The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." – Genesis 12:1
The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring [or seed] I will give this land." – Genesis 12:7
The Torah's subsequent Book of Exodus describes it as "land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:17)
On that day God made a covenant with Abraham: To your offspring I assign this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates — The Contemporary Torah
In the Abrahamic religions, the "Promised Land" (Hebrew: הָאָרֶץ הַמֻּבְטַחַת Ha'aretz ha-Muvtaḥat) refers to an area in the Levant that God chose to bestow upon, via a series of covenants, the family and descendants of Abraham.
God is claimed to have spoken the following promises to Abraham in several verses of Genesis (the first book of the Torah), which a modern English Bible translates to:
Later in what is called the covenant of the pieces, a verse is said to describe what are known as "borders of the Land" (Gevulot Ha-aretz):[1]
God later confirms the promise to Abraham's son Isaac (Genesis 26:3), and then to Isaac's son Jacob (Genesis 28:13) in terms of "the land on which you are lying". Jacob is later renamed "Israel" (Genesis 32:28) and his descendants are called the Children of Israel or the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
The Torah's subsequent Book of Exodus describes it as "land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:17) and gives verses on how to treat the prior occupants and marks the borders in terms of the Red Sea, the "Sea of the Philistines", and the "River", which a modern English Bible translates to:
"I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you." – Exodus 23:31–33
The Israelites lived in a smaller area of former Canaanite land and land east of the Jordan River after the legendary prophet Moses led the Israelite Exodus out of Egypt (Numbers 34:1–12). The Torah's Book of Deuteronomy presents this occupation as their God's fulfillment of the promise (Deuteronomy 1:8). Moses anticipated that their God might subsequently give the Israelites land reflecting the boundaries of the original promise – if they were obedient to the covenant (Deuteronomy 19:8–9).
Wandering the Desert
- Israelites wander 40 years in the wilderness due to disobedience, learning faith and reliance on God (Numbers 14:33-34).
The Promised Land, the Land of Milk and Honey
• • Under Joshua, Israelites enter Canaan, conquering the land God promised (Joshua 1-12).
The Judges and the Cycle of Sin
- After entering the Promised Land, Israel cycles through sin, oppression, and deliverance by judges like Deborah, Gideon, and Samson (Judges 2-16). This reflects humanity’s struggle with covenant fidelity.
- Miriam's Well in the Wilderness
- The Manna's Flavors and Tests
In Numbers Rabbah (1:2) and Legends of the Jews, a miraculous well follows the Israelites due to Miriam's merit, providing sweet water and healing; upon her death, it vanishes, causing thirst until Moses strikes the rock, linking women's piety to sustenance in the desert wanderings.
Midrash in Yalkut Shimoni (Exodus 252) describes manna tasting like any desired food for the righteous but bitter for the wicked, falling double on Fridays for Sabbath; it tests faith by melting in sunlight if hoarded, teaching reliance on God amid complaints of monotony.
The Promised Land
In the Abrahamic religions, the "Promised Land" (Hebrew: הָאָרֶץ הַמֻּבְטַחַת Ha'aretz ha-Muvtaḥat) refers to an area in the Levant that God chose to bestow upon, via a series of covenants, the family and descendants of Abraham.
The Promised Land is the land that God promised to Abraham and his descendants. In modern contexts it is an idea related to the restored homeland for the Jewish people and the concepts of salvation and liberation.
Beulah Land
Beulah (Hebrew: בְּעוּלָ֑ה, romanized: bə‘ulā) means "married" and is applied to the land the Israelites will obtain.
The land of Beulah is referred to in various hymns and other works.
The only known ancient reference to a land called Beulah is in Isaiah 62:4. In Biblical Hebrew, Beulah means "married", and is applied to the land that the people of Israel will marry:
... but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah; for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin...
Hephzibah means "my delight is in her". Beulah has also been translated as "inhabited", for example by Rashi.[1]
All later references to the land of Beulah are derivative of this one mention in the Bible.