7:1 and the Canaanites. Actually most of the other tribes listed here–the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites (all except the Perizzites) were included among the Canaanites in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10:15-18). Presumably this is because they had each become so large and distinct as to be listed as separate nations by the time of Joshua. This was especially true of the Amorites and Hittites. The tribes still called simply Canaanites may have been the others listed in Genesis 10:17,18–Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. Sidon may also have been included (Genesis 10:15), since the Sidonians lived just north of Canaan and eventually became the Phoenicians. The Perizzites were not a separate ethnic group, but lived in rural mountain villages (as their name implies).

7:3 make marriages. This principle is still very important for believers today. See II Corinthians 6:14.

7:6 special people unto himself. This is perhaps the clearest statement of the election of the children of Israel as God’s chosen people, clearly stating that it was not because of human merit but because of His promise to their fathers. As the Israelites entered Canaan, they would encounter “seven nations greater and mightier than thou” (Deuteronomy 7:1), yet God promised to “deliver them before thee” (Deuteronomy 7:2).