:31).

Joshua's conquest, though extensive, was not total — pockets of Canaanite peoples remained throughout the period of the Judges, and Israel's persistent failure to fully displace them or resist adopting their religious practices becomes one of the Old Testament's recurring explanations for Israel's own repeated apostasy (Judges 1:27-33; 2:1-3).

Scripture references

• Genesis 15:16-21 — The land promised to Abraham's descendants, occupied by Canaanite peoples
• Deuteronomy 12:29-31 — Warning against adopting Canaanite religious practices, including child sacrifice
• Joshua 11:16-23 — Summary of the land Joshua conquered
• Judges 1:27-33 — Canaanite peoples remaining after the conquest

Further reading

• Encyclopaedia Britannica: Canaan