Commentaire sur La Genèse 10:19

גבול הכנעני THE BOUNDARY OF THE CANAANITE means the end of his land: wherever גבול occurs it signifies end and extremity.

ויהי, now the Torah mentions the territorial boundaries extending from Tzidon to Sodom, but fails to list all the boundaries, seeing that these will be mentioned independently on future occasions. The story here has as its function to inform us that it had been G’d’s will that the Canaanites settle permanently in one region until the time came for their destruction in the days of Moses and Joshua, seeing that G’d had chosen the Israelites to dwell in that land. In fact, settlement of the Canaanite tribes in the land later to become the land of Israel was for the sake of the Israelites. When the Israelites would take over that country which had been developed agriculturally, and in which their remained most of the infra structure of a wealthy nation, it saved them the trouble of developing virgin land, [as did the Europeans who settled in America. Ed.] The Torah points that out specifically in Deuteronomy 6,11 writing that G’d is bringing the Jewish people to a land with beautiful cities which they did not have to build, houses full of every good thing that the Jews did not have to accumulate, water cisterns full with supplies of drinking water, etc. It is clear from the verse in Deut. 32,8 to which we referred already, that the sections of territory occupied by the Canaanites had been designed from the outset as the territory that would, when the time was ripe, be allocated to the 12 tribes of the Jewish people. The Canaanites preceded the Israelites, seeing that they had been cursed to be slaves to the descendants of Shem, i.e. Israel. A slave prepares things so that his master can subsequently enjoy them.

'ויהי גבול הכנעני וגו, “and the boundaries of the territory ruled over by the Canaanite were, etc.” The details by the Torah provided here are exceptional, and are listed only because in the future the Israelites would inherit the lands owned by the Canaanites.

באכה AS THOU COMEST - This word is a noun. I think it is a colloquial expression like that used by a person who says to another: This boundary stretches until you come to such and such a boundary.