What does Genesis 10:17 mean?

Canaan was a son of Ham, a son of Noah. This passage lists the descendants of Canaan, most of whom would go on to become great enemies of the nation of Israel. These Canaanites go on to occupy the Promised Land which the people of Israel will conquer after the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 3:17). In chapter 9, Noah's son Ham gravely dishonors him, resulting in Noah placing a curse on Ham's son, Canaan (Genesis 9:20–25). Over time, the Canaanite people would sink further and further into evil and depravity. By the time Israel was freed from Egypt, as told in the book of Exodus, God was prepared to send judgment. This came in the form of Israel, who was allowed to conquer the land of Canaan, not because of their own merit, but in order to punish the sins of Canaan's descendants (Deuteronomy 9:3–6).

Verse 17 mentions the Hivites, the Arkites, and the Sinites, groups that apparently settled mostly in the north.