Revisiting Egyptian Occurrences of Canaan, Pa-Canaan and Canaanite in Egyptian Sources of the New Kingdom

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of how the term “Canaan” and its variations are used in Egyptian sources from the New Kingdom period. It explores the appearances of “Canaan” and “Canaanite” in various contexts, such as military campaigns, topographical lists, monumental inscriptions, and administrative records. Through a detailed examination of these sources, the study aims to clarify whether these terms refer to the entire region known as Canaan or to specific localities within it, such as Gaza. When the ethnicon “Canaanite” is used, it is possible to determine that the individuals came from the land of Canaan, and that the term does not mean “Gazan.” The findings highlight that “Pa-Canaan” should be translated as “that which belongs to Canaan,” and that the article “ pꜢ ” should not be understood as the definite article, but as the possessive article/prefix “ pꜢ- ( n ).” The toponym “Canaan” in topographical lists appears in specific geographical contexts, namely together with Sharuhen and Raphiah on the coastal plain of the southern Levant, and once next to Ashtarot and Rehob in the Beth Shean Valley, and seems to refer to a specific place rather than a region or land, namely Gaza and its environs.