Why the Canaanites such a threat to Moses and Joshua?
Although the area had been inhabited considerably earlier, it is with the influx of peoples from northern Syria and Anatolia and the introduction of urban life at the beginning of the Bronze Age (ca. 3200) that Canaanite history is thought to have begun. For all intents, that history is coterminous with the Bronze Age itself, and the course of Canaanite civilization was strongly influenced by the fortunes of the Egyptian Empire to the west and the cultural and political movements within other parts of the ancient Near East and Anatolia. Indeed, the apparently peaceful existence of the early Canaanite villages and fortified towns was shattered ca. 2300 by widespread destruction resulting from raids under the Egyptian Sixth Dynasty and large-scale upheaval accompanied by massive population movements throughout much of the ancient world. During the Middle Bronze Age (specifically MB IIA; ca. 2000–1800) the Canaanites were dominated politically and economically by the Egyptian Twelft...