By Rosella Tercatin - MAY 28, 2020
Where did the Canaanites come from? A newly published study has shed light on the genomic features of the ancient population of Southern Levant - an area that covers modern Israel and the surrounding region - confirming that the biblical people were indeed a clear and homogeneous group and supporting the archaeological findings.
Moreover, the research showed that many present-day populations of the area have ancestries from groups whose ancient proxy can be related to the Middle East.
The beginning of the book of Genesis narrates that God ordered the patriarch Abraham (back then Abram) to leave his native land of Haram and embark on a journey to “a land that I will show you.
“When they arrived in the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, at the terebinth of Moreh. The Canaanites were then in the land,” read verses five and six in chapter 12 (translation by Sefaria.org).
Archaeologists indeed concur that around the 2nd millennium BCE, or Middle/Late Bronze Age – when according to some interpretations Abraham lived - the Canaanites had a major presence in what later became known as the Land of Israel.
Read More: Jerusalem Post