The Civilization of Canaan in the Fifteenth Century B. C.

Author(s): Lewis B. Paton

Source: The Biblical World , Jul., 1902, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Jul., 1902), pp. 25-30
Published by: The University of Chicago Press

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3137384

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THE CIVILIZATION OF CANAAN IN THE FIFTEENTH
CENTURY B. C.

By PROFESSOR LEWIS B. PATON, PH.D.,

Hartford Theological Seminary.

OUR sources of information for the civilization of the fifteenth

century B. C. are fuller than for most other periods of the his-
tory of Canaan. We have not only the Annals of Thothmes
III., which give a remarkably full account of the products of the
land, but also the Amarna letters, which set before us the life,
manners, and customs of the country, with all the vividness of
contemporary records. From these sources, as well as from the
allusions of the Egyptian monuments, statements of the Old
Testament, and the scanty results of exploration, we may con-
struct the following conception of life in Canaan two hundred
years before the Hebrew conquest.
The people dwelt almost exclusively in towns on account of the
insecurity of the open country. The larger places were surrounded
with battlemented walls and were shut in with gates of bronze.
These gates were defended by towers placed on both sides, and
frequently were double and even treble, so that an enemy was
obliged to storm them successively before he could effect an
entrance. These strongholds the Egyptians found difficult to take,
except by starving their garrisons into submission. So power-
fully did they impress the Hebrews, when two centuries later they
entered Canaan, that their walls seemed to reach up to heaven.
The smaller towns contented themselves with migdols, or
watchtowers, from which sentries kept an outlook over the sur-
rounding country, and gave warning of the approach of an
enemy by blowing trumpets. Unwalled towns depended upon
walled cities in their neighborhood; and in times of great danger
their inhabitants took refuge in these cities. A typical Canaan-
itish town of this age has been disclosed by the excavations of
Dr. Bliss at Tell el-Hesy, the site probably of the biblical
25

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26 THE BIBLICAL WORLD

Lachish., In the fourth layer of this m

cuneiform tablet and other objects belon
as the Amarna letters. The houses and t
were built of bricks of unbaked clay mix
Dwellings with eight or more large room
were discovered, but these unfortunately

VIEW OF THE EXCAVATIONS AT TELL EL-HESY.

by an ancient conqueror, so that, except the tablet

tioned, they yielded little of archaeological interest.
The Egyptian monuments are concerned so exclus
warlike exploits that, while they have much to tell
fortifications and the armament of the Asiatics, they
to say about their domestic life. Some information,
gained by a study of Canaanitish loan-words. A
names of vessels (particularly metal vessels), of co
sils, and of certain kinds of food were borrowed by
tians. The oven seems to have been a Canaanitish invention,
since its name, as well as those of products of the baker's art, was
adopted unchanged into Egyptian. In the Annals of Thothmes
we find mention of chairs, footstools, tables, dishes, mixing-
'xBLISS, A Mound of Many Cities.

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 CANAAN IN FIFTEENTH CENTURY B. C. 27

bowls for wine, goblets, knives of copper, vases, jars

and utensils of all sorts. These indicate that a considerable

degree of comfort and even of luxury was to be found in house

of the aristocracy.
The dress of the Canaanites is frequently depicted. Fashio
had changed considerably since the time represented by th
pictures of the thirty-seven 'Aamu on the tomb of Khnumhote
Asiatics of this period wore a tunic open in front, with sh
sleeves that covered both shoulders. Wealthier people w
over it a mantle made of two pieces of cloth wrapped arou
the body in a spiral manner so as to form three or four flounc
and then brought up over the shoulders in a kind of cape t
hung down over both arms. These mantles were made of w
woven with bright colors in ornamental patterns, and w
heavily trimmed with tassels and fringes. There was no mar
difference between the costumes of the men and of the women
at least none that can be recognized in the Egyptian pictur
Men wore their hair cut off abruptly at the nape of the ne
They brushed it over their foreheads, and tied it behind th
ears with a white band in such a way as to make it stand ou
a bunch. Sometimes it was brought down from the center of th
crown and was cut off around the edges, giving it the appe
ance of a large straw hat placed upon the top of the he
They wore pointed beards, but they are never represented w
mustaches. This peculiarity, however, may be due to the t
of the Egyptian artists. Women wore their hair in two br
which fell down in front on either side of the face. The head
was sometimes tied up in a bright-colored cloth, but the use of
a turban does not seem to have been as common either aniong
men or women as it was at a later time. Shoes appear to have
been worn by the upper classes, although there is some doubt
whether the monuments do not depict anklets worn about the
leg at the point where the shoe-top would come. Arm-rings
were affected by both men and women. The Annals mention
also earrings of copper engraved with figures of horses, brace-
lets, necklaces, and staves of office.
The chief occupation of the Canaanites was agriculture.

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28 THE BIBLICAL WORLD

This is shown, not only by the statements

of the Amarna letters, but also by the
remains in Palestine are cisterns, wine-v
Annals make frequent mention of harve
the fields of the enemy, and also enumera
plunder taken from captured towns. T
their tribute chiefly in agricultural
letters speak of supplying grain to the kin
ing it by land or by water to Egypt. B
were raised, but wheat seems to have been more abundant. In
certain parts of the country, where the baking was famous, the
Pharaoh received his tribute in loaves of bread.

