On the Road to Canaan was Gaza

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                       

Abram or Abraham, as he was later called, faced the same problems back in 1948 BCE (20th millennium BCE) that many men of today are facing;  that of being fed up with their environment and planning to move to the countryside with their new family. This was about 4,000 years ago.                                           

Abram lived in a congested city of Ur, actually far enough away from the city of Babylon, (land of Shinar or of the Kasdim (Chaldees) which had become a den of iniquity.  "A den of iniquity" refers to a place where illegal or immoral activities take place. It's a phrase often used to describe a location with a reputation for wrongdoing, such as a brothel or a secret gambling den. The term can also be used figuratively to describe situations or organizations where wicked actions or unfair practices are prevalent. " Babylon influenced the Uranian people who were trying to copy their way of life. They sacrificed people  when they needed something from their many gods.  Abram's father, Terah, was an idolmaker.                                                                   

One day Terah had come home to find his latest work lying in shambles on the floor and was angry.  He questioned Abram about it, who said that they had argued and fought. You ought to know better than that!" said Terah.  It was then that Abram decided to take his father andfamily and leave for the hinterland of Canaan. When Abram left Ur (Haran) for Canaan, he was accompanied by his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all of their possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, according to the biblical account in Genesis 12. While his father Terah also initially left Ur with them, he settled in Haran and died there. Therefore, the number of people heading for Canaan from Haran with Abram was at least four: Abram, Sarai, Lot, and the unspecified number of household members they had acquired in Haran. 

                                          Tell es-Sakan in September 2017

Tell es-Sakan in Gaza was inhabited by the Canaanites from approximately 2600 BCE to 2300 BCE, reinhabiting an earlier Egyptian settlement.  Tell es-Sakan was the first archaeological site discovered in Gaza to that dates from the end of the Early Bronze Age I and Early Bronze Age II to III periods (spanning the 4th and 3rd millennia B.C.E.) – a poorly represented span in the region's archaeological record. Just think;  Abram was born in the 2nd millennium!                        

Gaza (2 miles from the sea)  was later populated by traders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, mentioned in Egyptian documents, later captured by the Philistines and built 5 cities, temple of Dagon, later allotted to tribe of Judah by Joshua, city where Samson lived and died, by 720 BCE annexed by Sargon II of Assyria-Sargon II, king of Assyria (721-705 BC) Sargon II ascended to the Assyrian throne in the midst of a countrywide rebellion. He built a lavish new residence city, Dur-Šarruken, but died on the battlefield just one year after its completion. Sargon (flourished 23rd century bce) was an ancient Mesopotamian ruler who reigned around 2334–2279 bce. He was one of the earliest of the world's great empire builders, conquering all of southern Mesopotamia as well as parts of Syria, Anatolia, and Elam (western Iran);  in 521BCE by Cambyses of Persia-Cambyses I (flourished 6th century bce) was a ruler of Anshan c. 600–559 bce. Cambyses was the son of Cyrus I and succeeded his father in Anshan (northwest of Susa in Elam) as a vassal of King Astyages of Media..  Alexander the Great recolonized it as a hellenistic city in 332 BCE-Alexander the Great lived from 356 BC to 323 BC. He was born in Pella, Macedonia, and died in Babylon. .  Annexed again by Antiochus III of Syria in 198 BCE-In 198 BCE, Antiochus III, the Seleucid king of Syria, defeated Scopas at the Battle of Panium, securing control of southern Syria and the end of Ptolemaic rule in Judea. He also used this time to expand his influence in Asia Minor.  Alexander Yannai captured it in 96 BCE-Alexander Yannai (Jannaeus) was the Hasmonean ruler of Judea (103–76 B.C.E.), son of John Hyrcanus; was high priest and king. According to Josephus, Yannai was hated by his father and for this reason was forced to spend his childhood in Galilee. When his eldest brother, Aristobulus, inherited the high priesthood from their father, he was imprisoned together with other brothers and his mother for fear they would attempt to seize power. Upon the death of Aristobulus, his widow, Salome Alexandra, designated Yannai as the successor, and the new high priest married his sister-in-law, in accordance with the Jewish rite of levirate., Pompey did not free Gaza in 61 BCE. In fact, he incorporated Gaza into the Roman Empire in 63 BCE, not 61 BCE.  Pompey's actions ended Jewish rule in Gaza and brought it under Roman control.  Following its conquest by Pompey, Gaza was rebuilt by the Roman governor Aulus Gabinius. 

 Jews lived in Gaza throughout the Middle Ages;  captured by Napoleon in 1799, center of Sabbetaism in 17th century, Jews left in 1917, some returning in Arab disturbances in 1929.  By 1949 it had a population of 30,000-swollen by many refugees.  Captured in November 1956 by Israel forces who remained there until March 1957. It was under Israeli rule during Six-Day War in  1967.  Census later in 1967 found 119,000.  From October to December 1948, Israel drove out Egyptians except the Gaza Strip.  It stayed in Egyptian rule from 1949 to November 1956 when captured by Israeli forces, returned in March 1957.  May 1967 Nasser withdrew the UN force with Israel.  By 1967 census showed 352,260 in Gaza Strip (172,520) were refugees. They have stayed and multiplied many times over.                                      

Canaan :  was an ancient Semitic-speaking civilization and region of the Southern Levant during the late 2nd millennium BCE, which is when Abram was born.   Canaan had significant geopolitical importance in the Late Bronze Age Amarna Period (14th century BCE) as the area where the spheres of interest of the Egyptian, Hittite, Mitanni, and Assyrian Empires converged or overlapped. Much of present-day knowledge about Canaan stems from archaeological excavation in this area at sites such as Tel Hazor, Tel Megiddo, En Esur, and Gezer.

Canaan, the name used then for today's Syria in the 15th to 13th century BCE (1500 BCE-1300 BCE),  while Abram left much earlier in about the 2000 BCE.  The native people were thoughto be descended from Canaan, son of Ham, son of Noah.  They had divided into 11 differentpeoples who occupied the area between the Nile and the Euphrates (Gen.10:15-19).  They became a mixture of Horites, Hittites, and Hebrews, dating back to the Hyksos period of the17th century BCE.  

 The description of ancient Gaza as being made up of "little city states" primarily refers to its time as part of the Philistine Pentapolis during the Iron Age, roughly from the 12th to 7th centuries BCE. 

In the Bible, Canaan is described as a land, often referred to as the "Promised Land," which God promised to Abraham and his descendants. It's characterized by fertile land and strategic location, but also inhabited by various peoples who were seen as a challenge to the Israelites' faith.                                                         

The Abraham Accords:  The Abraham Accords are a series of diplomatic agreements normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. They were signed on September 15, 2020, at the White House, with Donald Trump as a witness. The agreements aim to foster mutual understanding, cooperation, and peace in the region through diplomatic relations, trade, and cultural exchange. 

Resource;

The New Standard Jewish Encylopedia