Which were the "seven nations in the land of Canaan" (Acts 13:19)?
The seven nations in Canaan that God "destroyed" (Acts 13:19) were, from
north to south, Hivites (north of the Sea of Galilee),
Girgashites (Galilee region), Canaanites (western plains), Amorites (eastern
mountains), Jebusites (around and including Jerusalem), Perizzites (southwest, near
Gaza), and Hittites (near the Dead Sea): "When the LORD
your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out
many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites
and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites,
seven nations greater and mightier than you, ..." (Deuteronomy 7:1)
Is it accurate to say that God - "He" (Acts 13:19) - destroyed those seven nations
of Canaan?
Yes, God won the battles, which He let the Hebrew army then mop up. For
example, in the battle for Jericho, God miraculously blew out the city's
protective wall, which ended the battle before it began:
"Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none
went out, and none came in. And the LORD said to Joshua: “See! I have given
Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.
You shall
march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city
once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven
trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march
around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It
shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and
when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with
a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people
shall go up every man straight before him.” Then Joshua the son of Nun
called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and
let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the
LORD.” And he said to the people, “Proceed, and march around the city, and
let him who is armed advance before the ark of the LORD.” So it was, when
Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven
trumpets of rams’ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the trumpets, and
the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. The armed men went before
the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark,
while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. Now Joshua had commanded
the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice,
nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you,
‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.” So he had the ark of the LORD circle the
city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the
camp. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark
of the LORD. Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before
the ark of the LORD went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the
armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the
LORD, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. And the second day
they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six
days. But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the
dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same
manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. And the
seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua
said to the people: “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city! Now the
city shall be doomed by the LORD to destruction, it and all who are in it.
Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house,
because she hid the messengers that we sent. And you, by all means abstain
from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the
accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But
all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to
the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.” So the people
shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people
heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout,
that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every
man straight before him, and they took the city." (Joshua 6:1-20)