GOD’S LAND COVENANT WITH ISRAEL

On another thread the Muslim Adamu Bakari Bn Abubaker said:

“Stop lying Palestine only used stone against invader who wanted to steal their country.

Israel are bombarding them daily

Israel never existed before 1945.”

This comment is representative of the myopic and incorrect view of Israel from her enemies. The purpose of the post is to set the record straight. At the same time we shall expose a monumental error in the Quran.

1). INTRODUCTION

The so-called “Palestinian” Covenant is recorded in Deuteronomy 29:1–29 and Deuteronomy 30:1–10 and was made between God and Israel right before Moses died and Israel entered the Promised Land. The Bible never uses the term “Palestinian Covenant,” and Moses certainly never would have called the land “Palestine,” but the term has become common usage. This is unfortunate for 2 reasons.

First: it was a name given to the land by the Roman Emperor Hadrian after the Second Jewish Revolt under Bar Cochba (A.D. 132-135). His purpose was to erase any Jewish remembrance of the Land as part of his policy to “de judaize” the Land.

Second: due to the historical events in the Middle East in the history of modern Israel, the name is associated more with Arabs than with Jews. A better title for this covenant would have been the “Land Covenant” since “Palestine” is not a biblical designation anyway. For the purposes of this Post I will refer to it by the alternative name the Land Covenant which it is also called because many of the promises relate to Israel’s possession of the land.

[See Footnotes for an explanation of how Palestine appears in modern Bibles].

2). BIBLICAL REFERENCES

God made the Land Covenant with Israel after the Mosaic Covenant and after Israel had wandered in the wilderness for forty years while they were in Moab waiting to go into the Promised Land. The covenant would serve this new generation of Israelites as a reminder of their special covenant relationship with God.

The Land Covenant has many similarities to the Mosaic Covenant made at Mount Sinai but is a separate and distinct covenant as clearly seen in Deuteronomy 29:1:

“These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, BESIDES THE COVENANT which He made with them in Horeb.”

Before making this covenant with Israel, God reminded them that if they obeyed the Mosaic Law, He would bless the nation abundantly and warned them that disobedience to the Law would result in His cursing the nation. (Deuteronomy 28:1-68).

We must go back to Genesis 12 to trace the origin of God’s promise to Abraham (Abram) of land:

“The Lord said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people he had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.” (Genesis 12:1, 5-7 HCSB)

And we must look to the book of Exodus to find God had already set the boundaries for the promised land:

“I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River. For I will place the inhabitants of the land under your control, and you will drive them out ahead of you.” (Exodus 23:31 HCSB)

It’s worth noting that this encompasses an area far larger than present day Israel.

Deuteronomy 30:1-10 describes some of the provisions of the Land Covenant:

“When all these things happen to you — the blessings and curses I have set before you — and you come to your senses while you are in all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you,  and you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey Him with all your heart and all your soul by doing everything I am giving you today, then He will restore your fortunes,  have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. Even if your exiles are at the ends of the earth, He will gather you and bring you back from there. The Lord your God will bring you into the land your fathers possessed, and you will take possession of it. He will cause you to prosper and multiply you more than He did your fathers. The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live.  The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. Then you will again obey Him and follow all His commands I am giving you today. The Lord your God will make you prosper abundantly in all the work of your hands with children, the offspring of your livestock, and your land’s produce. Indeed, the Lord will again delight in your prosperity, as He delighted in that of your fathers, when you obey the Lord your God by keeping His commands and statutes that are written in this book of the law and return to Him with all your heart and all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 30:1-10 HCSB)

3). THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE COVENANT

This covenant was made between God and Israel, the same two parties as in the Mosaic Covenant.

4). THE PROVISIONS OF THE COVENANT

Eight provisions can be gleaned from this passage.

□ First: Moses spoke prophetically of Israel’s coming disobedience to the Mosaic Law and her subsequent scattering over all the world (29:2-30:1). All remaining provisions speak of various facets of Israel’s final restoration.

□ Second: Israel will repent (30:2).

□ Third: the Messiah will return (v. 3a).

□ Fourth: Israel will be regathered (vv. 3b-4).

□ Fifth: Israel will possess the Promised Land (v. 5).

□ Sixth: Israel will be regenerated (v. 6).

□ Seventh: the enemies of Israel will be judged (v. 7).

