In the Tell-el-Amarna tablets Canaan is found under the forms of Kinakhna
and Kinakhkhi. Under the name of Kanana the Canaanites appear on
Egyptian monuments, wearing a coat of mail and helmet, and distinguished
by the use of spear and javelin and the battle-axe. They were called
Phoenicians by the Greeks and Poeni by the Romans. By race the
Canaanites were Semitic. They were famous as merchants and seamen, as
well as for their artistic skill. The chief object of their worship was the
sun-God, who was addressed by the general name of Baal, “Lord.” Each
locality had its special Baal, and the various local Baals were summed up
under the name of Baalim, “lords.”
- CANAAN, THE LANGUAGE OF mentioned in Isaiah 19:18, denotes the
language spoken by the Jews resident in Palestine. The language of the
Canaanites and of the Hebrews was substantially the same. This is seen
from the fragments of the Phoenician language which still survive, which
show the closest analogy to the Hebrew. Yet the subject of the language of
the “Canaanites” is very obscure. The cuneiform writing of Babylon, as
well as the Babylonian language, was taught in the Canaanitish schools,
and the clay tablets of Babylonian literature were stored in the Canaanitish
libraries. Even the Babylonian divinities were borrowed by the Canaanites. - CANDACE the queen of the Ethiopians whose “eunuch” or chamberlain
was converted to Christianity by the instrumentality of Philip the
evangelist (Acts 8:27). The country which she ruled was called by the
Greeks Meroe, in Upper Nubia. It was long the centre of commercial
intercourse between Africa and the south of Asia, and hence became
famous for its wealth (Isaiah 45:14).
It is somewhat singular that female sovereignty seems to have prevailed in
Ethiopia, the name Candace (compare “Pharaoh,” “Ptolemy,” “Caesar”)
being a title common to several successive queens. It is probable that
Judaism had taken root in Ethiopia at this time, and hence the visit of the
queen’s treasurer to Jerusalem to keep the feast. There is a tradition that
Candace was herself converted to Christianity by her treasurer on his
return, and that he became the apostle of Christianity in that whole region,
carrying it also into Abyssinia. It is said that he also preached the gospel in
Arabia Felix and in Ceylon, where he suffered martyrdom. (See PHILIP.)
- CANDLE Hebrews ner, Job 18:6; 29:3; Psalm 18:28; Proverbs 24:20, in
all which places the Revised Version and margin of Authorized Version