Canaan is the ancient name for the land of Israel. The Torah gave Abraham the land of
Canaan, which in some cases stretched from southern Syria to the Eastern
Sinai and, in other Torah references, was only a small strip hugging the
Mediterranean. Under the leadership of Joshua the Israelites conquered
Canaan, which had previously been divided into seven city states. Today,
the land of Canaan is known as Palestine, Eretz Yisrael and Israel.
Sources: Bridger, David. Ed. The
New Jewish Encyclopedia. NY: Behrman House, Inc. 1976.
Schreiber, Mordecai (ed.). The
Shengold Jewish Encyclopedia. Shengold Books. 1998.
Telushkin, Joseph. Jewish
Literacy. William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1991.