ארץ ישראל
EREẒ YISRAʾEL
(Land of Israel)

Land of Yisraél (i.e., the Holy Land; the Jewish homeland)

Pre-modern use

The area is generically known as Canaan, and is part of the Levant, which includes Lebanon and parts of Syria.

Modern use

Observance of the boundaries and terminology regarding ארץ ישראל EREẒ YISRAʾEL continues to remain the same after several thousand years. The dates of holidays, as well as many agricultural and other indigenous practices, continue to be rooted in and or limited to ארץ ישראל EREẒ YISRAʾEL.

ארץ ישראל EREẒ YISRAʾEL and the State of Israel

It is worth noting that while almost all of ארץ ישראל EREẒ YISRAʾEL is under administration of the State of Israel, the government also administrates certain areas that are not necessarily part of ארץ ישראל EREẒ YISRAʾEL. For example, there are certain areas of the Golan Heights in the north, and there is the port city in the south; additionally, the סינאי Sinai (no longer governed by the State of Israel) was not part of ארץ ישראל EREẒ YISRAʾEL.

Synonyms

eretz hakodesh
≝ the holy land

Boundaries of ארץ ישראל EREẒ YISRAʾEL

The region defined in the torah as the Jewish homeland, bound within four natural features,

  • Western boundary
  • הים הגדול HAʾYAM HAʾGADOL (The Great Sea, i.e. the Mediterranean Sea)
  • Eastern boundary
  • נהר הירדן

Nahir Ha-Yurdan (Jordan River)

  • Northern boundary
  • מדבר סין

Midbar Syyn (Wilderness of Synn, i.e., the Negev Sinai frontier)

  • Southern boundary
  • הר ההר

Hor Ha-Har (Mount Hor, i.e., the hills separating Lebanon from ארץ ישראל EREẒ YISRAʾEL)

Asia, Europe, and Africa

ארץ ישראל EREẒ YISRAʾEL is at the junction of Asia, Europe, and Africa. The rift valley between Asia and Africa travels directly along the eastern border of ארץ ישראל EREẒ YISRAʾEL, and to its west is the Sinai.

Latinization, arabization,
and appropriation

the term ארץ הקודש eretz hakodesh — meaning "holy land" — is also used in the torah as a synonym. However, it appears only once. It appeared in substantial use by Christian and Muslim imperialists as an alternative to ErezYisraél. This usage appeared in the quran (الأرض المقدسة al-aredh al-muqadassah) and under the Crusaders in christian thought (terra sancta), all referring to the same place and according to the same border. of note, these christian and islamic terms are associated with suppressing a specific, indigenous Jewish connection and elevating a universalized, religious connection for anyone.

In turn, the Hebrew term Erez HaKodes was re-popularized among Yehudim, in the Zohar, where it is used extensively. Then it grew popular from there.

أرض إسرائيل Most conventional name. From إيرِصْ يسرائيل to أرض إسرائيل أرض إسرائيل Arabic quivalent הארץ המובטחת