Promised Land
Map showing the borders of the Promised Land, based on the Bible. (Numbers 34, Ezekiel 47).
Map showing one interpretation of the borders of the Promised Land, based on God's promise to Abraham (Genesis 15).
The Promised Land; also known as "") is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament), God promised and subsequently gave to Abraham and his descendants. In modern contexts, the phrase "Promised Land" expresses an image and an idea related to the restored homeland for the Jewish people and the concepts of salvation and liberation.
God first makes the promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:18–21:
On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram. He said, "To your descendants, I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates – the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites."
He later confirms the promise to Abraham's son Isaac (Genesis 26:3) and then to Isaac's son Jacob (Genesis 28:13), who is later renamed "Israel" (Genesis 32:28). The Book of Exodus describes the Promised Land in terms of the territory from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates river (Exodus 23:31). The Israelites conquered and occupied a smaller area of former Canaanite land and land east of the Jordan River after Moses led the Exodus out of Egypt (Numbers 34:1–12), and the Book of Deuteronomy presents this occupation as God's fulfillment of the promise (Deuteronomy 1:8). Moses anticipated that God might subsequently give the Israelites land reflecting the boundaries of God's original promise – if they were obedient to the covenant (Deuteronomy 19:8–9).
The concept of the Promised Land is the central tenet of Zionism, the Jewish national movement to re-establish the Jewish homeland. Palestinians also claim partial descent from the Israelites and Maccabees and from other peoples who have lived in the region.
African-American spirituals invoke the imagery of the "Promised Land" as heaven or an escape from slavery, which could often only be reached by death. The imagery and term also appear elsewhere in popular culture, in sermons, and in speeches such as Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1968 "I Have Been to the Mountaintop," in which he said:
I want to do God's will. Moreover, He has allowed me to go up to the mountain. Furthermore, I have looked over it. And I have seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I am happy tonight. I am not worried about anything. I do not fear any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
Divine promise
Yahweh (God) shows Moses the Promised Land
The promise that is the basis of the term is contained in several verses of Genesis in the Torah. In Genesis 12:1, it is said:
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people, and your father's household, and go to the land I will show you."
Moreover, in Genesis 12:7: The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring [or seed] I will give this land."
Commentators have noted several problems with this promise and related ones:
1. It is to Abram's descendants that the land will (in the future tense) be given, not to Abram directly nor there and then. However, Genesis 15:7 also says, "I am the LORD, who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." However, how this verse relates to the promises is controversial.
2. There is nothing in the promise to indicate God intended it to be applied to Abraham's physical descendants unconditionally, exclusively (to nobody but these descendants), exhaustively (to all of them), or in perpetuity.
3. Jewish commentators drawing on Rashi's comments to the first verse in the Bible assert that no human collective ever has any a priori claim to any piece of land on the planet and that only God decides which group inhabits which land at any point in time. This interpretation has no contradictions since the idea that the Jewish people have a claim to ownership rights on the physical land is based on God deciding to give the land to the Jewish people and commanding them to occupy it, as referred to in Biblical texts previously mentioned.
In Genesis 15:18–21, the boundary of the Promised Land is clarified in terms of the territory of various ancient peoples, as follows:
On that day, the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants, I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites."
The verse describes what is known as the "borders of the Land." In Jewish tradition, these borders define the maximum extent of the land promised to the descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob.
The promise was confirmed to Jacob in Genesis 28:13, though the borders are still vague and are "the land on which you are lying." Other geographical borders are given in Exodus 23:31, which describes borders as marked by the Red Sea, the "Sea of the Philistines," i.e., the Mediterranean, and the "River" (the Euphrates).
The promise is fulfilled in the biblical book of Joshua when the Israelites cross the Jordan river into the promised land for the first time.
Pastoral scene of the Promised Land
It took a long time before the Israelites could subdue the Canaanite
land inhabitants. The furthest extent of the Land of Israel was
achieved during the time of the united Kingdom of Israel under David.
The actual land controlled by the Israelites has fluctuated considerably over time, and at times the land has been under the control of various empires. However, under Jewish tradition, even when it is not in Jewish occupation, the land has not lost its status as the Promised Land.
Descendants of Abraham
The concept is central to Zionism. In 1896, Herzl exhorted Jews to take up the movement, writing, "for these have never lost faith in the Promised Land."
