Was Canaan a Divine Inheritance or an Invasion?

The biblical story of Israel’s conquest of Canaan is often presented as the fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham. Abraham’s descendants leave Egypt, wander in the wilderness and later enter Canaan under Joshua. This reading examines the narrative from the perspective of the people already living there. The text identifies Canaan as an inhabited land, home to the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Amorites and Girgashites. It asks what a promised land means when that land already has established communities. It also notes that Abraham legally purchased only a burial plot at Machpelah, rather than the whole territory. The covenant was made between God and Abraham’s descendants, not with the nations occupying Canaan. If the story is read strictly on its own narrative terms, the central question is whether a private divine promise creates an obligation for other people to surrender their homes and land.

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