I would go with Cannanite myself.  They were probably Semitic offshoots.  They traded with Egypt and the Greeks and is credited with perhaps the first alphabetic language.  No doubt as sea traders they needed a language with more flexiblity than the pictorial script languages of their neighbors.  Alphabetical languages are better for records keeping and commercial functions.  The hieroglyphs of Egypt and the Hebrew of the Jews were better suited for religious expression.  That's the only thing I can think of.