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כְּנַעַן

𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍

Kᵉnaʻan

H3667 noun

SILEX Entry

Root כנע to be humbled, subjugated, brought low

Definition

Proper noun: (1) An ethnic-geographic designation referring to the land of Canaan, a region in the Southern Levant occupied by various indigenous populations prior to and during the Israelite settlement period; (2) Used also to denote the inhabitants of this region—the Canaanites; (3) As a personal name, refers to an individual, Kena'an, listed as a son of Ham and ancestor of the Canaanite peoples in the table of nations (Genesis 10); (4) In later usage, especially in prophetic and post-exilic books, the term develops a generic sense of 'merchant' or 'trader,' likely reflecting dominant Canaanite mercantile activity.

Semantic Range

Canaan (geographical region), Canaanite (ethnic designation), Kena'an (personal name), merchant, trader; generalized term for commerce-related activity in later books

Root / Etymology

From the root כנע, meaning 'to be subdued, brought low, humbled, or subjugated.' The precise etymology of 'Kena'an' applied as a place and personal name is debated and may reflect an exonym ascribed by others. In later periods, the term appears to have been reinterpreted to mean 'merchant, trader' (e.g., as in Phoenician culture and as referenced in Zechariah and Proverbs).

Historical & Contextual Notes

כְּנַעַן occurs frequently as a place name, denoting the region between Egypt and Aram, bounded by the Mediterranean and the Jordan. The primary use in biblical texts is as the designation for the territory destined to become the land of the Israelites, with focus upon its pre-Israelite inhabitants and their city-states. The term as an ethnonym ('Canaanite') varies in precision, sometimes referring generally to all non-Israelite inhabitants west of the Jordan, sometimes narrowly to a specific ethnic group. In genealogical material (Genesis 10), Kena'an is a person, and the Canaanites his descendants. In prophetic literature (e.g., Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah), 'Canaanite' becomes shorthand for merchants or traders, reflecting the region’s reputation for commerce (especially Tyre and Sidon, later Phoenician cities). English translations sometimes use 'Canaanite' for inhabitants and 'merchant' for the later, commercial sense, but both derive from the same Hebrew term. The word never designates a later Judean or Jewish identity and refers exclusively to the pre-monarchic and early monarchic populations of the Levant. In some post-exilic passages, the semantic shift to 'trader' is so strong that the ethnic sense is lost (see Zech 14:21).

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from כָּנַע; humiliated; Kenaan, a son a Ham; also the country inhabited by him; Canaan, merchant, traffick.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

כנע (k-n-ʿ) — to be humbled, subdued, brought low

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3665 כָּנַע I will bring into submission
H3666 כִּנְעָה your bundle of wares
H3668 כְּנַעֲנָה Kenaanah
H3669 כְּנַעַנִי in the Kenaanite

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H3667-01 כְּנָ֑עַן kenaan HNp of Canaan Kena'an 82
H3667-02 כְנָֽעַן khenaan HNp Canaan Kenaʿan (Subdued-land) 7
H3667-04 וּ/כְנָֽעַן ukhenaan HC/Np and Canaan and Kenaʿan 4
H3667-03 כִּנְעָנֶ֖י/הָ kineaneyha HNcmpc/Sp3fs traders her Canaanites 1

Occurrences in Scripture

94 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H3667-02 Genesis 9:18 כְנָֽעַן khenaan HNp Canaan Kenaʿan (Subdued-land)
H3667-02 Genesis 9:22 כְנַ֔עַן khenaan HNp of Canaan Kenaʿan (Subdued-land)
H3667-01 Genesis 9:25 כְּנָ֑עַן kenaan HNp be Canaan Kena'an
H3667-02 Genesis 9:26 כְנַ֖עַן khenaan HNp Canaan Kenaʿan (Subdued-land)
H3667-02 Genesis 9:27 כְנַ֖עַן khenaan HNp Canaan Kenaʿan (Subdued-land)
H3667-04 Genesis 10:6 וּ/כְנָֽעַן ukhenaan HC/Np and Canaan and Kenaʿan
H3667-04 Genesis 10:15 וּ/כְנַ֗עַן ukhenaan HC/Np And Canaan and Kenaʿan
H3667-01 Genesis 11:31 כְּנַ֔עַן kenaan HNp of Canaan Kena'an
H3667-01 Genesis 12:5 כְּנַ֔עַן kenaan HNp of Canaan Kena'an
H3667-01 Genesis 12:5 כְּנָֽעַן kenaan-2 HNp of Canaan Kena'an
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