Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

June 9, 2020

A New Genetic Study Sheds Light on the Biblical Canaanites

A homogenous group, some of whose ancestors came from far away.

The Hebrew Bible presents the Canaanites as a relatively homogenous group of pagan tribes who inhabited the Land of Israel and its environs when Abraham first arrived there, and remained until the era of the Davidic monarchy. Based on ancient DNA gathered from 93 different bodies buried at nine separate locations, from a period of over a millennium, scientists have confirmed this portrait. Amanda Borschel-Dan writes:

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