The knowledge which we possess of the inhabitants of Palestine before the 13th century B.C. is quite scanty. The names of tribes, more or less settled, are given; but we know very little of their language, customs or origin. The description of Palestine during the first eight hundred years after the Deluge may be arranged as follows: 1. The Earliest Inhabitants. 2. The Tribes of the Patriarchal Era. 3. The Nations at the Time of the Conquest. 4. The Surrounding Nations.

I. THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS.

In most lands the earliest people have been of an unknown race, as the mound builders of America and the cave dwellers of Europe. Very early in the history of the race a people entered Palestine, and settled upon both sides of the Jordan, generally among the mountains. They were remembered by different names in various parts of the country, but the names show the dread inspired by them among the later tribes. They were doubtless of one race, but whether of Hamitic or Semitic stock is uncertain; and their history is as unknown as their origin. They were already in their decline in the times of Abraham, when the Canaanite races, the second series of inhabitants, were in possession of the land. They belonged to six tribes or divisions, each having a different name and location, but all bearing the same characteristics, and all regarded as giants by those who came after them. Our principal authorities concerning these archaic peoples are Gen. 14:5-7, and Deut. 2:10-23.

1. The Rephaim, "lofty men," are frequently named in the Old Testament, the word being generally translated "giants." In the age of Abraham they were living in the highlands of Bashan, where their capital, Ashteroth Karnaim, "the two-horned Ashtaroth," was taken by the Elamite king, Chedorlaomer, the earliest conqueror in Bible history. By degrees they lost their nationality and were merged with the Amorites, over whom one of their race, the gigantic Og, king of Bashan, ruled at the time of the conquest. They may have settled also west of the Jordan, near what was afterward Jerusalem, since a locality in that vicinity (see map on page 82) was long afterward known as "the Valley of the Rephaim." (2 Sam. 5:18.)

2. The Zuzim, "tall ones," are supposed to be the same people with those who in Deut. 2:20 are called Zamzummim. They occupied the eastern table-land, south of Bashan and Gilead. Their capital was Ham, a city not yet identified, unless it was (as some suppose) the place afterward known as Rabbath Ammon. These people were also giants, like the Rephaim (Deut. 2:21), were also overswept in the raid of Chedorlaomer (Gen. 14:5), and during the time of the Israelites' sojourn in Egypt, were dispossessed by the Ammonites, who occupied their country afterward, until in turn driven out by the Amorites.

3. The Emim, "terrible ones," were south of the Zuzim, and therefore directly east of the Dead Sea. They were overcome by Chedorlaomer at Shaveh Kiriathaim, "the dale of the two cities," and their land was afterward occupied by the Moabites.

4. The Horim, "cave dwellers," or Horites, occupied Mount Seir, south of the Dead Sea. Their genealogy is given in Gen. 36:20-30, and 1 Chron. 1:38-42. They lived in caves, which are still found in great numbers through that region. They were beaten by Chedorlaomer, and subsequently dispossessed by the descendants of Esau, the Edomites.

5. The Avim, "ruins," or "dwellers in ruins," lived in the Shefelah, or foot-hills, between the Philistine plain and the mountains of Judah. (Deut. 2:23; Josh. 13:2, 3.) They were early conquered by the Caphtorim, a Philistine race, and were in a depressed condition at the time of the entrance of the Israelites. The word Hazerim (Deut. 2:23) means "villages," or "nomad encampments," showing that they were not a settled, but a wandering people.

6. The Anakim, "long-necked ones." The name may refer either to their size, or their strength (which in Hebrew comes from a word similar to neck). They were descendants of Arba, and divided into three clans, named Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. (Josh. 14:15; 15:14.) Their principal home was at Hebron, called by them Kirjath-arba; but they also occupied a city near it, called Kirjath-sepher, or "book-town," a name which is suggestive of a national literature. Unlike the other races, they seem to have maintained a foothold in the presence of the incoming Canaanite races, and their gigantic appearance struck terror to the Israelite spies during the wandering. (Num. 13.) But they were conquered by Caleb (Josh. 14), and their remnant, driven from the mountains, mingled with the Philistines of the sea-coast plain. One family of this race remained as late as the days of David, that of Goliath and his brothers. (1 Sam. 17:4; 2 Sam. 21:15-22.)

II. THE TRIBES OF THE PATRIARCHAL ERA.

The chosen family came to Palestine about 1921 B.C., according to the common chronology, but probably from two to four hundred years earlier. At this time these earliest races were already superseded in nearly all the land by later tribes, of Hamitic origin, with which the patriarchs were often brought into contact. Those tribes were often called Canaanites, because the nation of that name was both the original stock and in possession of the richest and best portion of the land.

We notice these tribes, as far as practicable, in the order of their location in the four great natural divisions of the country: the tribes of the maritime plain, those of the mountain region, those of the Jordan Valley, and those of the eastern table-land.