Traditional Jewish interpretation, and most Christian commentators, define Abraham's descendants as Abraham's seed only through his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob, excluding Ishmael and Esau. This may, however, reflect an eisegesis or reconstruction of primary verses based on the later biblical emphasis of Jacob's descendants. The promises given to Abraham happened prior to the birth of Isaac and were given to all his offspring, signified through the rite of circumcision. Johann Friedrich Karl Keil is less clear, as he states that the covenant is through Isaac but notes that Ishmael's descendants have held much of that land through time.
Mainstream Jewish tradition regards the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as having been given to all Jews, including proselytes and, in turn, their descendants, with the traditional view being that a convert becomes a child of Abraham, as in the term "ben Avraham."
Christian interpretation
In the New Testament, the descent and promise are reinterpreted along religious lines. In the Epistle to the Galatians, Paul the Apostle draws attention to the formulation of the promise, avoiding the term "seeds" in the plural (meaning many people), choosing instead "seed," meaning one person, who, he understands to be Jesus (and those united with him). For example, in Galatians 3:16, he notes:
"The promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed. Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ."
In Galatians 3:28–29, Paul goes further, noting that the expansion of the promise from singular to the plural is not based on genetic/physical association but a spiritual/religious one: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither enslaved person nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise."
Romans 4:13 is written: "It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith."
Boundaries from the Book of Numbers
Boundaries of the 'Promised Land' given in the Book of Numbers (chapter 34)
The South border. —(v. 3) "Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward : (v. 4) And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh-Barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-adder, and pass on to Azmon : (v. 5) And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at sea."
The Western border. —(v. 6) "And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border."
The North border. —(v. 7) "And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor : (v. 8) From mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad: (v 9). Moreover, the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazar-Enan: this shall be your north border."
The East border. —(v. 10) "And ye shall point out your east border from Hazar-Enan to Shepham: (v. 11) And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward : (v. 12) And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about."
Boundaries of the 'Promised Land' given by Jerome c.400
You may delineate the Promised Land of Moses from the Book of Numbers (ch. 34): as bounded on the south by the desert tract called Sina, between the Dead Sea and the city of Kadesh-Barnea, [which is located with the Arabah to the east] and continues to the west, as far as the river of Egypt, that discharges into the open sea near the city of Rhinocolara; as bounded on the west by the sea along the coasts of Palestine, Phoenicia, Coele-Syria, and Cilicia; as bounded on the north by the circle formed by the Taurus Mountains] and Zephyrium and extending to Hamath, called Epiphany-Syria; as bounded on the east by the city of Antioch Hippos and Lake Kinneret, now called Tiberias, and then the Jordan River which discharges into the salt sea, now called the Dead Sea.
Under the name Palestine, we comprehend the small country formerly inhabited by the Israelites, which is today part of Acre and Damascus pachalics. It stretched between 31 and 33° N. latitudes and 32 and 35° degrees E. longitude, an area of about 1300 French: lieues carrées. To give the land of the Hebrews some political importance, some zealous writers have exaggerated the extent of Palestine. However, we have an authority for us that one can not reject. St. Jerome, who had long traveled in this country, said in his letter to Dardanus (Ep. 129) that the northern boundary to the south was a distance of 160 Roman miles, which is about 55 French: lieues. He paid homage to the truth despite his fears, as he said himself, of availing the Promised Land to pagan mockery, "Puget dicere latitudinal terrae repromissionis, ne ethnics occasionem blasphemandi dedisse uideamur" (Latin: "I am embarrassed to say the breadth of the promised land, lest we seem to have given the heathen an opportunity of blaspheming").
What Is The Promised Land?
In the Bible, the term "Promised Land" refers to a specific region of land that God endowed to His chosen people as part of their heritage. (Genesis 12, Genesis 26:3, Genesis 28:13) God first gave this pledge of land to Abraham, saying, "I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River." He then reiterated the vow to Abraham's descendants until the time came for His people to claim their inheritance.