Olive oil must have been one of the chief products of the
land. From north Syria alone Thothmes took 953 jars in one
year. Judging from the Egyptian names, a number of varieties
were produced. It was demanded as part of the annual tribute,
and the princes of the Amarna letters furnished it both for
Pharaoh and for his garrisons. Wine was produced in all parts
of the land. In one campaign Thothmes received from south
Syria 1,405 jars. The town of Anaugasa sent him as tribute Io6
jars. The wine of Phcenicia was the most highly esteemed.
Curiously enough, wine is not mentioned in the Amarna letters,
but in its stead the Syrian princes furnish the beverage known in
the Old Testament as " strong drink." The Annals speak of
fruit of all kinds, but they do not specify the names of any except
dates. Honey, both wild and cultivated, was a staple product.
A large number of spices are mentioned, but the names of most
cannot be translated, and it is doubtful whether all were pro-
duced in Palestine. Many were probably imported from Arabia.
Although the Canaanites had long ago abandoned nomadic
life, they continued to breed cattle as one of their most important
industries. From Palestine Thothmes took in his first campaign
1,929 bulls. From central Syria he took in one expedition
5,703 sheep, and in another expedition 20,500 sheep. In one
campaign he obtained from central Syria 4,622 goats, from
Phenicia 3,336, and from north Syria 5,323. Asses also were
raised, and were the animals commonly used for transportation

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 CANAAN IN FIFTEENTH CENTURY B. C. 29

and for riding. Horses had been introduced by th

and had already been employed in war with the E
They were never ridden, but were used only to dra
Thothmes captured many of these in his campaigns
formed part of his regular tribute. In the Amarna le
are seldom said to have been sent to Egypt; but, inste
request is constantly made for them. It seems as if
quence of protracted war, they had become scarce in
The writers of the Amarna letters call their enemies
and profess themselves the " dogs" of their master, t
Egypt. These allusions show that the dog was not re
a domestic animal, as among the Egyptians, Assyrian
later European nations; but that, like his modern des
Syria, he was an outcast and lived wild in the streets.
The country was covered with great forests, that
variety of useful woods. Especially prized were the
Mount Lebanon and of Mount Amanus. These were
the Amorites and by the Phcenicians, and were transpor
to Egypt, and to other ports. The Annals give the n
number of precious woods, but unfortunately these
translated with certainty. Some yielded a sweet o
burned, and were prized for the preparation of incense.
The forests were the haunts of antelopes, lions, b
various kinds of wild fowl. Elephants were abundant
out northern Syria, and were hunted for the sake of th
and hides.

The monuments give us frequent representations of the textile

fabrics of Syria, and show that the art of weaving had been
brought to a high degree of perfection. The patterns copied
were originally Babylonian, but they had developed independ-
ently. The " goodly Babylonish garment, " mentioned in Josh.
7:21 as found in the spoil of Jericho, was probably not an
imported garment, but one made in Canaan after a Babylonian
design. Wood-working was a specialty of the Canaanites.
Their chairs, tables, and ornamental carvings were highly prized
by the Egyptians. The making of brick was also understood by
them, and in the manufacture and decoration of pottery they had
attained great skill. So superior were their household utensils

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 30 THE BIBLICAL WORLD

that the Egyptians did not disdain to car

campaigns.
The art of dressing and setting stones was well known. In
the neighborhood of Mount Lebanon were extensive quarries,
which from the most ancient times furnished building material
for the Babylonian monarchs. A number of precious and semi-
precious stones were known. Among these are mentioned
alabaster, lapis-lazuli, malachite, green felspar, and a variety of
other minerals, the exact meaning of whose names cannot be
determined. The polishing and engraving of gems was the
secret of a guild of skilled artisans.
Gold and silver were worked into many useful and orna-
mental articles. In the tribute lists we find mention of gold
and silver dishes, silver cups, vases, jugs, bracelets, earrings,
nose-rings, and necklaces. Copper was found, not only in the
peninsula of Sinai, but also in early times in Mount Lebanon and
Mount Hermon. Remains of ancient mines have been discovered

in these regions, and later historians bear testimony to their pro-

ductiveness. In one of the inscriptions of Sargon II. Ba'ali-
Tsapuna (that is, Hebrew, Baal-Zephon), a mountain of northern
Syria, is spoken of as the "great copper mountain," and in the
book of Deuteronomy the promise is made to the Israelites that
out of the hills of Canaan they shall dig copper. It is not sur-
prising, therefore, that this metal formed a considerable part of
the tribute received by the Egyptians. It was furnished by the
district of Nukhashshi in northeastern Syria, by Anaugasa and
other Phcenician cities; by north Syria, middle Syria, and even
by cities of Palestine. The working of copper into vessels and
implements formed an important industry. The metal was used
partly in its natural state and partly alloyed with tin brought by
Phoenician vessels from the shores of the Black Sea, and possibly
even from Cornwall. When thus alloyed it became hard enough
to be made into weapons and edged tools. We find mention of
vessels and vases of bronze and of copper, and of armor and
weapons of every description. The representations of these
articles on the monuments show that in their manufacture great
artistic skill had been attained.
[ To be completed.]

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