1. Beginning at the north, on the narrow plain by the Mediterranean Sea, we find the Zidonians, with their two great cities, Zidon the earlier, and Tyre the later. Perhaps the latter city was not yet founded in the patriarchal age. These people were early famous as the traders of the Mediterranean world, having commercial relations as far as Spain. They occupied a narrow strip of territory between Mount Lebanon and the sea, north of Mount Carmel. Their country was never possessed by the Israelites, and most of the time the relations between the two races were peaceful.

2. Next in order of location we come to the Canaanites proper, or that branch of the descendants of Canaan which retained the family name. While all the tribes of Palestine are often called Canaanites, as descended from one stock, the name strictly belongs only to people who lived in two sections of the country. The word means "lowlanders," and was applied particularly to those dwelling on the maritime plain, on both sides of Mount Carmel, the plain of Esdraelon and that of Sharon; and to those in the Jordan Valley. These together constituted "the Canaanites on the east and on the west." (Josh. 11:3.) They occupied the richest and most valuable portions of the land. The only city on the coast belonging to the Canaanites existing during the patriarchal age was Joppa, still standing. The Canaanite cities in the Jordan Valley were the "five cities of the plain," Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim and Zoar, of which all except the last were destroyed by the visitation of God. (Gen. 19.) Their location was in the plain on the north of the Dead Sea, and there is no reason to suppose that they are covered by its waters. In the time immediately before the conquest we find Jericho has arisen in the place of the destroyed cities, and not far from their site, as the most important city of the Jordan Valley.

3. South of the Canaanites, on the maritime plain, were the Philistines. "Emigrants" is the meaning of the word, supporting the view that they came from Caphtor, or Crete, which is but little more than a surmise. They were related to the Egyptians, and hence were of Hamitic stock. They came to the land before the time of Abraham, drove out and subdued the earlier Avim (Deut. 2:23), or Avites, and had frequent dealings with Abraham and Isaac. In the patriarchal age their principal cities were Gaza and Gerar; but before the conquest they had moved northward, and were a powerful confederacy of five cities: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath and Ekron. (Josh. 13:3.) Their territory, if taken at all during the campaigns of Joshua, was soon reconquered, and the Philistines were the most dangerous enemies of Israel during all the period of the Judges. In David's time they were subjected; but not until the Maccabean age were they fully conquered, and their land made a part of Israel.

4. We turn now to the tribes of the mountain region, beginning, as before, at the north. As these northern regions are not alluded to in patriarchal history, and only very briefly named in the annals of the conquest, it is not easy to determine which of the tribes occupied them. But, from allusions in Josh. 1:4 and 11:3, and from frequent mention on the monuments of Egypt, we incline to the opinion that the Hittites were the possessors of this country. They have left their name in Hattin, the Caphar Hittai of the Talmud, near the Sea of Galilee. Another branch, more frequently mentioned, were in the south, at and around Hebron (Gen. 23), perhaps extending as far south as Beersheba. (Gen. 27:46.) With these people the relations of the patriarchs were ever peaceful, and of them Abraham purchased his family sepulchre.

5. The position of the Girgashites is uncertain, from the infrequent mention of them. But the slight indications point to the region west of the Sea of Galilee, where we locate them conjecturally. They may have been absorbed by the surrounding tribes.

6. South of Mount Carmel, and extending to what was afterward the border of Benjamin, we find the Hivites, having Shechem as their principal city in the time of Jacob. (Gen. 34:2.) Afterward, they occupied several towns immediately north of Jerusalem, four of which formed the "Gibeonite league," and made a treaty of peace with Joshua. (Josh. 9:3-15.) They were a quiet people, averse to war, and submitting readily to foreign domination.

7. The Perizzites, "villagers" are always named in connection with the Canaanites. From the allusions in Gen. 34:30, Josh. 17:15, and other places, we locate them between the Hivites and the western Canaanites, in the northern portion of the Shefelah, or foot-hills, where villages would more readily cluster than among the mountains. They remained in the land as late as the time of the restoration from Babylonian captivity. (Ezra 9:1.)

8. The Jebusites lived in the mountains around their city Jebus, afterward Jerusalem. They were of Canaanitish origin, a small but warlike tribe. Their king was slain by Joshua; but the city, though burned by the Israelites (Judges 1:8), was still held by its own people, and remained in their possession, a foreign fortress in the midst of the land, until finally taken by David, and made his capital. (2 Sam. 5.) South of the Jebusites were the southern branch of the Hittites, already referred to.

9. One more nation of the Canaanite stock remains, perhaps the most powerful of all, the Amorites, or "mountaineers." They occupied, originally, the wilderness between Hebron and the Dead Sea, having Hazezon-tamar (afterward En-gedi) as their capital; were smitten by Chedorlaomer, but aided Abraham in his pursuit and battle. (Gen. 14.) Afterward they pushed northward, crossed the Jordan, and possessed all the eastern table-land north of the Dead Sea, dispossessing the Ammonites of its southern portion, and the Rephaim of its northern. This great country was the "land of the Amorites" at the time of the conquest, ruled by two kings, Sihon and Og.

