Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth,
Two names stand at the head of Canaan's line: Sidon, the firstborn, and Heth. Both grew into peoples who filled the land God intended for Israel. Israel's family record pauses to name the very people Israel would later drive out. Why does a book about David's kingdom list them at all?
Why the genealogies stand at the front of Chronicles
Chronicles opens with chapter after chapter of names. One writer explains why they matter.
H. L. RossierFinally, and above all, these names were essential because of Messiah's kingship. His line must go back through the series of kings to Judah "the lawgiver." From Judah it goes back to Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Noah, Adam and God!
Why Ham's line comes first
The list puts Canaan's sons before Shem's line. The same pattern comes back later in the chapter.
H. L. RossierIn God's eyes Shem, chosen by grace, has the first place. But in the natural order, what is spiritual does not come first, as we have already pointed out. It is the same with Abraham's offspring: "The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael" (v. 28). Isaac is named first, because he is first in God's thoughts. But Ishmael, the elder, is listed first (v. 29) as the son according to the flesh.
Sidon: the firstborn and his city
Sidon is both a man and a city. Its later story reaches right into Solomon's household.
William KellyThe name of Zidon, or Sidon, means "fishing" — and so does Saida, the modern name of the city… In earlier days we hear of "great Zidon" (Joshua 11:8, Joshua 19:28). Even Homer, who speaks of the city and its people again and again, never named Tyre. The people were skilled in making goods, and later famous for their ships and their trade. But they corrupted even Solomon's house with their detestable practices.
Heth: father of the Hittites
The second name became a whole nation that runs through the Bible story:
Morrish Bible DictionarySecond son of Canaan, from whom descended the HITTITES. They are often called 'the children of Heth.' Gen. 10:15; Gen. 23:3-20; Gen. 25:10; Gen. 27:46; Gen. 49:32; 1 Chr. 1:13.
Their name later became a standing insult in the mouth of a prophet, aimed at Israel itself.
William KellyThe Hittites came from Heth, or Cheth. Their daughters troubled Isaac and Rebecca, though we also hear of Abraham on friendly terms with them and others… In Ezekiel 16:3 and 45, "your mother was a Hittite" is meant no more literally than "your father was an Amorite." Both are the prophet's pictures of moral reproach.
A name already under a curse
A curse already lay on their father Canaan before either son was born. It shaped everything that followed.
William Kelly"Cursed be Canaan" was of deep interest to an Israelite, and in truth to anyone who values the revelation of God. Later history shows how the curse came true, and it will come true still more. The sin began with complete disrespect to a father… Think of a man who despises the one he is bound to honour. God had also given that father a special place. Such a man must come to shame and disgrace. He must be not just a servant but "a servant of servants." Pride that climbs highest always has the deepest fall.
Their land, Israel's inheritance
These peoples filled land that God intended for Israel. Their end came from how they lived, not only from where they lived.
William KellyNow the races of Canaan lived in the land that Jehovah intended for Israel. That was not all. They were openly vile… But the cup of the Amorites became full. The land grew so unclean that Jehovah had to judge its sin. So He chose to make Israel the executioner of His vengeance… Every unnatural evil, and idolatry too, had become one of their "customs" — and Israel had to stay clear of them.
Where grace later went
Sidon is not a closed chapter. Long after this list, Jesus went into the region around that city, and a woman of Canaan came to Him.
J. N. DarbyThe Lord comes into the region of Tyre and Sidon, where the descendants of Canaan lived ("cursed is Canaan"). That is always where grace comes. And she was one of these outcasts in the fullest sense of the word. She had no privileges, no claims.
Another writer sets her against the religious teachers of the passage just before.
William KellyIf there was one race under God's ban above all others, it was Canaan… Just before this we had the scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem, full of learning and outward respect for the law. Imagine the case most opposite to theirs, and you have it in this poor woman of Canaan.
Summary
- Recorded — the genealogy exists so we can trace Messiah's line back through Judah, Abraham, Noah and Adam to God.
- Ordered — the list puts Ham's sons before Shem's, because in the natural order the spiritual does not come first.
- Named — Sidon means "fishing." It grew into "great Zidon," a city of merchants and sailors that later corrupted Solomon's house. Heth's descendants were the Hittites.
- Cursed — the line starts with a son who despised his father. The word over him was "a servant of servants": the higher the pride, the deeper the fall.
- Reached — Israel took the land of these two names, yet grace came into Tyre and Sidon for a woman with no claims at all.