Everything about Land Of Israel totally explained
The Land of Israel (
Hebrew: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל,
Eretz Yisrael,) is the region of land which, according to the
Hebrew Bible, was given by
God to the
Jewish people. Jews have lived in areas of this land continuously for more than three thousand years.
Etymology and biblical roots
The term "Land of Israel" is a direct translation of the
Hebrew phrase "ארץ ישראל" (
Eretz Yisrael), which is found in the
Hebrew Bible.
Anita Shapira says the term "Eretz Israel" was 'a holy term, vague as far as the exact boundaries of the territories are concerned but clearly defining ownership'.
The name "Israel" refers to the Jewish people, as descendants of the biblical
patriarch Jacob, who was later known as
Israel, literally meaning "struggled with God/he struggles with God". According to the account in the
Book of Genesis, Jacob wrestled with an angel at a river ford and won through perseverance. God then changed Jacob's name to
Israel signifying that he'd been successful in human and divine hardships.
According to the Bible, particularly in
Genesis, the Land of Israel was promised as an everlasting possession to the "descendants" of Jewish
patriarchs
Abraham,
Isaac and
Jacob by God, making it the
Promised Land.
Jacob's descendants were known as the "
Children of Israel" (often translated as "
Israelites") and the land they inherited eventually became known as the
Land of Israel. The modern State of
Israel "מדינת ישראל,"
Medinat Yisrael) also uses this historical name.
Dimensions according to the Bible
The
Hebrew Bible contains several descriptions of the borders of the land. The three classical passages are Genesis 15:18-21, Numbers 34:1-15 and Ezekiel 47:13-20.
Genesis 15
Genesis 15:18-21
describes what is referred to in Jewish tradition as
Gevulot Ha-aretz ("Borders of the Land"), commonly called
Complete Land of Israel. It is regarded as the full extent of the land promised to the descendants of
Abraham.
Numbers 34
Numbers 34:1-15 describes the land allocated to the
Israelite tribes after the Exodus. The tribes of
Reuben,
Gad and half of
Manasseh received land east of the Jordan as explained in
Numbers 34:14-15.
Numbers 34:1-13 provides a detailed description of the borders of the land allocated to the remaining tribes. The region is called "the Land of
Canaan" (
Eretz Kna'an) in
Numbers 34:2 and the borders are known in Jewish tradition as the "borders for those coming out of Egypt".
In Jewish tradition, Canaan was the son of Ham who with his descendents had seized the land from the descendents of Shem according to the
Book of Jubilees. Jewish tradition thus refers to the region as Canaan during the period between the Flood and the Israelite settlement. Schweid sees
Canaan as a geographical name, and
Israel the spiritual name of the land:
The uniqueness of the Land of Israel is thus "geo-theological" and not merely climatic. This is the land which faces the entrance of the spiritual world, that sphere of existence that lies beyond the physical world known to us through our senses. This is the key to the land's unique status with regard to prophecy and prayer, and also with regard to the commandments . Thus, the re-naming of this land marks a change in religious status, the origin of the
Holy Land concept.
Numbers 34:1-13 uses the term Canaan strictly for the land west of the Jordan but
Land of Israel is used in Jewish tradition to denote the entire land of the Israelites. The English expression "
Promised Land" can denote either the land promised to Abraham in Genesis or the land of Canaan, although the latter meaning is more common.
Ezekiel 47
Ezekiel 47:13-20 provides a post-exilic definition of borders. The definition in
Ezekiel describes the Land of Israel which, according to Ezekiel's prophecy, is a repeat of the promised land with tribal allocations for Israel to return to after their captivity (Ezekiel was during the Babylonian captivity after the fall of Jerusalem in 597 and 586 BCE by
Nebuchadnezzar). The definition is a reminder that both God's promise and desire for Israel wasn't canceled completely by the situation that led to captivity. The borders of the land described by the text in Ezekiel include the northern border of modern
Lebanon, eastwards (the way of Hethlon) to
Zedad and
Hazar-enan in modern
Syria; south by southwest to the area of
Busra on the Syrian border (area of Hauran in Ezekiel); follows the
Jordan River between the West Bank and the land of
Gilead to Tamar (
Ein Gedi) on the western shore of the Dead Sea; From Tamar to Meribah Kadesh (
Kadesh Barnea), then along the
Brook of Egypt (see debate below) to the Mediterranean Sea.
Hence, Numbers 34 and Ezekiel 47 define different but similar borders which include the whole of contemporary
Lebanon, both the
West Bank and the
Gaza Strip and
Israel except for the South Negev and
Eilat. Small parts of
Syria are also included.