It is probable, that, during the patriarchal era, while Abraham and his family lived as wanderers in their Land of Promise, the lands east of the Jordan were occupied by their primeval inhabitants, the Rephaim in the north, the Zuzim between the Jabbok and the Arnon, and the Emim in the south.

III. THE NATIONS AT THE TIME OF THE CONQUEST.

What changes may have taken place among the tribes of Western Palestine during the four centuries while the Israelites were in Egypt, is not known; but, as the land became more thickly settled, the strifes of the Canaanite tribes and their roving traits would result in many alterations of boundary lines. But east of the Jordan the changes may be more distinctly marked.

1. The Amorites, already named, probably conquered the eastern table-land, north of the Jabbok, during the period of the sojourn (i. e., the stay of the Israelites in Egypt), and dispossessed its early inhabitants. Many of these, however, remained among the conquerors, and one of this race, Og, the King of Bashan, ruled over the northern Amorites when the Israelites entered the land, and was slain by them.

2. Two new tribes, closely related, made their appearance during this epoch, the Moabites and Ammonites. They were descended from Lot, the nephew of Abraham, and their origin is related in Gen. 19. They arose during the period of the sojourn, and conquered the primitive Emim and Zuzim (Deut. 2:19-23), probably as far north as the Jabbok. But the Amorites on the north wrested their conquests from them and drove them back south of the Arnon, which was thenceforward their northern boundary. The Moabites were the settled portion of the tribe, dwelling in cities; while the Ammonites were the predatory, wandering element, living mostly in the east, and without permanent dwelling places. During the period of the Judges they were among the oppressors of Israel (Judges 3 and 10), were defeated by Saul, (1 Sam. 11), and conquered by David. (2 Sam. 8:2.)

IV. THE SURROUNDING NATIONS.

The principal nations bordering upon the land of Canaan before the conquest were the following:

1. On the north were the Hivites, "that dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon unto the entering in of Hamath." (Judges 3:3.) This is supposed to have been the original home of the race, from which they journeyed to their seat in Central Palestine. Still further north were the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites and the Hamathites.

2. On the northeast lay the desert, and on the southeast roamed the Ammonites, already mentioned.

3. On the south were several tribes, not all of which can be located with certainty. In the west, south of the Philistine country, were the Amalekites, a people of unknown origin and predatory habits. South of Judah were the Kenites; and southeast of the Dead Sea, were, in early times, the Horim (already mentioned), succeeded during the time of the sojourn by the Edomites, a race descended from Esau, who will be described hereafter. (See explanations to map on page 44.)

With regard to these early inhabitants of Palestine, the following facts may be noteworthy: 1. In respect to race, most of them belonged to the Hamitic stock; though the origin of the six earliest peoples remains unknown, and the two latest, the Moabites and Ammonites, were Semites, and closely related to Israel. 2. As to language, they probably spoke the Hebrew tongue, or one closely allied to it. In Isa. 19:18, the Hebrew is evidently "the language of Canaan," i. e., of the Canaanites. Whether this language was the one originally spoken by Abraham's ancestors or not, we have no means of knowing; but it is possible that it was gained, during the period of the journeyings, from the Canaanites. 3. In government, each village or tribe had its own ruler, who was called a "king"; but his authority was limited by the "elders," a body having influence partly from birth, and partly by force of character of its members. 4. Their religion was widely different from that of the Hebrews, who, from the age of Abraham, worshiped one invisible, self-existent, spiritual God. The Canaanites deified nature under various forms, especially as Baal, the giver of life, and Ashtoreth (Greek, Astarte), the corresponding female divinity. Their rites of worship were abominable, cruel and licentious. They sacrificed not only captured enemies, but their own children, to their idols, and performed acts of the grossest wickedness at their idolatrous service. 5. Their history is unwritten, save in its tragical close, the conquest of their land by the Israelites under Joshua, and the annihilation of many of their races. Still, many lived as a separate people through all Jewish history; and some of the best scholars are of opinion that the native population of Palestine at the present time mainly belongs to this old Canaanite stock.

I. Earliest Inhabitants. Rephaim, Zuzim, Emim, Horim, Avim, Anakim.

II. Tribes of the Patriarchal Era. 1. Maritime Plain: Zidonians, Canaanites, Philistines. 2. Mountain Region: Hittites (north), Girgashites, Hivites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Hittites (south), Amorites. 3. Jordan Valley: Canaanites. 4. Eastern Table-Land: Rephaim, Zuzim, Emim.

III. Nations at the Time of the Conquest. East of Jordan: Amorites, Moabites, Ammonites.

IV. Surrounding Nations. 1. North: Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Hamathites. 2. Southeast: Ammonites. 3. South: Amalekites, Kenites, Edomites.