Israelארץ ישראל

Taking Possession of the Promised Land

Sources exploring the divine gift of Eretz Yisrael and the manner of acquiring and settling the land, including textual interpretation of how the inheritance operates.

ראה נתתי לפניכם את הארץ

2 sources · all verified

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What the sources say

The pasuk Devarim 1:8 opens with "See, I place the land at your disposal" — the word "See" (רְאֵה) signals a direct, self-evident divine declaration, not something received secondhand or by estimation.

The Haamek Davar (Devarim 1:8) explains that the land comes as an outright gift (מתנה), such that the people do not need to wait for the current inhabitants to be expelled and the land left ownerless — entry and settlement in any part suffices to acquire the whole, because the ground is one continuous mass.

Source 1 · Tanach

Verified

Deuteronomy 1:8

דברים א׳:ח׳

Deuteronomy 1:8

The passage states that God places the land before the people and commands them to go and take possession of the land that He swore to their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give to them and their descendants.

רְאֵ֛ה נָתַ֥תִּי לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם אֶת־הָאָ֑רֶץ בֹּ֚אוּ וּרְשׁ֣וּ אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נִשְׁבַּ֣ע יְ֠הֹוָ֠ה לַאֲבֹ֨תֵיכֶ֜ם לְאַבְרָהָ֨ם לְיִצְחָ֤ק וּֽלְיַעֲקֹב֙ לָתֵ֣ת לָהֶ֔ם וּלְזַרְעָ֖ם אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם׃

See, I place the land at your disposal. Go, take possession of the land that GOD swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to assign to them and to their heirs after them.

Full text on Sefaria ↗

Source 2 · Rishonim

Verified

Haamek Davar on Deuteronomy 1:8

העמק דבר על דברים א׳:ח׳

Haamek Davar on Deuteronomy 1:8

The Netziv reads the verse as a direct preparation for entering the land, with emphasis on the concrete assignment of inheritance and settlement.

נתתי לפניכם את הארץ באו ורשו. אין אתם צריכים לזכות בה ע״י שיכלו יושבי הארץ ותהי הארץ הפקר מאין יושב. לא כן אלא הי׳ במתנה לכם. מעתה בביאה וישיבה במק״א קונים כל הארץ שסביבה כדאי׳ בקדושין דכ״ז משום דסדנא דארעא חד הוא.

Full text on Sefaria ↗

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