□ Eighth: Israel will receive full blessing; specifically, the blessings of the Messianic Age (vv. 8-20).

5). THE IMPORTANCE OF THE COVENANT

The special importance of the Land Covenant is that it reaffirms the title deed to the Land as belonging to Israel. Although she would prove unfaithful and disobedient, the right to the Land would never be taken from her. Furthermore, it shows that the conditional Mosaic Covenant did not lay aside the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant. It might be taken by some that the Mosaic Covenant displaced the Abrahamic Covenant, but the Land Covenant shows that this is not true. The Land Covenant is an enlargement of the original Abrahamic Covenant. It amplifies the Land aspect and emphasizes the promise of the Land to God’s earthly Jewish people in spite of their unbelief. The Abrahamic Covenant teaches that ownership for the Land is unconditional while the Land Covenant teaches that the enjoyment of the Land is conditioned on obedience.

6). THE PRESENT DAY STATUS OF THE COVENANT

The Land Covenant, being an unconditional covenant, is still very much in effect.

We can see proof of this in prophecy fulfilment to the present day.

Israel, a nation that had not really existed as a separate nation for nearly 2,500 years, was declared a new sovereign state by an act of the United Nations on May 14, 1948. The nation was born in a day. Isaiah predicted it:

“Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day or a nation be delivered in an instant? Yet as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her sons.” (Isaiah 66:8)

Even the order of the return the Bible accurately predicts. The first returning Jews to Palestine came primarily from eastern Arab countries. The next major movement came from the western countries of Europe, especially Germany. Then they came in great numbers from Russia (north) during the end of the 1980’s. The last great migrations of Jews returning to Israel came from Ethiopia in the south. This precise order of return was predicted by Isaiah:

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, `Give them up!’ and to the south, `Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth…”

“… the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.” (Isaiah 43:5-6 & 21)

Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim that He has redeemed them from the hand of the foe and has gathered them from the lands — from the east and the west, from the north and the south.” (Psalms 107:2-3)

7). THE QURAN’S POSITION

It should come as no surprise that the Quran is completely at odds with the Bible. It actually teaches that the Promised Land which Israel was to inherit was Egypt!

Before presenting the evidence for this note that the words Canaan, Israel (the land, not the people), Judea or Jerusalem never appear in the Quran, which is truly bewildering and astonishing to say the least.

When the Quran does speak of Israel’s inheritance it simply refers to the land or city which God gave them. For instance:

“And (remember) when Moses said unto his people: O my people! Remember Allah’s favour unto you, how He placed among you prophets, and He made you kings, and gave you that (which) He gave not to any (other) of (His) creatures. O my people! Go into the holy land which Allah hath ordained for you. Turn not in flight, for surely ye turn back as losers: They said: O Moses! Lo! a giant people (dwell) therein and lo! we go not in till they go forth from thence. When they go forth from thence, then we will enter (not till then). Then out spake two of those who feared (their Lord, men) unto whom Allah had been gracious: Enter in upon them by the gate, for if ye enter by it, lo! ye will be victorious. So put your trust (in Allah) if ye are indeed believers. They said: O Moses! We will never enter (the land) while they are in it. So go thou and thy Lord and fight! We will sit here. He said: My Lord! I have control of none but myself and my brother, so distinguish between us and the wrong-doing folk. (Their Lord) said: For this the land will surely be forbidden them for forty years that they will wander in the earth, bewildered. So grieve not over the wrongdoing folk.” (Surah  5:20-26 Pickthall)

The text doesn’t identify exactly where this holy land was situated, who these giants were, or which two men feared their Lord. So much for an all sufficient book.The only way to know the answers is to go outside of the Quran and consult the Bible. (See Numbers 13:1-3 & 17-33)

Sticking strictly with the Quran itself and taking into consideration all the references to the Exodus of Israel then it becomes apparent that the author(s) thought that the land given to Israel wasn’t Jerusalem or Canaan but Egypt!

