God's gift of the land of Israel is fundamental to the covenant promises made to Abraham and his descendants.
Land as part of God's creation
The land (Canaan) promised to Abraham
Genesis 12:7 See also Genesis 12:1, Genesis 13:15–17, Genesis 17:8, Genesis 24:7
Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
The boundaries of the promised land
Genesis 15:18–21 See also Exodus 23:31; Numbers 34:1–12
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land — from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates — the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
God's promise and its gradual fulfilment
The promise made to the patriarchs
Genesis 26:3–4 See also Genesis 23:17–20, Genesis 28:13, Genesis 35:12, Genesis 48:3–4, Genesis 50:24–25 The patriarchs maintained only a very small part of the land. But Genesis closes with the prospect of much more.
Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,
The promise confirmed during the wilderness wanderings
Exodus 3:7–8 See also Exodus 6:4, Exodus 6:8, Exodus 13:5, Exodus 13:11, Exodus 32:11–14, Exodus 33:1–3; Numbers 11:10–12
The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings. I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey— the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
Exploration of the promised land
Numbers 13:1–2 See also Numbers 13:21–25
And the LORD said to Moses, “Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.”
Entry delayed because of unbelief and rebellion
Numbers 13:27–33 See also Numbers 14:1–4, Numbers 14:26–35, Numbers 14:40–45
And they gave this account to Moses: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit! Nevertheless, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We even saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.” Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly conquer it!” But the men who had gone up with him replied, “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are!” So they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land that they had spied out: “The land we explored devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw there are great in stature. We even saw the Nephilim there— the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”
Criticial importance of obedience in the promised land
Deuteronomy 5:32–33 Moses, at the end of his life, urges all the Israelites always to remember the LORD and his commands; enjoyment of the land is dependent upon the people's obedience. See also Deuteronomy 6:10–12
So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left. You must walk in all the ways that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.
Invasion of the land
Joshua 1:2 The theme of the book of Joshua is the land: chapters 1–12 its invasion and conquest, chapters 13–21 its division among the Israelite tribes. See also Joshua 2:1
“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore arise, you and all these people, and cross over the Jordan into the land that I am giving to the children of Israel.
Gradual conquest of the land
Joshua 13:1 See also Joshua 7:2, Joshua 8:1, Joshua 9:1–2, Joshua 10:29–30, Joshua 13:2–6, Joshua 14:12, Joshua 17:12–18
Now Joshua was old and well along in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and well along in years, but very much of the land remains to be possessed.
The promise fulfilled
Thus the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled in it. And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel had failed; everything was fulfilled.
Division of the land
See, I have allotted as an inheritance to your tribes these remaining nations, including all the nations I have already cut off, from the Jordan westward to the Great Sea. The LORD your God will push them out of your way and drive them out before you, so that you can take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you.
Conflict with the Philistines over the land
1 Samuel 7:7–14 Philistine aggression had imperilled the prospect of a full possession of the land until David overpowered them. See also Judges 2:21–22, Judges 13:1, Judges 15:11; 1 Samuel 4:10–11, 1 Samuel 13:17–19, 1 Samuel 17:1–2, 1 Samuel 31:1, 1 Samuel 31:7
When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers marched up toward Israel. And when the Israelites learned of this, they feared the Philistines and said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on behalf of Israel, and the LORD answered him. As the Philistines drew near to fight against Israel, Samuel was offering up the burnt offering. But that day the LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines and threw them into such confusion that they fled before Israel. Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, striking them down all the way to an area below Beth-car. Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.” So the Philistines were subdued, and they stopped invading the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. The cities from Ekron to Gath, which the Philistines had taken, were restored to Israel, who also delivered the surrounding territory from the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between the Israelites and the Amorites.
Jerusalem captured by David
The land at rest and prosperous
Under David
2 Samuel 7:1 See also 2 Samuel 8:1–6, 2 Samuel 8:14, 2 Samuel 10:15–19
After the king had settled into his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
Under Solomon
1 Kings 5:4 See also 1 Kings 4:20–21
But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or crisis.
The exile and subsequent return to the land
Losing the land
Leviticus 26:14, Leviticus 26:32–33 See also Deuteronomy 28:63–65; Jeremiah 16:13, Jeremiah 17:4, Jeremiah 25:11, Jeremiah 44:22; Lamentations 5:2
If, however, you fail to obey Me and to carry out all these commandments,
And I will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who dwell in it will be appalled. But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
Return to the land
Jeremiah 23:7–8 See also Isaiah 14:1, Isaiah 35:10, Isaiah 43:5–6; Ezekiel 20:41–42, Ezekiel 34:11–13; Amos 9:14–15
So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of Egypt.’ Instead they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought and led the descendants of the house of Israel up out of the land of the north and all the other lands to which He had banished them.’ Then they will dwell once more in their own land.”
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.