A recent archaeologic discovery in Lebanon has stirred up a bit of historical controversy over the fate of the ancient Canaanites. DNA, found in some 4000 year-old bones in Sidon, on the shore of the Mediterranean, was shown to be a 90% match with contemporary Lebanese populations. This would mean that the current occupants of that area are the modern descendants of the Canaanites.
As Jeffrey P. Tomkins, Ph.D. at the Institute for Creation Research explains ~
This area of the world corresponds to the ancient Phoenician civilization that descended from the Canaanites mentioned in the Bible. Numbers 13:29 notes their specific location, saying, “The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”
The controversy was sparked when some secular sources gleefully reported the finding as inconsistent with Biblical accounts ~ Bible says Canaanites were wiped out by Israelites but scientists just found their descendants living in Lebanon ~
For God had ordered the Israelites to slaughter the apparently sinful Canaanites, saying: “You shall not leave alive anything that breathes. But you shall utterly destroy them.” And, according to the Old Testament’s Book of Joshua, they did just that…
Well, not exactly. You need to keep reading to find out what really happened; the story is continued in the Book of Judges. Kari Rohde at Patterns of Evidence provides a helpful recap ~
[The various peoples mentioned were all sub-groups of the Canaanites]
But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. – Judges 1:21 (ESV)
Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.
And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.
Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.
Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob,so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.
Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.
The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. – Judges 1:27-35 (ESV)
Now this particular episode of Bible history is not all that unusual, in fact it was a classic example of Israelite mission failure. The Old Testament is replete with accounts of the Lord commanding the Israelites to go somewhere, do something, not do something. And, while they may have started out with good intentions, – the results never quite lived up to His expectations (Pretty typical for most of us humans eh?).
God was not amused by the incomplete execution of His Canaanite directive ~
Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” – Judges 2:1-3 (ESV)
In any event, it’s clear that – far from disproving the Biblical version of the Canaanites’ fate – this new discovery only confirms it. These progressive media types would be better served if they didn’t let their secular worldview get in the way of their reportage.
Maybe they could start by reading the whole Bible 
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Related:
For Culturally Illiterate Science Reporters, Canaanite DNA Yields Occasion to Slap Bible Around
DNA vs the Bible: Israelites did not wipe out the Canaanites
Associates for Biblical Research ~ Christian apologetics ministry dedicated to demonstrating the historical reliability of the Bible through archaeological and Biblical research
