The name most commonly used in the Torah for the Jewish homeland is Eretz Kena’an (Canaan in English). This name is based on the Canaanites, who were the most prominent of the seven nations occupying the Land before its conquest by the Israelites.

Founder of this nation was Canaan, the grandson of Noach, who cursed him that he and his descendants would forever be a slave to the descendants of Noach’s other sons, Shem and Yafet. The Canaanites and the other nations lost their claim to the Land they inhabited because of their sinful ways, but it was Noach’s curse which helped win a lawsuit over possession of the Land.

During the reign of Alexander of Macedon, who ruled over this part of the world, the Canaanites laid claim to the Land, which the Torah itself describes as the Land of Canaan their ancestor. Citing the same biblical source, a Jewish sage reminded them that they had been condemned to slavery by their ancestor Noach and that the property of a slave is legally that of the owner.

The Canaanites had no rebuttal and fled in shame.

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