tory took place, and the geography of Palestine is a vital element in that history (Noth, 1958, p. 8).
             Raphael Patai in his book The Jewish Mind discusses the early history of the Israelites and notes that the first encounter between the Children of Israel and another people, the people of Canaan, had two lasting outcomes--the first was their acquisition of the Hebrew Language, and the second was the incorporation of certain Canaanite elements into the religions of the pre-exilic Israelites and Judaites. There is an indication in the account in Genesis of the lives of the Hebrew patriarchs that they received the Hebrew language from their Canaanite neighbors (Patai, 1977, p. 42). He also refers to the religious influences derived from the Canaanites, including the strengthening of Judaism by the efforts of the Yahwists to battle against the pagan abominations of the Canaanite polytheistic and sensuous cults. The encounter also brought about the giving up by the Israelites of the nomadic pastoral way of l
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