New Canaan, town (1990 pop. 17,864), Fairfield co., SW Conn.; settled c.1700, inc. 1801. It is mainly a residential town and suburb of nearby New York City. Silvermine Guild Arts Center is located there.

Canaan. 1 According to biblical ethnography, Canaan was the son of Ham and the ancestor for whom the Canaanites were named. 2 Territory, the same as ancient Palestine, lying between the Jordan, the Dead Sea, and the Mediterranean and sometimes including Transjordan. It was the Promised Land of the Israelites, and after their delivery from Egypt they subjugated it. The land held a number of pre-Israelite peoples listed in several passages in the Bible. See Ugarit; Asherah; Baal; Philistia; Phoenicia.

Ancient name for an area of shifting boundaries but centred on Palestine. Coastal Canaanite civilization dates to the Paleolithic Period; towns developed in Neolithic times (circa 7000–4000 BC). The name appears in writings from the 15th century BC. Invaded by the Hebrews (circa 1200 BC), who settled in southern areas, it was later invaded by the Philistines. In the 10th century BC the Israelites, under King David, broke Philistine power, and Canaan became thereafter the Land of Israel, the “Promised Land” of the biblical book of Exodus.

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