When HASHEM took the Jewish nation out of Mitzrayim with an “outstretched arm,” most of Creation welcomed the news as a defining moment in understanding HASHEM. For the seven nations living in the Land of Israel, however, it spelled doom. They knew that Israel was predestined to the Jews.
Amalek in particular took the news badly, so he laid plans to attack Yisrael. The posuk describes the “Canaanite king” who sat in the south and heard that Yisrael was coming. But Rashi points out that it wasn’t the Canaanite nation that lived in the south of Israel; it was Amalek. Why are they referred to as the “Canaanite?”
Rashi answers that according to the Medrash, the nation that attacked was Amalek. However, when they came close, they stopped speaking their mother tongue and switched to the language of Canaan. Their reasoning was that the Jews would hear them speaking and would assume that it was Canaan that was attacking them. The Jews would then daven to HASHEM to save them “from Canaan.” Since these opponents were not from Canaan, the tefillah wouldn’t work. But their plan failed because the Jews recognized something unusual. Yes, their enemies were speaking the language of Canaan, but they were dressed as Amalekim. Therefore, the Jews davened in neutral language: “HASHEM, save us from this nation.”
As a result, their tefillah was effective.