“And WE revealed to Moses, directing him, ‘Take away MY servants by night, you will surely be pursued.’ And Pharaoh sent summoners into the cities, announcing, ‘These are a small party, Yet they have offended us; And we are a multitude fully prepared and vigilant.’ So WE turned them out of gardens and springs, And treasures and an abode of honour. Thus it was; and WE gave them as heritage to the children of Israel.” (Surah 26:52-59 Sher Ali)

The foregoing verses indicate that the Israelites were made the inheritors of Egypt right after the destruction of Pharaoh and his armies in the sea. The Egyptians were “turned out” and their gardens were given to the children of Israel. The inext citations support this position:

“They said: We have been persecuted before you came to us and since you have come to us. He said: It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you rulers in the land, then He will see how you act. And certainly We overtook Firon’s people with droughts and diminution of fruits that they may be mindful.” (Surah 7:129-130 Shakir)

“Therefore We inflicted retribution on them and drowned them in the sea because they rejected Our signs and were heedless of them. And We made the people who were deemed weak to inherit the eastern land and the western ones which We had blessed; and the good word of your Lord was fulfilled in the children of Israel because they bore up (sufferings) patiently; and We utterly destroyed what Firon and his people had wrought and what they built.” (Surah 7:136-137)

When taking these passages together as a unit (which we must seeing that they are all part of the same context) then the conclusion is that Israel was given the eastern and western parts of Egypt and became rulers of it.

Probably the most damning passage which links Egypt with the Promised Land is Surah 2:61: (caps for emphasis)

“And when you said, ‘Moses, we will not endure one sort of food; pray to thy Lord for us, that He may bring forth for us of that the earth produces-green herbs, cucumbers, corn, lentils, onions.’ He said, ‘Would you have in exchange what is meaner for what is better? Get you down to EGYPT (misra); you shall have there that you demanded.’ And abasement and poverty were pitched upon them, and they were laden with the burden of God’s anger; that, because they had disbelieved the signs of God and slain the Prophets unrightfully; that, because they disobeyed, and were transgressors.” (Surah 2:61 Arberry)

Other translations of 2.61 give a variety of alternatives for ‘misr’ ranging from “settled country” (Pickthall) to “a city” (Shakir) to “some town” (Sherali) to the vaguest of all “any town” (Yusuf Ali) (all obscuring the plain fact that the Quranic term for Egypt is ‘misra’):

“Recall that you said, “O Moses, we can no longer tolerate one kind of food. Call upon your Lord to produce for us such earthly crops as beans, cucumbers, garlic, lentils, and onions.” He said, “Do you wish to substitute that which is inferior for that which is good? Go down to EGYPT, where you can find what you asked for.” They have incurred condemnation, humiliation, and disgrace, and brought upon themselves wrath from GOD. This is because they rejected GOD’s revelations, and killed the prophets unjustly. This is because they disobeyed and transgressed.” (Khalifa)

“And when ye said: O Moses! We are weary of one kind of food; so call upon thy Lord for us that He bring forth for us of that which the earth groweth – of its herbs and its cucumbers and its corn and its lentils and its onions. He said: Would ye exchange that which is higher for that which is lower ? Go down to SETTLED COUNTRY, thus ye shall get that which ye demand. And humiliation and wretchedness were stamped upon them and they were visited with wrath from Allah. That was because they disbelieved in Allah’s revelations and slew the prophets wrongfully. That was for their disobedience and transgression.” (Pickthall)

“And when you said: O Musa! we cannot bear with one food, therefore pray Lord on our behalf to bring forth for us out of what the earth grows, of its herbs and its cucumbers and its garlic and its lentils and its onions. He said: Will you exchange that which is better for that which is worse? Enter A CITY, so you will have what you ask for. And abasement and humiliation were brought down upon them, and they became deserving of Allah’s wrath; this was so because they disbelieved in the communications of Allah and killed the prophets unjustly; this was so because they disobeyed and exceeded the limits.” (Shakir)

“And remember when you said, O Moses, surely we will not remain content with one kind of food; pray, then, to thy Lord for us that HE may bring forth for us of what the earth grows – of its herbs and its cucumbers and its wheat and its lentils and its onions.’ He said, `Would you take in exchange that which is worse for that which is better ? Go down to SOME TOWN and there is for you what you ask.’ And they were smitten with abasement and destitution, and they incurred the wrath of ALLAH; that was because they rejected the Signs of ALLAH and sought to slay the Prophets unjustly; this was because they rebelled and transgressed.” (Sherali)

“And remember ye said: “O Moses! we cannot endure one kind of food (always); so beseech thy Lord for us to produce for us of what the earth groweth, -its pot-herbs, and cucumbers, Its garlic, lentils, and onions.” He said: “Will ye exchange the better for the worse? Go ye down to ANY TOWN, and ye shall find what ye want!” They were covered with humiliation and misery; they drew on themselves the wrath of God. This because they went on rejecting the Signs of God and slaying His Messengers without just cause. This because they rebelled and went on transgressing.” (Yusuf Ali)

8 ). THE QURAN’S MAJOR ERRORS AND CONTRADICTIONS.

