EREZ ISRAEL IN TANACH

Yehuda Elitzur

One of the most important topics of the Tanah is the theme of the Land of Israel. In the Torah we find descriptions of the localities, borders, natural conditions of the country, the connection of this land with the people of Israel is repeatedly emphasized, it is reported with its past and future. I would like to touch upon one particular question from a wide range of problems, namely: what place does Eretz Yisrael occupy in the biblical worldview …

As you know, there are several options for the semantic division of the Tanakh. In the interests of the issue we are considering, I will allow myself to propose an unusual division: the first part is the eleven first chapters of the Torah, the second part is the whole Tanakh; in other words, from “In the beginning God created” to “get out of your land” (chapter 12) and from “get out of your land” to the end of Tanakh. What is the meaning of such a division? Prior to chapter 12, the background is set forth: the creation of the world, the flood, the history of Noah. Israel does not yet exist in this part, the “protagonist” of Tanah does not exist. The twelfth chapter begins the part of the Tanakh, which can be called the “Divine Tragedy”, i.e. that part in which Israel appears and enters into the struggle with its fate and its history. It is obvious that this large part, in which Israel is at the center of events, is the main one. It begins with the words: “And the Lord said to Abram: Get out of your land, from your kindred, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will magnify your name, and you will be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and I curse you who curse you; and all the nations of the earth will bless you. ”