Israel
- The Land of Israel
The Land of Israel (Hebrew:
ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael) is the land that made up the ancient Jewish
Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The term has been used by Jews and
Christians throughout history.
During the British mandate of Palestine, the name Eretz Yisrael
(abbreviated אי Aleph-Yod), was part of the official name of the
territory, when written in Hebrew. Consequently, in its modern usage,
the term usually denotes only those parts of the land which came under
the British mandate, i.e. the land currently controlled by Israel, the
West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, and sometimes also Transjordan (now the
Kingdom of Jordan).
Biblical Passages
The actual borders defined in God's covenant with the Israelites from
Abraham on through Joshua is actually much larger than the current
borders of the State of Israel. Several verses from the Torah, a verse
from the Book of Joshua, and a sequence from the Book of Ezekiel define
the borders of the Promised Land.
Verses include:
* Genesis 15:18-21
o In that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘Unto thy
seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great
river, the river Euphrates; the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the
Kadmonite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim, and the
Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.’
* Exodus 23:20-33
o Behold, I am sending an angel before you to guard you on the way and
to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Beware of him and obey
him; do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your
transgression, for My Name is within him. For if you hearken to his
voice and do all that I say, I will hate your enemies and oppress your
adversaries. For My angel will go before you, and bring you to the
Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivvites,
and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them. You shall not prostrate
yourself before their gods, and you shall not worship them, and you
shall not follow their practices, but you shall tear them down and you
shall utterly shatter their monuments. And you shall worship the Lord,
your God, and He will bless your food and your drink, and I will remove
illness from your midst. There will be no bereaved or barren woman in
your land; I will fill the number of your days. I will send My fear
before you, and I will confuse all the people among whom you shall come,
and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And I will
send the tzir'ah before you, and it will drive out the Hivvites, the
Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. I will not drive them away
from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the
beasts of the field outnumber you. I will drive them out from before you
little by little, until you have increased and can occupy the land. And
I will make your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the
Philistines, and from the desert to the river, for I will deliver the
inhabitants of the land into your hands, and you shall drive them out
from before you. You shall not form a covenant for them or for their
gods. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they cause you to sin
against Me, that you will worship their gods, which will be a snare for
you.(Exodus 23:20-33)
* Numbers 34:1-12
o The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Command the children of Israel and
say to them, When you arrive in the land of Canaan, this is the land
which shall fall to you as an inheritance, the land of Canaan according
to its borders. Your southernmost corner shall be from the desert of Zin
along Edom, and the southern border shall be from the edge of the Sea of
Salt [the Dead Sea] to the east. The border then turns south of Maaleh
Akrabim [elevation of Akrabim], passing toward Zin, and its ends shall
be to the south of Kadesh barnea. Then it shall extend to Hazar addar
and continue toward Azmon. The border then turns from Azmon to the
stream of Egypt, and its ends shall be to the sea. The western border:
it shall be for you the Great [Mediterranean] Sea and the border this
shall be your western border. This shall be your northern border: From
the Great [Mediterranean] Sea turn yourselves toward Mount Hor. From
Mount Hor turn to the entrance of Hamath, and the ends of the border
shall be toward Zedad. The border shall then extend to Ziphron, and its
ends shall be Hazar enan; this shall be your northern border. You shall
then turn yourselves toward the eastern border, from Hazar enan to
Shepham. The border descends from Shepham toward Riblah, to the east of
Ain. Then the border descends and hits the eastern shore of Lake
Kinnereth. The border then continues down along the Jordan, and its ends
is the Sea of Salt [the Dead Sea]; this shall be your Land according to
its borders around.
* Deuteronomy 1:7, 11:24
o Turn and journey, and come to the mountain of the Amorites and to all
its neighboring places, in the plain, on the mountain, and in the
lowland, and in the south and by the seashore, the land of the
Canaanites, and the Lebanon, until the great river, the Euphrates River
(Deuteronomy 1:7).
o Every place upon which the soles of your feet will tread, will be
yours: from the desert and the Lebanon, from the river, the Euphrates
River, and until the western sea, will be your boundary (Deuteronomy
11:24).
* Joshua 1:4
o From this desert and Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates, all
the land of the Hittites to the great sea westward shall be your
boundary (Joshua 1:4).
* Ezekiel 47:13-20
o So said the Lord God: This is the border whereby you shall divide the
land for inheritance to the twelve tribes of Israel, Joseph [taking two]
portions. And you shall inherit it, one as another, being that I lifted
up My hand to give it to your forefathers, and this land shall be to you
an inheritance. And this is the border of the land: to the northern
side, from the Great Sea the way to Hethlon to the road [leading] to
Zedad. Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of
Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the
border of Hauran. And the border shall be from the sea to Hazer-enon,
the border of Damascus, and in the north northward is the border of
Hamath; this is the northern side. And the eastern side is between
Hauran and Damascus, between Gilead and the Land of Israel is the
Jordan; from the border by the eastern sea shall you measure; this is
the eastern side. And the southern side is from Tamar until the water of
Meriboth Kadesh to the stream [that falls] into the Great Sea; this is
the southern side. And the western side is the Great Sea from the border
until opposite the road [leading] to Hamath; this is the western side.
(Ezekiel 47:13-20)
Notes
The size of the Promised Land of the Tanakh (or Hebrew Bible referred to
also as the "Old Testament" by Christians) encompasses a region that
extends from the "Great River of Egypt" to the Euphrates. Area known to
be included are the modern states of Israel, Lebanon, most of modern-day
Syria, and Yesha. Also in this region would be the Sinai Peninsula,
which is widely believed to encompass the route of the Hebrew Exodus
from Egypt.
However, it should be noted that the most exact definitions of the
borders, the ones in Numbers and Ezekiel, describe a much smaller area,
with the river Jordan as its eastern border and the Nile in the West. It
encompasses most of modern Israel -- excluding however most of the Negev
desert in the south -- the territories, a small part of modern Egypt,
southern Lebanon, and the southwestern tip of Syria.
Another point of debate for some religious scholars is the consistent
reference to the inclusion of "the Land of the Hittites" within the
borders. Some view the Hittites as one of the tribes that had settled in
Canaan and was conquered by Joshua, while others refer to a greater
empire that encompassed most of Central Turkey.
Back to Israel |
|
