The area - the Middle East - was basically the middle of the world, a crossroads between Africa and Eurasia with various peoples passing through for MILLIONS of years. All humans are nomadic, hence why they ain't where they originated in Africa.
Hebrews themselves were originally nomadic herders, either foreigners in Canaan or rural Canaanites themselves, possibly combining with more urban Canaanites before splitting off from the rest of the country and developing their own society.
By their own accounts they've been removed from this land multiple times and that for extended periods, the last been the previous TWO MILLENIA.