Land Of The Covenant Meant For Who?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                            

        Land of Canaan that Abram traveled upon from his city of UR

1948 BCE

           Canaan, the Promised land #16-- Wilderness of Paran #13 in (1391-1271 BCE) a difference at least of 677 years.....

What is the Land Of The Covenant or ארצות הברית ? The Land of the Covenant most commonly refers to the biblical promise where God granted the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants as an everlasting possession.  The promise and description of the land given through God's covenant are first introduced in the Book of Genesis (the first part of the Torah), particularly through the covenant made with Abraham. 

Canaan was the land along the coast of Palestine (a name created by the Romans who came along much later. Canaan was divided into small city-states.  the Israelites called the land Eretz Yisrael ("The Land of Israel")  and the northern area they called Aram-which we call Syria.  The people were said to be from Canaan, son of Ham, son of Noah.  They were cursed and condemned to servitude as told in (Gen.9:20).  Ham's father was Cush (Nubia and Ethiopia.) Put was Libya and Morocco), Mizraim was (Egypt) and Canaan was (Syria and Palestine).  Their language shows us that Africans South of Egypt are related to Semitic languages and are called the Hamitic languages.                     

Moses Ben Nahman (or Nahmanides) aka, the Ramban  who lived 1194c,-1270 CE, rabbi in Spain, commentator of the Talmuds of which we had 2;  one from Babylonia and one from Palestine Jews, Jews followed his rites of mourning, dealt with the nature of the super-soul,  He was opposed to the study of philosophy, tried to mediate between Maimonides supporters and opponents in 1238. A Talmud was a collection of the records of academic discussion and judicial administration of Jewish Law. It may look pretty simple to understand but not with a lot of creative minds searching in it.     

Who are the People of the Covenant?  The exact phrase "people of the covenant" is a conceptual summary rooted in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), where God establishes an everlasting covenant with Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 17:7) and formalizes it with the Israelites at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:5-6). 

Our history tells us that it was Moses who wrote our Torah (5 books of Moses), while on the Exodus.  He lived until the age of 120 and is buried in an unknown grave, with no headstone.  

Here we have a problem.  Ishmael was the eldest son of Abraham being his mother was Sarah's Egyptian handmaid, Hagar and said to be of royal lineage of her people. He was circumcised when 13 years old.  After this ceremony he and his mother wee excluded from Abraham's home, so he made Paran his home and then joined his half brother, Isaac in burying Abraham. Paran was not in Canaan; it was a distinct desert region located to the south of Canaan.

 Ishmael's daughter married Esau.  Ishmael  traditionally is the father of the Arab people.   

Ark of the Covenant was the sacred chest that held the stone tablets of the law—it first appears and is described in the Book of Exodus.)  The first 10 laws are well known, but actually there are 613 of them.  The first 10 laws of Moses, commonly known as the Ten Commandments, are found in Exodus 20:1–17. 

Here are the commandments in standard traditional order:

No other gods: You shall have no other gods before Me.
No idols: You shall not make for yourself an idol or bow down to them.
Do not misuse God's name: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Keep the Sabbath holy: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor your parents: Honor your father and your mother.
Do not murder: You shall not murder (or kill).
Do not commit adultery: You shall not commit adultery.
Do not steal: You shall not steal.
Do not lie: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Do not covet: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, spouse, or possessions. 

A covenant (in Hebrew-berit):  An agreement of friendship (PEACE) between persons or nations  and so we have the words Shalom and Salaam.  In early biblical times, a covenant was begun by a ceremonial act, such as passing between two halves of a sacrificed animal as mentioned in (Gen. 15:9-11).  The special relationship between G-d and individuals or nations is also termed as a covenant, accompanied as a rule by an external symbol (or sign).  The covenant made with Abraham was by the act of circumcision as in (Gen. 17:10). 

