כְּנַעַן
𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍
Kenaan
H3667 noun
SILEX Entry
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
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
כנע (Kenaan) — to bend down, to be lowered, to submit, to be humbled
| 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 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3667-01 |
כְּנָ֔עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan | 82 |
H3667-02 |
כְנָֽעַן | khenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kenaʿan (Subdued-land) | Kenaan | 7 |
H3667-04 |
וּ/כְנָֽעַן | ukhenaan | HC/Np |
and Canaan | and Kenaʿan | and Kenaan | 4 |
H3667-03 |
כִּנְעָנֶ֖י/הָ | kineaneyha | HNcmpc/Sp3fs |
traders | her Canaanites | her traders | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
94 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3667-01 |
Leviticus 18:3 | כְּנַ֡עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Leviticus 25:38 | כְּנַ֔עַן | kenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Numbers 13:2 | כְּנַ֔עַן | kenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Numbers 13:17 | כְּנָ֑עַן | kenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Numbers 26:19 | כְּנָֽעַן | kenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Numbers 32:30 | כְּנָֽעַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Numbers 32:32 | כְּנָ֑עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Numbers 33:40 | כְּנָ֑עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Numbers 33:51 | כְּנָֽעַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Numbers 34:2 | כְּנָ֑עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Numbers 34:2 | כְּנַ֖עַן | kenaan-2 | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Numbers 34:29 | כְּנָֽעַן | kenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Numbers 35:10 | כְּנָֽעַן | kenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Numbers 35:14 | כְּנָ֑עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Deuteronomy 32:49 | כְּנַ֔עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Joshua 5:12 | כְּנַ֔עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Joshua 14:1 | כְּנָ֑עַן | kenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Joshua 21:2 | כְּנַ֨עַן֙ | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Joshua 22:9 | כְּנָ֑עַן | kenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Joshua 22:10 | כְּנָ֑עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Joshua 22:11 | כְּנַ֔עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Joshua 22:32 | כְּנַ֖עַן | kenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Joshua 24:3 | כְּנָ֑עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Judges 3:1 | כְּנָֽעַן | kenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Judges 4:2 | כְּנַ֔עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of-Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Judges 4:23 | כְּנָ֑עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of-Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Judges 4:24 | כְּנָ֑עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Judges 4:24 | כְּנָֽעַן | kenaan-2 | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-02 |
Judges 5:19 | כְנַ֔עַן | khenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kenaʿan (Subdued-land) | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Judges 21:12 | כְּנָֽעַן | kenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Isaiah 19:18 | כְּנַ֔עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-03 |
Isaiah 23:8 | כִּנְעָנֶ֖י/הָ | kineaneyha | HNcmpc/Sp3fs |
traders | her Canaanites | her traders |
H3667-01 |
Isaiah 23:11 | כְּנַ֔עַן | kenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Ezekiel 16:29 | כְּנַ֖עַן | kenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Ezekiel 17:4 | כְּנַ֔עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of merchants | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Hosea 12:8 | כְּנַ֗עַן | kenaan | HNp |
like a Canaanite | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Zephaniah 1:11 | כְּנַ֔עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Zephaniah 2:5 | כְּנַ֨עַן֙ | kenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Psalms 105:11 | כְּנָ֑עַן | kenaan | HNp |
Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-02 |
Psalms 106:38 | כְנָ֑עַן | khenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kenaʿan (Subdued-land) | Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
Psalms 135:11 | כְּנָֽעַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |
H3667-04 |
1 Chronicles 1:8 | וּ/כְנָֽעַן | ukhenaan | HC/Np |
and Canaan | and Kenaʿan | and Kenaan |
H3667-04 |
1 Chronicles 1:13 | וּ/כְנַ֗עַן | ukhenaan | HC/Np |
and Canaan | and Kenaʿan | and Kenaan |
H3667-01 |
1 Chronicles 16:18 | כְּנָ֔עַן | kenaan | HNp |
of Canaan | Kena'an | Kenaan |