Land

C. Land

The terms that apply to the territory of Israel's existence are varied. The name Canaan occurs in Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Phoenician writings beginning around the fifteenth century B.C.E. as well as in the Bible. It refers sometimes to an area encompassing all of Palestine and Syria, and sometimes includes the entire land west of the Jordan River. The term may derive from a Semitic word meaning "reddish purple," referring either to the rich dye produced in the area or to wool colored with the dye.
    The name Palestine refers to the area from the Mediterranean coast to the Jordan valley and from the southern Negev to the Galilee lake region in the north. The term derives from the Hebrew word peleshet, the land of the Philistines. After the second Jewish revolt (132-135 C.E.) the Romans adopted the name Palaestina for this territory. The name Palestine was revived after World War I and applied to this territory under the British Mandate. Today it has been adopted as the name of the political entity of Arab people living in this region.
    The name Israel comes from Hebrew Bible usage, and refers both to geographical territory (erets yisrael, the land of Israel) and the nation state that dwelled there. Its biblical origin is the name God gave to Jacob after they wrestled (see Genesis 32:29); yisrael means "strives with God" or "God strives." This land is also termed "the Promised Land" in the belief that Israel's possession of the land was a divine gift. Pilgrims and the devout also refer to it as "the Holy Land," in recognition of its associations with biblical saints and religious leaders.

 Figure 2 Palestine Roads and Regions. Israel's history was in part shaped by geography. This map shows the major roads and geographical regions of Palestine.

    Israel existed both historically and geographically within the context of a larger region. When authorities refer to the old world they call it the ancient Near East. When they refer to current events in that same region they call it the Middle East. RTOT calls it the ancient Middle East to reinforce the reality that the ancient events of biblical history occurred in the same place we have come to know from our exposure to modern politics in the news.
    Within the ancient Middle East there are other applicable terms. Mesopotamia, literally "between rivers," is the land between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. It was home to the great Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian civilizations, and is today roughly coterminous with Iraq.
    The term Fertile Crescent refers to the half-moon-shaped inhabitable area of the ancient Middle East where civilizations thrived. This general area, in which Israel was located, has a rich and venerable history, and generated extensive literary and religious traditions.

 Fertile Crescent. The term was popularized by the American Orientalist James Henry Breasted (1865-1935).