'The Land of Israel' (
Hebrew: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל,
Masoretic: ʼẸreṣ Yiśrāēl,
Hebrew Academy: Éreẓ Yisrael,
Yiddish: ) is a term and concept in
Jewish thought concerning what is considered to be the historic and divinely ordained/given territory of the
Jewish People.
Definitions of the term and its earliest roots
The term, "Land of Israel," is derived from two
Hebrew words used in the
Hebrew Bible:
ארץ (''Eretz'') which means "land" in English, and ישראל (''Yisrael'') which is written as "Israel," a direct near-
romanized and
transliterated proper noun adopted directly by
English from Hebrew. The two words used together in this context mean "Land [of] Israel."
The name "Israel" derives from the biblical patriarch
Jacob, 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 a stranger (in later tradition said to have been an angel) at a river ford and won through perseverance. God then changed his name to ''Israel'' signifying that he had deliberated with God and won as he had wrestled and won with men.
Jacob's descendents were termed the
Children of Israel or
Israelites and the land they inherited from
Abraham,
Isaac and
Jacob became known as the ''Land of Israel''. The modern State of
Israel מדינת ישראל (''Medinat Yisrael'') derived and
based its name on the earlier usages and applications of "Israel" in
Jewish history.
The Legend of the Promised Land
According to the Bible, particularly in Genesis, the Land of Israel was promised as an everlasting possession to the descendants of the Jewish
patriarchs
Abraham,
Isaac and
Jacob by God, making it the
Promised Land.
:''On that day, God made a covenant with Abraham, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of
Egypt as far as the great river the
Euphrates. The land of the
Kenites,
Kenizzites,
Kadmonites; the
Hittites,
Perizzites,
Refaim; the
Emorites,
Canaanites,
Girgashites and
Jebusites."'' -
Genesis 15:18-21
The Dimensions of the Land of Israel according to the Bible
The
Tanakh (or
Hebrew Bible, referred to also as the "
Old Testament" by Christians) contains several descriptions of the borders of the land.
[1] These descriptions encompass a region that extends from the "River of Egypt"
[2] to the
Euphrates. Areas known to be included are the modern
State of Israel, the
West Bank (
Judea and
Samaria), the
Gaza Strip, and parts of modern-day
Syria and
Lebanon. The biblically described region also encompasses the
Sinai Peninsula, which is widely believed to encompass the route of the Hebrew
Exodus from
Egypt. The land allocated east of the
Jordan River in
Numbers 34:1-15 includes much of
Jordan.
Genesis 15:18-21 describes what is referred to in Jewish tradition as ''Gevulot Ha-aretz'' ("Borders of the Land") regarded as the full extent of the land promised to Abraham.
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". 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 47:13-20 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 BC by
Nebuchadnezzar). The definition is a reminder that both God's promise and desire for Israel was not canceled completely by the situation that led to captivity. The borders of the land described by the text in Ezekiel include from 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); the West Bank and a strip of western Jordan down to the
Gulf of Aqaba near
Ezion-geber; either the entire
Sinai peninsula (see debate in the following paragraph) or from
Eilat/
Taba on the Gulf of Aqaba via
Kadesh-barnea to the Brook of Egypt; the
Gaza Strip and all the land in between.
There are several points of debate however. The border with Egypt is given as the ''Nachal Mitzrayim'' (
Brook of Egypt) in Numbers and Deuteronomy, as well as in Ezekiel. The traditional Jewish understanding of the term (as expressed in the commentaries of
Rashi and
Yehuda Halevi as well as the Aramaic
Targums) is that it refers to the
Nile, more precisely the Pelusian branch of the Nile Delta according to Halevi, a view supported by Egyptian and Assyrian texts. Later commentators identified it with the
Wadi El-Arish and the
Besor has also been suggested in recent times. Genesis however gives the border with Egypt as ''Nahar Miztrayim''. This is generally understood to be the Nile, ''nahar'' denoting a large river. If different to ''Nachal Mitzrayim'', the Genesis verse includes a larger area of land westwards. A minority interpret ''Nahar Mitzrayim'' together with ''Nachal Miztrayim'' as a wadi as well.
The precise southern and eastern borders of the Land of Israel are also the subject of debate. Only the
Red Sea and
Euphrates are mentioned which can be understood to mean that the whole
Arabian peninsula is included as well. 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.
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.
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.
The Land of Israel and the 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" was also minted on the mandate coins. 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, i.e. 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:
The 'Land of Israel' was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.
