Deuteronomy 7:1-10, The Seven Nations

The land Israel was about to enter was already occupied.  Canaan had, at one time, been occupied by giants, the Emim or Anakim or Zamzummim (Dt. 2:10-11,20).  Up north, around Mt. Hermon, giants had also once been there (Dt. 3:11-13).  In other words, the spies were correct, apparently, that there were big people to deal with (the problem was, of course, that they didn’t trust God to fight for them). 

But what was in Canaan were seven nations, that by God’s estimation were greater and mightier than Israel (7:1).  We have some scriptures and a map (from Bible History Online) to help identify where these nations were in the land.  One helpful passage is Num. 13:29: The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.  Israel had already dealt with the Amalekites before they got to Mt. Sinan (Ex. 17:8-16).  Another helpful passage is Gen. 10:15-20, in the “Table of Nations.”  In the list below, #1 (the sons of Heth), 2,3,6,7 descend from Canaan, who descended from Ham (10:6).

1.    The Hittites:The Hittites were the “sons of Heth.”  Abraham bought the burial cave at Machpelah, near Hebron, from the sons of Heth (Gen. 23:3).  History indicates they were a once proud kingdom, but over time had been diminished.

2.    The Girgashites: They are not prominent in history, which holds that they were a branch of the Hivites. 

3.    The Amorites: Joshua 10:5 speaks of 5 kings of the Amorites: the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon.  Jerusalem is also connected to the Jebusites, so we will discuss that later.  Eglon was connected to the Philistines who are not counted as one of the seven nations.  The Philistines occupied what is today called “Gaza” or “the Gaza Strip.”

4.    The Canaanites: They occupied the Coastal Plain, the Plain of Sharon.  And they also settled in the Jordan Valley between Galilee and the Dead Sea.

5.    The Perizzites: Again, not much is known of these people. 

6.    The Hivites:

o   The Hivites were primarily below Hermon in the land of Mizpah (Josh. 11:3).  This puts them in the Golan Heights area and the area of Dan.

o   The Gibeonites in Josh. 9:7 were Hivites; Gibeon was near Bethel in the Mountains of Ephraim, not in the far north where most Hivites dwelt.

7.    The Jebusites: Josh. 11:3 also places the Jebusites in the mountains.  Jerusalem was known as the Jebusite City.  And yet in Joshua they had an Amorite king.  Jerusalem is interesting in this regard.  In the time of the 12 Tribes it was connected both to Benjamin and to Judah.  If you have been to Israel you see why.  The original City of David (the southern part of the city) was in Judah and was under the Jebusites when David took it.  But the higher parts of Mts. Zion and Mariah were in Benjamin.  This also explains why in the conquest under Joshua Jerusalem was taken, and yet after Joshua, Jerusalem still needed to be settled.

We should understand Canaan to be a “melting pot.”  The nations undoubtedly had intermarried, lived by treaties and business arrangements, and so forth.  When Joshua led Israel in battle, he was able to defeat two major confederations, first in the south lead by the King of Jerusalem, and then in the north led by the King of Hazor.  This is just to whet your appetite.  The geography becomes more important in Joshua.