Greater Israel

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Hypothetical map of the Greater Israel derived from the definitions in Genesis 15:18-21.
Hypothetical map of the Greater Israel derived from the definitions in Genesis 15:18-21.
Different interpretations of what the Bible says about the extent of King David's empire.
Different interpretations of what the Bible says about the extent of King David's empire.

Greater Israel (also Complete Land of Israel, Hebrew: ארץ ישראל השלמה‎, Eretz Yisrael Hashlemah[1][2]) is a modern term for the land given to Abraham's descendants by God, according to Genesis 15:18-21:

On that day, God made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river the Euphrates. The land of the Kenites, Kenizites, Kadmonites; the Hittites, Perizzites, Refaim; the Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Yevusites."

Abraham's Descendants to Judah
8 Sons of Abraham: Ishmael (1) Isaac (2) Zimran Jokshan Medan Midian Ishbak Shuah
2 Sons of Isaac: Esau (1) Jacob (2)
12 Sons of Jacob(Israel): Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Issachar Zebulun Dan Naphtali Gad Asher Joseph Benjamin


This definition is vague and difficult to map precisely. One interpretation could be that Greater Israel comprises all of modern-day Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and Lebanon, as well as large parts of Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. The proportion of current Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey included in this territory is debatable. Note that the proportion of modern Egyptian territory included depends on the location of the river of Egypt, which is controversial.

This divine promise was probably the driving force for the conquests of King David around 1,000 BCE[citation needed]; the limits of the resulting empire bear a resemblance to the area described in this Bible passage.

Contents

[edit] Biblical definitions of the Land of Israel

Main article: Land of Israel

The Bible contains two geographical definitions of the Land of Israel, Numbers 34:1-15 and Ezekiel 47:13-20. Both describe a much smaller territory. There are also numerous references to the land "from Dan to Beersheba", which is smaller still.

[edit] Present-day usages

Emblem of the Irgun.
Emblem of the Irgun.

In present-day discourse, the exact definition of Greater Israel is open to interpretation. According to Daniel Pipes, there are three main usages of the term[2]:

  1. According to some right-wing Israeli views, the term refers to a state of Israel established on the whole of western Israel (Eretz Yisra'el), that is, the area situated between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, including both the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
  2. According to some far-right Jewish Mandate groups (pre-modern State of Israel), such as Betar and Irgun Zvai-Leumi, that have ceased to exist as political movements, it refers to the pre-1923 mandatory Palestine, i.e. both the historical region of Israel and what was later Transjordan.
  3. Some Arab nationalists accuse zionists of plotting to expand the state of Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates. This so-called 10 Agorot controversy is named after the Israeli coin brandished by PLO chairman Yasser Arafat as evidence for this accusation [2].

The term is not used in this sense in mainstream Israeli discourse, and nowadays no prominent Zionist, Israeli intellectual, or political figure openly advocates pursuing such borders.

However, the term "Greater Israel" in Israeli politics today refers at least to parts of the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and the Gaza Strip.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Jerusalem Dispatch: Stripped, Yossi Klein Halevi, The New Republic, August 26 2005
  2. ^ a b c "Imperial Israel: The Nile-to-Euphrates Calumny", by Daniel Pipes (accessed 12 October, 2005)

[edit] External links