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This article concerns the concept of The Land of Israel (ish and Christian thought throughout the history from its Biblical sources to the present day. THE PROMISED LAND According to the Bible, the Land of Israel was promised to the descendants of Hebrew Patriarch s Abraham , Isaac and Jacob by God, making it the Promised Land . The concept is frequently used symbolically by Christians , especially in Hymnody as a reference to Heaven , or to a new land, such as North America colonized by the Pilgrims . DIMENSIONS OF THE LAND OF ISRAEL ]] The . 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. 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. The definition in Ezekiel, describes the area within the Land of Israel which, according to Ezekiel's prophecy, would be allocated in equal portions to the 12 tribes in end times. It is similar in size to the region of Canaan described in Numbers. It has the river Jordan as its eastern border and the Brook Of Egypt in the West. It encompasses most of modern Israel, the territories, a small part of modern Egypt, southern Lebanon, and the southwestern tip of Syria. 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 Targum s) 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. (''See the linked offsite map of the Land of Israel showing the latter interpretation as well as the interpretation including the Arabian peninsula.'') 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 theoretical promises) 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 . That name was (פלשתינה א״י). 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 IN JEWISH LAW ( HALAKHA ) According to Jewish law ( Halakha ), several religious laws only apply to Jews living in the Land of Israel and not to Jews living elsewhere. These include agricultural laws and laws regarding taxation. Some of the laws which applied in ancient times are applied in modern Israel today; others have not been revived, since the State Of Israel is a modern secular country. For example, the Temple of Solomon has not been rebuilt, since it doesn't appeal to most of Israel citizens. SEE ALSO
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