The "Promised Land" was the geographic area God declared to give to his chosen people, the offspring of Abraham. The promised land was placed in ancient Canaan, on the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea. Numbers 34:1-12 discusses the location of the Promised Land:
The Promised Land of Canaan
"The LORD said to Moses, "Command the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance is to have these boundaries: "Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. Your southern boundary will start east from the Dead Sea's southern end, cross south of Scorpion Pass, continue to Zin and go south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon, where it will turn, join the Wadi of Egypt and end at the Mediterranean Sea. "Your western boundary will be the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. This will be your boundary on the west. "For your northern boundary, run a line from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor and from Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath. Then the boundary will go to Zedad, continue to Ziphron, and end at Hazar Enan. This will be your boundary on the north. "For your eastern boundary, run a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. The boundary will go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Galilee. Then the boundary will go down along the Jordan and end at the Dead Sea. "This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side."
For migrating herders like the Jews, having a stable home of their own would be a true blessing. The promised land was a place to rest from their continual wandering. However, this promise came with conditions. First, God commanded that Israel, the new nation's name, had to trust and follow Him. Second, God demanded faithful worship of Him (Deuteronomy 7:12-15). Idolatry was such a grave transgression to God that he threatened to remove them from the promised land if they worshiped other gods.
Through a famine, Jacob, also named Israel, went to Egypt with his family, where there was food. Over the years, the Egyptians turned the Jews into enslaved people for labor. After God delivered them from that slavery, he returned them to the Promised Land under the guidance of Moses. However, because the people neglected to obey God's law, he made them wander in the desert for 40 years until that generation died.
Moses' heir Joshua finally led the people in and served as the military commander in taking over the Promised Land. Following Joshua's death, Israel was ruled by a succession of judges. The people frequently regressed to idolizing false gods and suffered due consequences. Eventually, God allowed the Babylonians to destroy the Jerusalem temple and take most of the Jews into bondage to Babylon.
Ultimately, they returned to the Promised Land, but devotion to God was inconsistent under Israel's kings. God sent prophets to remind His people to repent, concluding with John the Baptist.
What Made the Promised Land Unique?
The Promised Land of Canaan, eventually called Israel, was a fertile land with brooks and deep springs that gushed out into the valleys and hills. The rich soil produced wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, and olives. There, the Israelites would lack nothing.
Described in Scripture as "a land flowing with milk and honey," the soil was rich for agriculture and shepherding, the mountains provided security and protection from the elements and their enemies, and the arid climate provided perfect conditions for livestock to thrive. (Exodus 3:17; Numbers 13:27, Deuteronomy 8:6-9)
Abraham knew he would not see God's Promised Land with his own eyes. God made it clear to him that the land would not be given until four generations had passed and that his descendants would face the hardship of slavery before enjoying the home God had promised. (Genesis 15:12-16) Nevertheless, Abraham held on to the promise, believing that God could and would bring His descendants into their promised land.
When Would God's Promise Be Fulfilled?
God placed Abraham's great-grandson, Joseph, in Egypt to fulfill his promise to Abraham and his descendants. When a seven-year famine made it increasingly difficult for the Israelites to find food, God used Joseph's high position under Pharoah to save His people, the Israelites, from starvation.
After Joseph's generation died, the Israelites continued to thrive in Egypt. Then, "a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. 'Look,' he said to his people, 'the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them, or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.'" (Exodus 1:8-10)
The Egyptians forced God's people into harsh and brutal slave labor for four hundred years, but this did not keep them from multiplying and spreading. The Egyptians became so fearful of Israel's population explosion that Pharoah ordered the prompt murder of all the Hebrew newborn males. (Exodus 1:22)
Moses was among the newborn babie4s to be slain. However, just as God had predestined Joseph to save his people from famine, He spared Moses's life so that He could use him to deliver Israel from Egypt's oppression—and ultimately lead them into the land promised to Abraham's descendants. (Exodus 2:23-25)
After Moses led God's people out of Egypt and through the Red Sea, the time had finally come for Israel to realize the fulfillment of God's long-awaited promise. In one miraculous display after another, God had clearly shown Himself mighty to save. The Israelites needed only to believe in God and follow His servant Moses into the desert wilderness that would lead them to the Promised Land.
The Faith of Joshua and the Fear of Israel
Through their deliverance from Egypt, the Israelites had witnessed first-hand God's provision, His power, and His faithfulness to the promises made to their ancestors (Genesis 15:14, Exodus 15:1-21)) And God continued to provide for all their needs. As they began their journey to Canaan, God provided food and water. (Exodus 16:12-15, Exodus 15:25) He provided clothes and shoes that never wore out. (Deuteronomy 29:5) He gave them His law. (Exodus 5:6-21) And most importantly, God gave the Israelites the gift of His sheltering and guiding presence. (Exodus 13:21)
When the Israelites reached the border of the promised land, in Kadesh Barnea, God instructed Moses to "Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites."