The Quran has major errors and contradictions on this topic — historical, logical, and theological.

# The promise: In the Bible God promised Abraham that his descendants will become a nation and that God will give them the land of Canaan as their possession (Genesis 12:7, 13:14-17, 15:7-21, 17:7-8). This promise is repeated to Isaac (Genesis 26:3), and to Jacob (Genesis 28:13, 35:12), and again confirmed by God through Moses (Exodus 3:8, 16-17, 13:5, 23:23, 33:2, 34:11, Deuteronomy 7:1, etc.), who also led Israel out of Egypt up to the borders of Canaan. The Quran contradicts this consistent and oft-repeated promise in the Torah by making Egypt the land promised to the Children of Israel. The Quran contradicts the Bible by making the wrong promise.

# The historical facts: All evidence of history and archeology shows that the Children of Israel / the Jews lived in the land of Israel (former Canaan). The Quran contradicts historical fact in claiming that God gave Israel the land of Egypt.

# The logical contradiction: The Quran contradicts itself when it claims in some passages that Israel took over the land of the Egyptians immediately after the Egyptians were defeated and drowned, but in Surah 5:26 it says that the Israelites had to wander about in the wilderness for 40 years before they could enter the promised land.

# The theological problem: If Allah promised Egypt to the Children of Israel (as the Quran claims), but in the end they got Canaan instead (which is historical fact), this means that Allah wasn’t able to fulfill his promise.

It is apparent from all of these gross errors and major difficulties that the Quran is a book that contains so many problems and no adequate answers as to be totally useless.

The Quran’s claim that the land promised to Israel was Egypt is without doubt a monumental error. However, whether it was simply the ignorance of Muhammad which led to this error, or was this false claim introduced intentionally is a question beyond the scope of this post.

Footnotes:

□ The names “Palestine” and “Palestina” occur four times in the Old Testament portion of the King James Bible (1611).

“What have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Sidon,
and all the coasts of Palestine?” (Joel 3:4)

“The people shall hear, and be afraid;
sorrow shall take hold of the inhabitants of Palestina.” (Exodus 15:14)

“Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina”… (Isaiah 14:29a)

“Howl, O gate; cry, O city,
thou whole Palestina, art dissolved.” (Isaiah 14:31a)

A few English versions since the KJV occasionally use “Palestine.” But the majority use the term “Philistia.” For example: Exodus 15:14; Isaiah 14:29, 31; Joel 3:4; Psalm 60:8; 83:7; 87:4; 108:9.

“Palestine” does not occur in the New Testament. Yeshua was born in “the Land of Judah” (Matthew 2:6) or “the Land of Israel” (Matthew 2:20), and preached throughout “the Land of the Jews” (Acts 10:39) or in “Judea” (Latin name; Matthew 1:2; Mark 1:5; John 4:3). Initially, Paul preached the Gospel “throughout all the region of Judea” and ministered to “the churches of Judea” (Acts 26:20; Galatians 1:22).

# Whence “Palestine”?

□ The oldest known historical reference to “Palestine” is in the work of Greek historian Herodotus (ca. 484–425). He says Palaistine is “part of Syria” along the Mediterranean coast.

□ Some 500 years later, Jewish historian Josephus (AD/CE 37-100) quotes Herodotus in referring to “Syria of Palaistine” and said “the Syrians that are in Palaistine are circumcised.” Josephus quickly “corrects” Herodotus by noting that the only “inhabitants of Palaistine [who] are circumcised [are] Jews.” This is a key comment: Jews lived in Palaistine.

□ The 4th century church historian Eusebius(writing in Greek) twice mentions “Palaistine” in his Ecclesiastical History (2.2.6; 7.15.1). He notes that the Mediterranean coastal city Caesarea is in that region (today: central Israel, north of Tel Aviv).

□ In the Hebrew Bible there is one word behind the various English renderings Palestine, Palestina, and Philistia. It is ‘Peleshet.’

Note the consonant link between Hebrew and Greek.

