Genesis 15:18–21 names ten distinct peoples whose land God promised to Abraham's descendants. This is not a vague spiritual promise — it is a geographical and political declaration naming specific nations with specific territories. Understanding who these peoples were, where they lived, and why God commanded their displacement is essential to reading the conquest narratives of Joshua with theological clarity rather than moral confusion.
The Canaanites, in the broadest sense, was the general term for the peoples of the land between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. More specifically, the term referred to the lowland and coastal peoples — the cities of the plain, the port cities of the north, and the populations of the Jezreel and Jordan valleys. They were Semitic peoples speaking a language closely related to Hebrew, and their religion centered on Baal, Asherah, and Molech. Archaeological evidence from sites like Ugarit in Syria has preserved extensive Canaanite mythological texts, giving us a detailed picture of the religion Israel was commanded to destroy completely.
The Amorites occupied the highlands of Canaan and the Transjordan. By the time of Moses, two powerful Amorite kingdoms had established themselves east of the Jordan: Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan — both defeated by Israel before the crossing of the Jordan (Numbers 21:21–35). Joshua 10 records the defeat of five Amorite kings who attacked Gibeon after it made peace with Israel. The Jebusites held Jerusalem — called Jebus in the pre-Davidic period — and were not fully displaced until David captured the city around 1000 BC (2 Samuel 5:6–9).
The Rephaim deserve special mention. They were a race of giants — Og of Bashan is described as having a bed nine cubits long (Deuteronomy 3:11). Goliath, the Philistine champion whom David slew, stood over nine feet tall and was described as a descendant of the Rephaim (2 Samuel 21:22). The presence of these unusually large warriors in the land was one of the things that terrified the twelve spies sent by Moses (Numbers 13:32–33), contributing to the forty years of wilderness wandering.