The first documented settlement in Ashdod dates to the Canaanite culture of 17th century BC, making the city one of the most ancient in the world.

Others, such as Israel Finkelstein, Jonathan Tubbs and others, dispute the veracity of the Biblical account and claim that the Hebrew culture developed locally, from the Canaanite culture, with perhaps very minor population inflows from the outside.

The record would suggest that the Israelite culture largely overlapped with and derived from Canaanite culture...

We have already seen that the general background of the J account is Mesopotamian, although there is a strong Palestinian colouring which suggests that the Mesopotamian material had been absorbed by Canaanite culture before it was used by the Hebrew writer.

The Pentapolis was in constant struggle and interaction with the neighbouring EgyptIans, Israelites and Canaanites, gradually absorbing the Canaanite culture.

The Canaanite city-state system broke down at the end of the Late Bronze period, and Canaanite culture was then gradually absorbed into that of the Philistines, Phoenicians and Israelites.

High places in Israelite (Hebrew: Bamah, or Bama) or Canaanite culture were open-air shrines, usually erected on an elevated site.

According to archaeologists, however, Israelite culture did not overtake the region, but rather grew out of Canaanite culture.

In the book he argues that the experiences of the Hyksos in Egypt became a central foundation of myths in Canaanite culture, leading to the story of Moses.

It has been argued that the Israelites were themselves Canaanites, and that "historical Israel", as distinct from "literary" or "Biblical Israel" was a subset of Canaanite culture.