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The land of Canaan

The land of Canaan, corresponding to present-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and parts of Jordan and Syria, is described in the Bible as 'the most beautiful of all lands'. Inhabited by the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites and Philistines, it is the land promised to the Hebrew people. Two stages, separated by 470 years, mark its conquest: Abraham's arrival, followed by Joshua's conquest after captivity in Egypt and wandering in the wilderness.

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The land of Canaan

The land of Canaan mentioned in our Bibles corresponds approximately to the present-day territories of Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and parts of Jordan and Syria.

This region is called ‘the most beautiful of all lands’ four times in the Bible. Ezekiel 20.6 ()

On that day, I pledged to bring them out of Egypt into a land I had sought out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.

(Louis Segond translation ) In antiquity, several ethnic groups inhabited Canaan, including the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites and Philistines. The Bible mentions this region as the land promised to the people of Israel.

We observe two stages, separated by approximately 470 years, that led the Hebrews to take possession of this territory.

The first begins with Abraham's arrival, and the second continues with Joshua's conquest, after the period of captivity in Egypt and the forty years of wandering in the wilderness.