Why did the Hebrews believe Canaan was their promised land?

A:

The biblical reason for this is that God promised the land of the Canaanites to their forebears. The real reason is surprising! Archaeologists and scholars have ascertained that the Israelites were actually Canaanites themselves, and had migrated from the region of the rich coastal cities, to settle peacefully in the hitherto sparsely populated hinterland - they had not come out of Egypt to invade and conquer the Canaanites at all. Centuries later, after the Hebrew people had long forgotten their real origins, they created legends of their supposed ancestors, their sojourn in Egypt and the conquest of Canaan, just as this tradition says that God told them.