Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people who were therein, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was none in the land, possessing authority, that might put [them] to shame in anything, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with any man.
"The Bible refers to the country as Phoenicia only in the New Testament (Mark 7:26; Acts 11:19; Acts 15:3; Acts 21:2). The Old Testament regularly uses merely the name of either or both of its principal two cities, Tyre and Sidon. These two cities, both prominent in merchandising activity, continue to the present day and are only twenty miles apart. They never seem to have enjoyed any real political cohesion, however, which means that the country never did either. In fact, the boundaries of the country, at any given time, are difficult to fix because this was true. The people often are called simply ’Sidonians’ in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 3:9: Joshua 13:4; Joshua 13:6; Judges 3:3; Judges 18:7; 1 Kings 5:6; etc.). This is because Sidon was more important than Tyre in early history." [Note: Wood, Distressing Days . . ., p. 79.] 