In the Old Testament books, was Palastine a homeland of Hebrew or land of Canaan?

Question

Was the land given permanently already, and to whom, Moses or Abraham (pbut)? Or is it going to be given to Bene Israel when the Messiah (pbuh) comes back?

nationofswine, thanks a lot for all the detailed history, I enjoyed reading. You say: "As far as Israel being given back to anyone or a Messiah coming, how can anyone know?" and I totally agree with you, but what I'd like to know, and regardless of credibility of the story, is whether the promise -- according to people who claim that they were promised this land -- was made to Abraham, Moses, or Jesus (pbut) upon his return? I'm really confused about it!

Thanks again for your detailed answer

Answer 1

I was watching a Discovery or History channel program on the "Real" Ark of the Covenant" (something in a series like Science of the Holy Land) that said the Canaanites came first, most likely settling in Jericho (the oldest known city in the world). It was subsequently settled an conquered by various cultures, including the Hittites and Egyptians. According the the website

http://www.palestinehistory.com/palst.htm :

"14th century BC : Egyptian power began to weaken, new invaders appeared: the Hebrews, a group of Semitic tribes from Mesopotamia, and the Philistines (after whom the country was later named), an Aegean people of Indo-European stock."

Here's the timeline given on that site (which I recommend - it's very concise):

"1230 BC : Joshua conquered parts of Palestine. [some would say that was the 'Battle of Jericho"].The conquerors settled in the hill country, but they were unable to conquer all of Palestine.

1125 BC : The Israelites, a confederation of Hebrew tribes, finally defeated the Canaanites but found the struggle with the Philistines more difficult . Philistines had established an independent state on the southern coast of Palestine and controlled the Canaanite town of Jerusalem.

1050 BC : Philistines with there superior in military organization and using iron weapons, they severely defeated the Israelites about 1050 BC ."

Moses had specifically set about to conquer the Canaanites after escaping from Egypt. Supposedly, The Ark of the Covenant was later used (brought by Moses from his encounter with God), to destroy the Jericho.

According to the Discovery program, The Jews had greatest dominion in Palestine during the time of Solomon, but the Temple was razed and the Hebrews conquered by the Babylonians:

"586 BC : Judah was conquered by Babylonia, which destroyed Jerusalem and exiled most of the Jews living there. Nebuchadnezzar entered Jerusalem. The Temple was sacked and set fire to, and razed to the ground...and the population carried off in chains to Babylon."

The Jews were allowed back into Palestine by its Persian conquerers in 539 BCE, but were conquered by Alexander the Great in 333 BCE. After his death, Palestine was ruled by his successors, the Ptolemies of Egypt, among whom Cleopatra was the last, and the Seleucids, who tried to impose Greek culture and religion.

The Hebrews revolted from 141-35 BCE and set up an independent Hebrew state. However, they were shortly overrun by the Romans in 63 BCE.

According to this article: "37-4 BC : During the rule of King Herod the Great Jesus of Nazareth, peace be upon him was born. And years after, he began his teaching mission. His attempts to call people back to the pure teachings of Abraham and Moses were judged subversive by the authorities. He was tried and sentenced to death; "yet they did not slay him but only a likeness that was shown to them."

I assume that last part refers to the belief that Jesus came back to life.

After that, the Romans ruled Palestine, with a brief invasion by Persia, until the Muslim Arab armies invaded Palestine and captured Jerusalem in AD (C.E.) 638.

I'm assuming most people know what happened after that, esp. about the creation of the Jewish ("Zionist", some call it) state of Israel in 1948, since few countries would except Jewish refugees from the Holocaust, including the U.S.

This site is great...it's a good, yet pretty short read.

As far as Israel being given back to anyone or a Messiah coming, how can anyone know? Some thought Jesus was the Messiah, but repudiated him for not wanting military conquest over the Romans.

I treat the whole thing as a pretty cool story, but mostly fiction. As for the Lost Ark, most of the experts agreed that IF it exists, it's probably in the city of Axum, Ethiopia.

Answer 2

PalEstine was the entire strech of land that was the Jerusalem side of the Mediterranean sea.

Answer 3

Abraham, Isaac and Israel shared the land with other peoples.
It has always been so.
It will always be so.
We all got to learn to share.