Settlement during the Late Bronze was concentrated in the coastal plain and along major communication routes , with the central hill-country only sparsely inhabited ; each city had its own ruler , constantly at odds with his neighbors and appealing to the Egyptians to adjudicate his differences . Settlement was concentrated in cities along the coastal plain and along major communication routes ; the central and northern hill country which would later become the biblical kingdom of Israel was only sparsely inhabited although letters from the Egyptian archives indicate that Jerusalem was already a Canaanite city-state recognizing Egyptian overlordship . Politically and culturally it was dominated by Egypt , each city under its own ruler , constantly at odds with its neighbors , and appealing to the Egyptians to adjudicate their differences .