Until then, the whole region near Canaan had been inhabited by wicked nations driven by idolatry (Deuteronomy 9:4). Because of the sinful nature of these nations, not because of Israel's rightness, God determined to drive them out and turn the land over to His children.
However, when Israel's spies returned from their land survey, they were afraid and spread their fear to the Israelites. Instead of trusting in God's continued deliverance and provision, the spies relied on their flawed wisdom based on the dangers they saw during their expedition. Their report included tales of unconquerable rulers, impossible odds, and super-human giants. (Numbers 13:32)
Of the twelve spies, only Joshua and Caleb spoke the truth about Canaan based on God's promise. "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. Moreover, do not be afraid of the people of the land because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them." (Numbers 14:6-7).
The doubting Israelites wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb after their faith-filled report. They could not imagine overcoming the odds stacked against them. They fell into deep despair and wept bitterly. Disgusted with the Israelite's continued unbelief, grumbling, and complaining, God considered destroying the people with a plague (Numbers 14:11) until Moses interceded.
Although God chose to forgive His people—their unbelief had cost them the privilege of ever entering the land of promise. (Numbers 14:23) Instead, they would wander the wilderness for forty years until all the adults were buried outside the Promised Land border. Then, their children would be able to prove themselves faithful to God and enter Canaan. Only Joshua and Caleb, the two faithful spies, were exempt from God's just punishment.
What Can We Learn from This Bible Story?
"The Israelite's wilderness situation was ordained to prepare them for the promise. The Israelites' continued acts of rebellion outward manifested a much bigger issue—their lack of faith. Unfortunately, their behavior patterns kept them stuck for far longer than God intended."
Even though God had repeatedly demonstrated His trustworthiness to the Israelites, they allowed fear to keep them from resting in His continued provision. That unchecked fear would eventually keep them from entering God's promised land.
Believers are faced with the choice between faith and fear regularly. James 1:3 tells us that God tests our faith on purpose so that He can produce in us perseverance and maturity in Christ. The good news is that we do not have to combat fear alone. We are invited to cast our cares on God, and we are promised His perfect love casts out all fear. (1 Peter 5:7, 1 John 4:18)
The New Promised Land: Kingdom of Heaven
When Jesus Christ arrived in Israel, he brought a new covenant accessible to all people, Jews and Gentiles alike. At the end of Hebrews 11, the famous "Hall of Faith" section, scripture remarks that people of the Old Testament "were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised." (Hebrews 11:39). They may have received the land. However, they still looked to the future for the Messiah—that Messiah is Jesus Christ.
Whoever believes in Christ as their Savior becomes a resident of the kingdom of God. As Jesus explained to Pontius Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:36)
Joshua 1:13
13 "Remember the word that Moses, the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, 'The LORD your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.'
Genesis 15:18
18 On that day, the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring, I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
Genesis 12:7
7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring, I will give this land." So he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
Hebrews 4:7-11
7 God again set a certain day, calling it "Today." This he did when a long time later, he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
Joshua 21:44
44 And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands.
Numbers 34:1-12
1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Command the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to its borders. 3'Your southern sector shall extend from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom, and your southern border shall extend from the end of the Salt Sea eastward. 4'Then your border shall turn direction from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim and continue to Zin, and its termination shall be to the south of Kadesh-barnea; and it shall reach Hazaraddar and continue to Azmon. 5'The border shall turn direction from Azmon to the brook of Egypt, and its termination shall be at the sea. 6'As for the western border, you shall have the Great Sea, its coastline; this shall be your west border. 7'And this shall be your north border: you shall draw your border line from the Great Sea to Mount Hor. 8'You shall draw a line from Mount Hor to the Lebo-hamath, and the termination of the border shall be at Zedad; 9and the border shall proceed to Ziphron, and its termination shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your north border. 10'For your eastern border you shall also draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham, 11and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain; and the border shall go down and reach to the slope on the east side of the Sea of Chinnereth. 12'And the border shall go down to the Jordan and its termination shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land according to its borders all around.'
Are You Waiting on the Edge of the Promised Land?