Peleshet [Hebrew]: P-L-SH-T
Palaistine [Greek]: P-L-S-T [there is no “sh” sound in Greek]

The geographical term Peleshet is used eight times in the Hebrew Bible (Exodus 15:14; Isaiah 14:29, 31; Joel 3:4;  Psalm 60:8, 83:7, 87:4, 108:9).

The inhabitants of Peleshet are Pelishtim, a plural noun that occurs 287x in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 10:14; 26:1; Exodus 13:17; etc.), mostly in Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 Chronicles. Lexicons say the root palash is a verb meaning to roll (in dust or ashes) as an act of mourning (Jeremah 6:26; Ezekiel 27:30; Micah 1:10). How that relates to the people (rollers, mourners) is not clear.

# The Pelishtim

From the time the Israelites first entered Canaan, under Joshua’s leadership, the “Philistines” were perennial enemies. Their center of power was the Pentapolis, a cluster of five cities along the coast of southern Canaan: Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza. Their influence, however, stretched farther north up the coast.

The warrior giant Goliath (from the city of Gath) taunted the timid Jewish battle lines with ethnic bluster: “I am the Philistine” [anokhi ha-Pelishti]” (1 Samuel 17:8). Interestingly, the Greek Septuagint renders his boast as: “I Am Foreigner” [ego eimi allophulos].

Goliath’s boast fires up teenager David’s famous response: “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come against you in the name of Yahveh Tzeva’ot, the God of the ranks of Israel, whom you have defied” (1 Samuel 17:45).

The three main gods in the Pelishtim pantheon were Dagon (Judges 16:23; 1 Samuel 5:1-7), Ashtoreth (Judges 10:6; 1 Samuel 31:10), and Baal-Zebub (2 Kings 1:1-6, 16).

Some 200 years after David, Isaiah condemns his fellow Judeans for forsaking God’s “light” and for being “full [of practices] from the East…[abounding] in customs of the aliens.” These include “soothsaying like the Philistines [Pelishtim]” (Isaiah 2:5-6).

□ Septuagint Translation

The Septuagint (LXX) one time renders “Peleshet” as a reference to the people: Phulistiim (Philistines, Exodus 15:14).

Everywhere else, “Peleshet” is translated by the Greek hoi Allophuloi, “the Foreigners.” This rendering is also reflected in Isaiah 2:5-6 which refers to “the land of the Allophuloi and many strange [allophuloi] children were born to them.”

— Isaiah 14:29, 31; Joel 3:4; Palm 60:8; 83:7; 87:4 and 108:9.

Clearly, the Jewish scholars in Egypt who did the LXX considered the Pelishtim as aliens and strangers. Some might view this as an historical irony, since the Israelites arrived in Canaan after the Pelishtim. But the Biblical perspective is that the Land was an eternal gift from God to the Israelites, alone. Everyone else was a foreigner — in His land.

# Whence the Pelishtim?

Evidence from Egyptian inscriptions identifies the Pelishtim as “Sea Peoples.” Pottery from the cities of Ekron and Ashdod in Philistia mirrors styles in Cyprus, and the temple at Tell Qasile (near Tel Aviv) is similar to ones in the Aegean Sea area and on Cyprus. No inscriptions in a Philistine language have been found, suggesting they adopted the languages where they invaded.

Amos refers to “the Pelishtim from Caphtor” (Amos 9:7). Jeremiah forewarns that “the day is coming” when “YHVH will ravage the Pelishtim [who are] the remnant from the island of Caphtor” (Jeremiah 47:4). Archeologists believe Caphtor is likely the island of Crete.

Ezekiel makes the Cherethite—Philistine connection fairly explicit: “Thus said Lord YHVH: I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines and cut off the Cherethites and wipe out the last survivors of the seacoast” (Ezekiel 25:15-16).

Herodotus heard that the “Phoenicians” (Philistines) had “formerly dwelt…by the Red Sea,” but moved up to “inhabit the seacoast of Syria” (modern coast of Israel into Lebanon) (7.89.2).

# Conclusion

In the Hebrew Bible, the coastal land Peleshet (Philistia) is occupied by the Pelishtim (Philistines) who originated from the Aegean Sea area, including Cyprus and Caphtor-Ceret-Crete.

“Palestine” in Christian Bibles

Neither “Palestina” or “Philistia” occur in the Greek New Testament.

