Part 10 (1/2)

SEVENTH STUDY

The Conquest of Canaan

I. Let us notice the =Ca'naan-ites=, the peoples who were dispossessed by the Is'ra-el-ites.

1. They were of =one stock=, according to the Scriptures, belonging to the Ham'ite race, and all descended from the family of Ca'naan (Gen. 10.

15-19).

2. They were divided into =various tribes=, from seven to ten nations, arranged mainly as follows: 1.) On the seacoast plain, the Phi-lis'tines on the south, the Ca'naan-ites in the middle, and the Phoe-ni'cians, or Zi-do'ni-ans, on the north of Mount Car'mel. 2.) In the mountain region, the Am'or-ites in the south, the Jeb'u-sites around Je-ru'sa-lem, the Hi'vites in the center of the land, and the Hit't.i.tes in the north. 3.) The Jor'dan valley was held by the Ca'naan-ites. 4.) On the eastern table-land, the Mo'ab-ites east of the Dead Sea, the Am'or-ites east of the Jor'dan, and the Ba'shan-ites in the north.

3. Their =government= was =local=. Not only was each tribe independent, but each little locality, often each city, had its own ”king,” or chief.

There was no unity of government, and scarcely any combination to resist the invasion of Is'ra-el, a fact which made the conquest far less difficult.

4. They were =idolatrous= and, as a result, grossly =immoral=. Idolatry is always a.s.sociated with immorality; for the wors.h.i.+p of idols is a deification of sensuality. Ba'al and Ash'e-rah (plural Ash'to-reth) were the male and female divinities wors.h.i.+ped by most of these races (Judg.

2. 13).

5. They had been =weakened= before the coming of the Is'ra-el-ites either by war or by pestilence. The allusions in Exod. 23. 28; Deut. 7.

20; and Josh. 24. 12, have been referred to an invasion before that of Israel, or to some plague, which destroyed the native races.

II. =The Campaigns of the Conquest.= These may be divided as follows:

1. =The Campaigns East= of the Jor'dan. These were during the lifetime of Mo'ses, and gained for Is'ra-el all the territory south of Mount Her'mon.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CAMPAIGNS OF THE =CONQUEST=]

1.) The conquest of Gil'e-ad was made at the battle of Ja'haz, near the brook Ar'non (Num. 21. 21-31). In one battle the Is'ra-el-ites gained the land of Gil'e-ad east of the Jor'dan.

2.) The conquest of Ba'shan was completed at the battle of Ed're-i, in the mountainous region (Num. 21. 33-35).

3.) The conquest of Mid'i-an (Num. 31. 1-8) was led by the warrior-priest Phin'e-has, and by smiting the tribes on the east protected the frontier toward the desert. The land won by these three campaigns became the territory of the tribes of Reu'ben, Gad, and the half tribe of Ma-nas'seh (Deut. 32).

2. =The Campaigns West of the Jor'dan= were led by Josh'u-a, and showed great tactical skill and resistless energy of action. Josh'u-a led his people across the Jor'dan and established a fortified camp, the center of operations during all his campaigns, at Gil'gal (Josh. 4. 19).

1.) The first invasion was of _Central Pal'es-tine_, beginning with Jer'i-cho (Josh. 6), taking A'i on the way (Josh. 8), and ending with She'chem, which apparently fell without resistance (Josh. 8. 30-33).

This campaign gave to Is'ra-el the center of the land and divided their enemies into two sections.

2.) Next came the campaign against _Southern Pal'es-tine_. At this time was fought the battle of Beth-ho'ron (Josh. 10. 10), the most momentous in its results in all history, and one over which, if ever, the sun and moon might well stand still (Josh. 10. 12, 13).[9] After this great victory Josh'u-a pursued his enemies and took the towns as far south as He'bron and De'bir (Josh. 10. 29-39).

3.) Lastly, Josh'u-a conquered _Northern Pal'es-tine_ (Josh. 11). The battle in this campaign was near Lake Me'rom (Josh. 11. 7), and, as before, it was followed by the capture of many cities in the north. Thus in those marches Josh'u-a won all the mountain region of western Pal'es-tine.

3. There were certain =supplementary campaigns=, partly in Josh'u-a's time, partly afterward.

1.) Caleb's capture of He'bron, which had been reoccupied by the Am'or-ites (Josh. 14; Judg. 1. 10-15).

2.) The Ju'dah-ites' capture of Be'zek, an unknown place between Je-ru'sa-lem and the Phi-lis'tine plain (Judg. 1. 1-8).

3.) The Dan'ites' capture of La'ish, in the extreme north, which afterward bore the name of Dan (Judg. 18).

But, after all these campaigns, a large part of the land was still unsubdued, and the war of the conquest did not end until the days of Da'vid by whom every foe was finally placed under foot.