 We have made other covenants, but are now speaking of the LAND of the COVENANT, which was Canaan.  Abraham then was declared to be the father of the Arabs and the Jews, with the first sons, Isaac, son of Sarah the Jewish child and Ishmael, the Arab son of Hagar.  Their descendants have shown us that with this over 1,000 year separation of cultures and goals, they have become enemies of each other.  How can enemies populate the same land?  

Abraham, of 1948 BCE of the 2nd millennium  gave us the Ten Commandments that were given to him by G-d. 

Mohammad (570-632 CE) gave his people some of the Jewish beliefs along with his revelations though the intermediation of the angel, Gabriel and placed all of them in his creation of his people's book the Koran. We find Gabriel, an archangel mentioned with Michael, the only angel mentioned by name in the old Testament (bible) in (Dan. 8-10).  Gabriel is always described as a leader of the angelic host and one of the 4 or 7) highest angels in the celestial hierarchy (also  descried as the "angel of the presence").  Gabriel (aka "Jibril") has attained prominence in Islamic legend and folklore, as we now know. The Catholics have borrowed Gabriel and have made him a Saint.   

YOM KIPPUR ON 20th of September 2026

 Nadene Goldfoot

Stop! "Lest we forget": Let me remember another YOM KIPPUR  that happened, the Yom Kippur War which was fought from October 6 to October 26, 1973, a 20 day war 53 years ago,  when another coalition of Arab states,  led by Egypt and Syria, launched a surprise attack on Israel on their holiest of holy days, the day they were asking for G-d's forgiveness for any wrongs they may had done, and their decision to be better this next year by improving.  Now, this happened to be a well-known holiday amongst our enemies evidently that knew the whole population of Israel would be davening (Praying) in their synogogues and temple.  What a time to attack!  

Egypt and Syria  attacked Israel on October 6, 1973, primarily to regain the sovereign territories they lost to Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967, they said.  That was a war where the Arabs were all lined up ready to attack and had given plenty of warning.  Israel, knowing they were about to be attacked by this amazing hoard of soldiers, pulled a surprise on them by attacking first. Egypt and Syria were against Israel, with indirect support from the United States (supporting Israel) and the Soviet Union (supporting Arab states).  Israel won the Six-Day War in 1967 and took control of the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria. Arab Goals: Egyptian President Anwar Sadat wanted to regain the lost land and restore Arab pride.

" Despite eventually turning the tide to achieve a decisive military comeback, the overwhelming sentiment among Israelis was shaped by the devastating casualties and the shock of being caught completely unprepared.  Because the war began with a massive, coordinated surprise attack on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, citizens initially feared an existential threat to the state. When the fighting stopped, the sheer scale of the losses—roughly 2,650 Israeli soldiers killed—cast a heavy shadow over the country. 

 The stunning early setbacks shattered public faith in military leadership and the government. The public felt a sense of betrayal and hubris. This widespread anger ultimately mobilized the populace against the governing establishment, leading to massive protests, inquiries, and significant political shifts. Does this sound familiar?  The same attitude was going on today with the October 7, 2023 attack.  

Relief: While victory was achieved in military terms—with Israeli forces pushing back the advancing armies and encircling the Egyptian Third Army—in 1973, it was celebrated primarily as a survival of a disaster rather than a cause for joyful, triumphant celebrations.

 Ultimately, the trauma and strategic shock of the war forced a psychological shift. The Brookings Institution notes that the realization of the war's high cost set the stage for subsequent diplomacy,"Egyptian President Anwar Sadat made his historic visit to Israel from November 19 to November 21, 1977. He delivered his famous speech to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, on November 20, 1977.His visit completely mesmerized the Israeli public. Millions watched his arrival on television, and thousands lined the streets to see his motorcade. This monumental gesture broke decades of hostility and eventually led to the Camp David Accords in 1978 and the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in 1979. Egypt signed the Egypt–Israel peace treaty on March 26, 1979, in Washington, D.C.  Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and U.S. President Jimmy Carter (as witness).

Syria has never signed a formal peace treaty with Israel.

Resource:

Wikipedia