Nearly all Bible translations today use “Philistia” in their Old Testament portions for the original Hebrew Peleshet. This designates the geographical area along the coast of Israel and southern Lebanon (including Tyre and Sidon). A few Christian versions have “Palestine” in their biblical text or in marginal notes. They may do this to orient readers to modern political boundaries.

# Exegesis or eisegesis? (Some may have prejudicial theological motives).

How different translations have interpreted the text:

□ The Roman Catholic Douay-Rheims (revised 1899) has “the people of Palestine” at Jeremiah 47:1 and “the daughters of Palestine” at Ezekiel 16:57. In both verses the Hebrew reads “Pelishtim” (Philistines).

□ The conservative Protestant Amplified Bible (1965) includes “Palestine” in their text in brackets:

Ezekiel 38:11, 12 — “I will fall upon those…who dwell at the center of the earth [Palestine].”

Daniel 11:30a — “…he shall be grieved and discouraged and turn back [to Palestine] and carry out his rage and indignation against the holy covenant and God’s people.”

Daniel 11:41a — “He shall enter into the glorious land [Palestine], and many shall be overthrown.”

[Also: 1 Chron 13:5; Jer 8:16; 22:20; Ezek 33:24]

□ The conservative Protestant New American Standard Bible (NASB) (1973, 1995) has “Palestine” in the margins at Daniel 8:9 and 11:16 to explain the biblical words “Beautiful Land.” This isn’t necessary, for the context is clear that Israel and Jerusalem are the subject at hand.

□ In contrast to these versions, the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) (2009) translates Daniel 8:9 and 11:16 without bias. It renders the Hebrew literally as the “Beautiful Land” and puts “Israel” in the margin.

Mentioning “Palestine” is anachronistic. There was no such name in Daniel’s time.

□ The Message of “The Message”
Twice in his paraphrased version The Message (2002, 2007), Eugene H. Peterson interpolates “Palestine” into his main text of Daniel:

Daniel 8:9 — “[Another horn] started small, but then grew to an enormous size, facing south and east—toward lovely Palestine.”

Daniel 11:16 — “[The king of the north will] take over that beautiful country, Palestine, and make himself at home in it.”

The Hebrew behind Peterson’s phrase “lovely Palestine” is HaTzevi, literally “the Beautiful [Land].” Behind “beautiful country, Palestine” is Eretz HaTzevi, “the Beautiful Land.”

In the Bible, Israel is called “the Glory [tzevi] of all lands” (Ezek 20:6, 15), “a pleasant land, the most Beautiful [tzevi] inheritance of the nations!” (Jer 3:19).

When Peterson substitutes “Palestine,” in place of “the Beautiful [Land],” he interjects a name loaded with religious-political fire.

He didn’t compose his paraphrase before 1948 when “Palestine” was a proposed political entity created by European powers. He wrote when the so-called Palestinian cause is PC orthodoxy among liberal intellectuals and the State of Israel is an object of disdain by most nations of the world, including liberal and some evangelical branches of Christianity.

If Peterson wanted to provide geographical precision for his readers, the name “Israel” would do that. It would also be more biblical.

Peterson’s choice of “Palestine” is surely intentional. His substitution is like calling the modern state of Texas “North Mexico” (a phrase now in use by Latino activists).

As a Christian leader, perhaps Peterson thinks the occupants of “lovely Palestine” in the future will be non-Muslim Arab Christians. Or perhaps he envisions a two-state reality:

Peleshet/Palestine for Christians and Muslims, while Eretz Yisrael/Eretz HaTzvi would be for Jews.

It is disappointing when some Christian scholars will not allow the Bible to speak its own truth. They politicize it for modern readers. They attempt to rewrite prophecy and history — and distort scripture. Peterson and others might remember God’s ancient forewarning:

Because the Pelishtim, in their ancient hatred, acted vengefully, and with utter scorn sought revenge and destruction — assuredly, thus said Lord YHVH: I will stretch out my hand against the Pelishtim and…wipe out the last survivors of the seacoast.” (Ezekiel 25:15-16)

At the same time, the warning of judgment also includes an offer of redemption for the Pelishtim from the God of Israel, the owner of Eretz HaTzevi:

Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord YHVH, “rather than that he should turn from ways and live?… I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord YHVH. “Therefore, repent and live.” (Ezekiel 18:23, 32)