And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,
Canaan begat Sidon his first-born, [Hebrew, Tsiydon (H6721)] - Zidon, or Tsidon, now Saida. In this genealogical list it stands for the name of a man, as is evident from its being coupled with an adjective masculine, whereas when it designates the town it is feminine. It signifies fishing, fishery, fisherman [whence the Alieus of Philo of Byblus], and was probably bestowed at first with reference to the favourite employment of Canaan's oldest son, whose descendants, being also addicted to nautical pursuits, made choice of a place for their residence, noted for the abundance of its fish, and which became the future site of the town Sidon, situated on the northern slope of a rocky promontory, jutting out for a few hundred yards into the sea.
The original founder probably gave the name to the place-a conjecture which may serve to reconcile the statement of Justin (18: 3), that the town derived its appellation from its fishery, with the declaration of Josephus ('Antiquities,' 1: 6:, sec. 2), that it was called after Canaan's first-born. Sidon alone is mentioned (cf. Genesis 49:13), because Tyrus did not rise to greatness until the time of Joshua (Joshua 11:8; Joshua 19:28), and the mention of it in this passage was probably owing to its early pre-eminence among the cities of Phoenicia, although in point of time it was preceded by Berytus and Byblos, which are mentioned by Sanchoniathon before it. It once gave name to the whole surrounding territory, which was called 'the great plain of Sidon' (Josephus, 'Antiquities,' 6: 3, sec. 1).
Heth, [Hebrew, Cheet (H2845); Septuagint, Chet]. Gesenius derives the name from a Hebrew root denoting terror or dread, probably from the fierce, warlike character in which the descendants of Heth afterward appear; but more probably it originated, like the other tribes enumerated in this passage, in some local allusion. Heth was the father of the Hittites, who are called Benecheth-`sons' or 'children' of Heth (Genesis 23:3; Genesis 23:5; Genesis 23:7; Genesis 23:10; Genesis 23:16; Genesis 23:18; Genesis 23:20; Genesis 25:10; Genesis 49:32; Genesis 26:34; Genesis 27:46; Genesis 28:1; Genesis 28:8). In the original, as well as in the English version, Sidon and Heth appear as personal, not national names, while those that follow are gentilic nouns in the singular. They are mentioned by their tribe names. The Septuagint, however, considers the second name, Heth, as gentile [ton Chettaion].
The sacred record does not mention any special territory as assigned to the Hittites. The Hittites at first occupied the lands west of the Sea of Chinneroth (Lake of Tiberius) to the Mediterranean coast. A large colony of them, in Abraham's time, seems to have formed a permanent settlement in the vicinity of Hebron, the south of Palestine-a sub-tribe called Amorite (Genesis 14:13). But they afterward became so numerous and powerful that they are frequently mentioned as representing all the Canaanites (Joshua 1:4; 2 Kings 7:6). They figure prominently in the Egyptian monuments, under the name of Khet, or Kheta (having the same radicals as Hittites), as formidable opponents of the Egyptian monarchs of the 18th and 19th dynasties in their invasions of Syria. (See further the note at Genesis 10:18.)