What is…
Phoenicia
also known as: Phenicia
The people of this civilization are known as Phoenician. The are one of many people groups that descended from Noah’s son Shem. The are Shemites.
This civilization originated in the eastern Mediterranean coastal area, mainly in what is now the coast of modern Lebanon. These people traded with and colonized places in the Mediterranean—Cyprus and Carthage to the Iberian Peninsula. They are known for their dominant skill in international trade, lumber, carpentry, shipping, shipbuilding, and navigation.
“It is debated whether Phoenicians were actually distinct from the broader group of Semitic-speaking peoples known as Canaanites.” 1
Notable cities
The languages of ancient Phoenicia were Semitic—Phoenician and Punic (aka Canaanite and Phoenicio-Punic). Phoenician is the common name of their language. Phoenician is one of four closely related Semitic languages (Amorite, Ugaritic, Phoenician and Ancient Aramaic).
The Apostle Paul mentions Phoenicia.
and having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. —Acts 21:2 LSB
More information
- Who is Shem?
- About ancient Lebanon in the Bible
- Merchants in the Bible
- Ships in the Bible
- Islands of the Bible
What are the cities of the Bible? Names, descriptions, locations and types- Places of the Bible
- About idolatry and false gods in the Bible
John C. Scott, “The Phoenicians and the Formation of the Western World,” Comparative Civilizations Review (2018), p. 78.
Josephine Crawley Quinn, In Search of the Phoenicians (Princeton University Press: 2017), pp. 24, 204.