Canaan
( ? )
Canaan (Heb. כְּנָעַן), the fourth son of Ham and the ancestor of the Canaanites (Gen. 10:6, 15–19; I Chron. 1:8, 13–16). The biblical narrative relates that when Noah awoke from sleep brought on by wine, he realized that his youngest son had seen his nakedness and he cursed Canaan, saying "Cursed be Canaan; a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers" (Gen. 9:21–27).
In Islam
Canaan (Kanʿān) is not mentioned in the Koran, but the commentators believe that Sura 11:44ff. refers to him,
[Haïm Z'ew Hirschberg]
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
IN ISLAM:
B. Joel, in: EIS, 2 (1927), S.V. Kan'ān, incl. bibl.; Tabarī, Ta'rikh, 1 (1357 A.H.), 142, 145; Thaʿlabī, Qiṣaṣ, 1356 A.H.), 48; Kisā'ī, Qiṣaṣ, ed. by Eisenberg (1922–23), 96–97.
Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.