Term:Canaanite Jews
A name used for Slavic speaking Jews, deriving from a medieval Jewish tradition to designate various European countries by Biblical names, e.g. Zarephat (I Kings 17: 9-10). Sepharad (Obad. 1: 20), and Ashkenaz (Jer. 51: 27). In keeping with this tradition, Jews called the Slavic lands by the name “Canaan,” according to the verse “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren” (Gen. 9: 25), since the name “Slavs” was used in many European languages as a word for slave (English: slave, French: esclave, Spanish: esclavo), and of course the Slavic lands were a main reservoir of slaves during the Middle Ages. Slavic speaking Jews are mentioned in several sources, and resided mostly in Kievan Rus’ and in Bulgaria. Where they originated from is unclear, but the research literature commonly uses this term is to distinguish them from the Ashkenazi Jews whose origins were in Germany.