Topical Bible: Canaanites: Not Expelled

◄ Canaanites: Not Expelled ►

Jump to: Nave's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

The Canaanites, a group of ancient people inhabiting the land of Canaan, are frequently mentioned in the Old Testament as the inhabitants of the Promised Land that God commanded the Israelites to conquer and possess. Despite divine instructions to completely drive out the Canaanites, several biblical passages highlight the Israelites' failure to fully expel them, leading to significant consequences for the Israelites.

Divine Command and Initial Conquest

God's command to the Israelites to dispossess the Canaanites is clearly articulated in several passages. In Exodus 23:31-33 , God promises to set the boundaries of the land and instructs, "You are to drive them out before you. You must not make a covenant with them or with their gods." Similarly, in Deuteronomy 7:1-2 , the Israelites are commanded to "utterly destroy" the Canaanite nations and to "show them no mercy."

The initial conquest of Canaan under Joshua was marked by significant victories, as recorded in the Book of Joshua. The Israelites captured key cities such as Jericho and Ai, and the land was divided among the tribes of Israel. However, the task of completely driving out the Canaanites was not fully accomplished during Joshua's lifetime.

Incomplete Obedience and Coexistence

The Book of Judges provides a detailed account of the Israelites' failure to fully expel the Canaanites. Judges 1:27-33 lists several tribes, including Manasseh, Ephraim, and Zebulun, who did not drive out the Canaanites from their territories. Instead, the Israelites allowed the Canaanites to dwell among them, often subjecting them to forced labor rather than expelling them entirely.

This incomplete obedience led to the Israelites living in close proximity to the Canaanites, which had profound spiritual and cultural implications. Judges 2:1-3 records the Angel of the LORD rebuking the Israelites for their disobedience, stating, "I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died."

Consequences of Coexistence

The coexistence with the Canaanites resulted in significant challenges for the Israelites. The Canaanites' presence led to the Israelites being influenced by their pagan practices and idolatry. Judges 2:11-13 describes how the Israelites "did evil in the sight of the LORD" by serving the Baals and Ashtoreths, the gods of the Canaanites.

This spiritual compromise led to a cycle of sin, oppression, and deliverance that characterized the period of the Judges. The Israelites' failure to fully expel the Canaanites resulted in ongoing conflict and moral decline, as they repeatedly turned away from God and adopted the practices of the surrounding nations.

Legacy and Lessons

The narrative of the Canaanites not being expelled serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of incomplete obedience to God's commands. The Israelites' experience underscores the importance of faithfulness and the consequences of allowing ungodly influences to persist. The presence of the Canaanites in the land became a "thorn in the side" of Israel, as warned in Numbers 33:55 , illustrating the enduring impact of their failure to fully obey God's instructions.

Nave's Topical Index

Joshua 17:12-18
Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
Nave's Topical Index

Judges 1:1-33
Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?
Nave's Topical Index

Judges 3:1-3
Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
Nave's Topical Index

Library

How the Lands from which the Canaanites were Expelled, had Been ...
... judgment of God is shown, as He expelled from the ... will assigned the possession of
our heart not to vices ... the sins which grew up, ie, by the Canaanites; and so ...
/.../cassian/the works of john cassian /chapter xxiv how the lands.htm

Almost at the Same Time, when Abraham was Now a Hundred Years Old. ...
... Then Sara expelled the maid-servant by whom Abraham had ... Abraham did not hesitate
to offer him, and had already ... in Hebron, a town of the Canaanites, for Abraham ...
/.../severus/life and writings of sulpitius severus /chapter vii almost at the.htm

Chapter xiii
... and Jude 1:4, 5 together with the Canaanites, and were ... Christ, they were definitely
as a nation expelled from the ... a meaning which the words simply do not convey ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xiii.htm

Jeroboam
... and this treachery went on until he was expelled the country ... so gross and demoralising
as the idolatry of the Canaanites, and he evidently could not see why ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/milligan/men of the bible some lesser-known/jeroboam.htm

Afraid of Giants
... dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by ... They seem to have expelled the
Hittites, who held ... in our lesson are probably tribal, and not personal, names ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture k/afraid of giants.htm

Canaan
... to Jerusalem when the native Egyptians recovered their independence and had expelled
them from ... The Canaanites were Semites in speech, if not in blood. ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter ii canaan.htm

The Pioneer's Influence Upon a Nation's Ideals.
... In one account Hagar is expelled and Ishmael is ... him into close contact with its
inhabitants, the Canaanites. ... At that date the cholera germ had not been clearly ...
/.../kent/the making of a nation/study v the pioneers influence.htm

The Nations of the South-East
... But they had been treated as the Canaanites were treated ... Ashtar-Chemosh, Mesha tells
us, and not to Ashtoreth ... The older population, expelled or enslaved by the ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter iii the nations of.htm

The Israelites
... When the Hyksos conquerors are finally expelled, we find ... Jerusalem was not captured
till the reign of David ... At first the Canaanites were treated with merciless ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter i the israelites.htm

Introduction
... the lowlands were in the hands of the Canaanites, a people ... Egypt under Khu-n-Aten
were expelled or slain ... That the fear was not without justification is shown by ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/introduction.htm