After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom.
...
On the 29th 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.
== The Land of Israel in Jewish law (
Halakha)==
Main articles: Laws and customs of the Land of Israel in Judaism
According to Jewish law (
Halakha), several 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 and laws regarding taxation. 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 does not fully adhere to
Mishpat Ivri.
Additionally according to some
poskim, every Jew has an obligation to dwell in the Land of Israel, and may not leave except for specifically permitted reasons (e.g., to get married).
[3] Other poskim, however, hold that there is no obligation to live in the Land of Israel when the Jewish people are still exiled from the Land of Israel - a situation which, according to some poskim, is still the case.
There are also many laws dealing with how to treat the Land itself.
See also
★
History of the Middle East
★
Region of Palestine and
History of Palestine
★
Israel and
History of Israel
★
Holy Land
★
Promised land
★
Greater Israel
★
Jewish history
Notes
1. Several verses from the Torah and a verse from the Book of Joshua define the borders of the Promised Land. Verses include:
2. (''Nahar Mitzrayim'' in Genesis 15:18, but ''Nachal Miztrayim'' in Numbers 34:5)
3. The Ramban's addition to the Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvot.
:
★
Genesis 15:18-21
::
★ 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 23:31
::
★ And I will set thy border from the
Red Sea even unto the sea of the
Philistines, and from the wilderness unto the River; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
:
★
Numbers 34:1-15
::
★ And the LORD spoke unto
Moses, saying: ‘Command the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye come into the land of Canaan, this shall be the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to the borders thereof. Thus your south side shall be from the wilderness of
Zin close by the side of
Edom, and your south border shall begin at the end of the Salt Sea eastward; and your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of
Akrabbim, and pass along to Zin; and the goings out thereof shall be southward of
Kadesh-barnea; and it shall go forth to
Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon; and the border shall turn about from Azmon unto the
Brook of Egypt, and the goings out thereof shall be at the Sea. And for the western border, ye shall have the
Great Sea for a border; this shall be your west border. And this shall be your north border: from the Great Sea ye shall mark out your line unto mount
Hor; from mount Hor ye shall mark out a line unto the entrance to
Hamath; and the goings out of the border shall be at
Zedad; and the border shall go forth to
Ziphron, and the goings out thereof shall be at
Hazar-enan; this shall be your north border. And ye shall mark out your line for the east border from Hazar-enan to
Shepham; and the border shall go down from Shepham to
Riblah, on the east side of
Ain; and the border shall go down, and shall strike upon the slope of the sea of
Chinnereth eastward; and the border shall go down to the
Jordan, and the goings out thereof shall be at the
Salt Sea; this shall be your land according to the borders thereof round about.’ And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying: ‘This is the land wherein ye shall receive inheritance by lot, which the LORD hath commanded to give unto the
nine tribes, and to the half-tribe; for the tribe of the children of
Reuben according to their fathers’ houses, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to their fathers’ houses, have received, and the half-tribe of
Manasseh have received, their inheritance; the two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan at
Jericho eastward, toward the
sun-rising.’
:
★
Deuteronomy 1:6-8
::
★ The LORD our God spoke unto us in Horeb, saying: ‘Ye have dwelt long enough in this mountain; turn you, and take your journey, and go to the hill-country of the Amorites and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the
Arabah, in the hill-country, and in the Lowland, and in the South, and by the sea-shore; the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD swore unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.’
:
★
Deuteronomy 11:24
::
★ Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the hinder sea shall be your border.
:
★
Joshua 1:4
::
★ From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.
A sequence from the
Book of Ezekiel provides a vision of borders in end times of a smaller region allocated to the 12 tribes in equal divisions west of the Jordan.
:
★
Ezekiel 47:13-20
::
★ Thus saith the Lord GOD: ‘This shall be the border, whereby ye shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel, Joseph receiving two portions. And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another, concerning which I lifted up My hand to give it unto your fathers; and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance. And this shall be the border of the land: on the north side, from the Great Sea, by the way of Hethlon, unto the entrance of 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 from the sea shall be Hazar-enon at the border of Damascus, and on the north northward is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. And the east side, between
Hauran and Damascus and Gilead, and the land of Israel, by the Jordan, from the border unto the
east sea shall ye measure. This is the east side. And the south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meriboth-kadesh, to the Brook, unto the Great Sea. This is the south side southward. And the west side shall be the Great Sea, from the border as far as over against the entrance of Hamath. This is the west side.
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