Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 10:15-18

"And Canaan begat Sidon his first-born, and Heth, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanite spread abroad." — Genesis 10:15-18 (ASV)

Canaan. —The meaning of this name is uncertain, as it is most probably a Hamitic word. If derived from a Semitic root, it may mean the lowland. Though the Canaanites spoke a Semitic language when we find them in Palestine, the Bible's assertion that they were Hamites is confirmed by the testimony of secular writers, who say that their original home was on the Indian Ocean. They had probably been driven from there by the pressure of Semitic races, with whose language they had thus already become familiar. Furthermore, when they found a Semitic people thinly spread over Palestine, they may, while absorbing them, have been confirmed in the use of their language.

So, subsequently, Abraham gave up Syriac for Hebrew; and though these are kindred dialects, they are often remote enough from one another . On the other hand, the whole character of the Canaanite religion and thought was Hamitic. While they were active in commercial pursuits, and in culture far in advance of the Greeks, to whom they gave their alphabet, they were intensely sensuous in their worship and voluptuous in their manners. They are divided into eleven tribes, namely:—

1. Sidon. —This is remarkable as being the only town mentioned in the account of either Mizraim or Canaan. All the rest are apparently the names of tribes still wandering about. Thus, we gain a clearer idea both of the antiquity of this early record and also of the great advance Nimrod made in founding so many cities. Sidon was situated on the seashore, about thirty miles north of Tyre. It became a settled community and the seat of social life this early because of its advantages for fishing (from which its name is derived) and also for commerce.
2. Heth. —The Kheta, or Hittites, were a powerful race whose language and monuments have recently become the object of careful study. They seem subsequently to have possessed not only Syria but also a large portion of Asia Minor (see Note on Genesis 23:3; Genesis 23:5).
3. The Jebusite. —This race held the territory later occupied by Benjamin and retained Jerusalem until the time of David (2 Samuel 5:6–9; see Note on Genesis 14:18).
4. The Amorite. —Or rather, Emorite, that is, mountaineer. Next to the Kheta, or Hittites, they were the most powerful race in Palestine. They held the hill country of Judea, where they had five kings (Joshua 10:5), and a large district on the eastern side of the Jordan (2 Samuel 9:10).
5. The Girgasite. —Mentioned in Joshua 24:11, but otherwise unknown.
6. The Hivite. —At Shechem (Genesis 34:2), at Gibeon (Joshua 9:7), and near Hermon and Lebanon (Joshua 11:3; Judges 3:3).
7. The Arkite. —Also in Lebanon.
8. The Sinite. —A small tribe in the same neighbourhood.
9. The Arvadite. —A more important people, inhabiting the island Aradus.
10. The Zemarite. —An obscure people, inhabiting Samyra, in Phoenicia.
11. The Hamathite. —Whose city, Hamath, was the capital of Northern Syria. It was situated on the river Orontes, and though called Epiphaneia by the Macedonians, still retains its ancient name. The Kheta subsequently gained the supremacy at Hamath and had their capital in the immediate neighbourhood.

Afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. —This may mean either that they spread inward, or it may refer to the numerous colonies of the Tyrians on the Mediterranean.

While in Babylonia the Hamites are described as black, this branch was called Phoenicians, from their ruddy colour, in contrast with the olive-coloured Semitic stock.

As they came by sea from the Indian Ocean, their earliest settlement was on the coast, and thus Sidon is called “the first-born” of Ham. From there they advanced into the interior and, though few in number, absorbed the inhabitants of Palestine by their superior culture.

It is probably this inward expansion that is referred to here.