Other passages
Shorter descriptions of the Land of Israel are also found in
Exodus 23:31,
Deuteronomy 1:6-8,
Deuteronomy 11:24 and
Joshua 1:4.
From Dan to Beersheba
The common Biblical phrase used to refer to the territories actually settled by
Israelites (as opposed to military expansions) is "from
Dan to
Beersheba" (or its variant "from Beersheba to Dan"), which occurs in the Biblical verses Judges 20:1, 1 Samuel 3:20, 2 Samuel 3:10, 2 Samuel 17:11, 2 Samuel 24:2, 2 Samuel 24:15, 1 Kings 4:25, 1 Chronicles 21:2, and 2 Chronicles 30:5.
Points of debate
Brook of Egypt
The border with Egypt is given as the
Nachal Mitzrayim (
Brook of Egypt) in Numbers and Deuteronomy, as well as in Ezekiel. Some understand the term (as expressed in the commentaries of
Rashi and
Yehuda Halevi, as well as the Aramaic
Targums,) as referring to the
Nile, more precisely the Pelusian branch of the Nile Delta according to Halevi, a view supported by Egyptian and Assyrian texts. Most contemporary scholars identify it with the
Wadi El-Arish, and the
Besor has also been suggested in recent times.
Genesis gives the border with Egypt as
Nahar Miztrayim. Whether this refers to the Nile,
nahar denoting a large river, or to the wadi is a matter of some dispute.
Southern border
The precise southern and eastern borders of the Land of Israel are also a subject of debate. Only the
Red Sea and
Euphrates are mentioned. More reticent interpretations take the southern border to be a line from the mouth of the Euphrates to Eilat or a line of latitude from the mouth of the
Gulf of Eilat. Still another view is that the Euphrates forms only a northern border and that the southern and eastern border extends from Eilat to an undetermined point on the Euphrates.
Land of Hittites
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.
Land of Israel and State of Israel
During the
British Mandate of Palestine, the name
Eretz Yisrael (abbreviated א״י
Aleph-Yod), was part of the official name of the territory, when written in
Hebrew. The official name "(פלשתינה (א״י" (
Palestina E"Y) was also minted on the mandate coins and early stamps (pictured). Some in the government of the
British Mandate of Palestine wanted the name to be פלשתינה (
Palestina) while the
Yishuv wanted ארץ ישראל (
Eretz Yisrael). The compromise eventually achieved was that the initials א"י would be written in brackets whenever פלשתינה is written. Consequently, in 20th century political usage, the term "Land of Israel" usually denotes only those parts of the land which came under the British mandate, for example the land currently controlled by the
State of Israel, the
West Bank, and the
Gaza Strip, and sometimes also
Transjordan (now the
Kingdom of Jordan).
The
Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel commences by drawing a direct line from Biblical times to the present:
On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a Jewish State in Eretz-Israel; the General Assembly required the inhabitants of Eretz-Israel to take such steps as were necessary on their part for the implementation of that resolution. This recognition by the United Nations of the right of the Jewish people to establish their State is irrevocable.
Land of Israel in Jewish law
According to Jewish law (
halakha), some religious laws only apply to Jews living in the Land of Israel and some areas in
Jordan,
Lebanon, and
Syria (which are thought to be part of Biblical Israel). These include agricultural laws such as the
Shmita (Sabbatical year); tithing laws such as the
Maaser Rishon (
Levite tithe),
Maaser sheni, and
Maaser ani (poor tithe); charitable practices during farming, such as
pe'ah; and laws regarding taxation. One popular source lists 26 of the 613
mitzvot as contingent upon the Land of Israel.
Many of the laws which applied in ancient times are applied in the modern
State of Israel; others have not been revived, since the State of Israel doesn't adhere to
traditional Jewish law. However, certain parts of the current territory of the State of Israel, such as the
Araba valley, are considered by some authorities to be outside the Land of Israel for purposes of Jewish law. According to these authorities, the religious laws don't apply there.
Additionally according to some
Jewish religious authorities, every Jew has an obligation to dwell in the Land of Israel, and may not leave except for specifically permitted reasons (for example, to get married).
There are also many laws dealing with how to treat the Land itself.
Books on the subject
- Keith, Alexander. The Land of Israel: According to the Covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and Jacob, W. Whyte & Co, 1844.
- Schweid, Eliezer. The Land of Israel: National Home Or Land of Destiny, translated by Deborah Greniman, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1985. ISBN 0838632343
- Sedykh, Andreĭ. This Land of Israel, Macmillan, 1967.
- Stewart, Robert Laird. The Land of Israel, Revell, 1899.
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