Endnote 3 – When Was the Age of the Patriarchs?—Of Amorites, Canaanites, and Archaeology

In Genesis 13:7, 34:30 and Judges 1:4–5 the pre-Israelite peoples are designated simply as Canaanites and Perizzites. Ezekiel, in describing Jerusalem’s origins, says, “Canaan is the land of your ancestry and there you were born; an Amorite was your father and a Hittite your mother.” (Ezekiel 16:3. See also Ezekiel 16:45.) Thus, it would seem that in varying traditions either Amorite or Canaanite could be used as a designation for the entire Semitic element of Palestine while Perizzite or Hittite could be used for the non-Semitic groups.