This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2012)

Part of a series on
Jews and Judaism
Etymology Who is a Jew? Jewish peoplehood Jewish identity
Religion God in Judaism Names Principles of faith Mitzvot 613 Halakha Shabbat Holidays Prayer Tzedakah Land of Israel Brit Bar and Bat Mitzvah Marriage Bereavement Philosophy Ethics Kabbalah Customs Synagogue Rabbi
Texts Tanakh Torah Nevi'im Ketuvim Targum Talmud Mishnah Gemara Rabbinic Midrash Tosefta Mishneh Torah Tur Shulchan Aruch Zohar
Communities Ashkenazi Sephardi Mizrahi Bukharan Kurdish Mountain Romaniotes Related groups: Lemba Khazars Karaim Krymchaks Samaritans Crypto-Jews Mosaic Arabs
Population Land of Israel Israeli Jews Palestinian Jews Europe Russia Poland Germany Netherlands Austria Hungary Romania United Kingdom France Portugal Spain Italy Greece Bulgaria Asia Iraq Yemen Syria Lebanon Iran Turkey Georgia India Pakistan China Africa Morocco Algeria Tunisia Libya Egypt Ethiopia South Africa North America United States Canada Latin America Argentina Brazil Mexico Oceania Australia New Zealand Judaism by country Lists of Jews Rabbis Historical population comparisons
Denominations Alternative Conservative Humanistic Karaite Liberal Orthodox Haymanot Reconstructionist Reform Renewal Traditional
Culture Minyan Wedding Niddah Pidyon haben Music Cuisine Hiloni Shidduch Zeved habat Conversion to Judaism
Languages Hebrew Biblical Yiddish Juhuri Judæo-Iranian Ladino Judeo-Aramaic Judeo-Arabic
History Timeline Leaders Ancient Kingdom of Judah Temple in Jerusalem Babylonian captivity Yehud Medinata Jerusalem in Judaism Timeline Hasmonean dynasty Sanhedrin Schisms Pharisees Jewish–Roman wars Christianity and Judaism Islamic–Jewish relations Diaspora Middle Ages Sabbateans Hasidism Haskalah Emancipation The Holocaust Aliyah Israel history Arab–Israeli conflict Land of Israel Baal teshuva Persecution Antisemitism history
Politics Zionism Labor Revisionist Religious Green General Bundism World Agudath Israel Feminism Politics of Israel Left Right
Category Portal WikiProject
v t e

Map of Eretz Israel in 1695 Amsterdam Haggada by Abraham Bar-Jacob

The Land of Israel (Hebrew: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל‎‎ ʼÉreṣ Yiśrāʼēl, Eretz Yisrael) is a biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant (also known in English as Canaan, Palestine, Promised Land or simply the Holy Land). The religious belief that the area is a God-given inheritance of the Jewish people is grounded in the Torah, especially the books of Genesis and Exodus, as well as the Prophets. According to the Book of Genesis, the land was promised by God to the descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac and to the Israelites, descendants of Jacob, Abraham's grandson. A literal reading of the text suggests that the land promise is (or was at one time) one of the Biblical covenants between God and the Israelites.

The definition of the limits of this territory varies between biblical passages, specifically Genesis 15, Exodus 23, Numbers 34 and Ezekiel 47. Elsewhere in the Bible, this land is often referred as "from Dan to Beersheba". The Land of Canaan is another biblical name for this region. References to the land of Israel are also made in the New Testament, for example in Matthew 2:19–21.

The boundaries of the Land of Israel must be distinguished from the borders of historical Israelite kingdoms. The Hasmonean Kingdom, the Herodian dynasty and possibly the Kingdom of Israel ruled a land with comparable boundaries. They must also be distinguished from the borders of the current State of Israel.

The Land of Israel concept has been evoked by the founders of the State of Israel. It often^[1] surfaces in political debates on the status of the Palestinian territories.

Etymology and biblical roots[link]

The term "Land of Israel" is a direct translation of the Hebrew phrase ארץ ישראל (Eretz Yisrael), found in the Five Books of Moses known as the Torah. According to Anita Shapira, the term "Eretz Yisrael" was a holy term, vague as far as the exact boundaries of the territories are concerned but clearly defining ownership.^[2]

The name "Israel" first appears in the Bible as the name given by God to the patriarch Jacob (Genesis 32:28). From the name "Israel" other designations associated with the Jewish people have included the "Children of Israel" or "Israelite".

The first definition of the promised land calls it "this land". (Genesis 15:13–21) In Genesis 15, this land is promised to Abraham's "descendants", notably Isaac, while in Deuteronomy 1:8, it is promised explicitly to the Israelites.

A more detailed definition is given in Numbers 34:1–15 for the land explicitly allocated to nine and half of the Israelite tribes after the Exodus. In this passage, the land is called "Land of Canaan". The expression "Land of Israel" is first used in a later book, 1 Samuel 13:19. It is used often in the Book of Ezekiel and also by the Gospel of Matthew.

Biblical interpretations of the borders[link]

The Hebrew Bible provides three somewhat more specific sets of borders, each with a different purpose. The passages where these are defined are Genesis 15:18–21, Numbers 34:1–15 and Ezekiel 47:13–20.

Genesis 15[link]

Map showing an interpretation of the borders of the Promised Land, based on the scriptural verses in Genesis 15

Genesis 15:18–21 describes what are known as "Borders of the Land" (Gevulot Ha-aretz),^[3] which in Jewish tradition defines the extent of the land promised to the descendants of Abraham, through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob.^[4] The passage describes the land in terms of the extent of territories of various ancient peoples.

More precise geographical borders are given Exodus 23:31 which describes borders as marked by the Red Sea (see debate below), the "Sea of the Philistines" i.e., the Mediterranean, and the "River", the Euphrates), the traditional furthest extent of the Kingdom of David.^[5][6]

Exodus 23[link]

A slightly more detailed definition is given in Exodus 23:31, which describes the borders as "from the sea of reeds (Red Sea) to the Sea of the Philistines (Mediterranean sea) and from the desert to the Euphrates River", though the Hebrew text of the Bible uses the name, "the River", to refer to the Euphrates.

Numbers 34[link]

Map showing an interpretation of the borders of the Land of Israel, based on scriptural verses found in Numbers 34 and Ezekiel 47

Numbers 34:1–15 describes the land allocated to the Israelite tribes after the Exodus. The tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh received land east of the Jordan as explained in Numbers 34:14–15. Numbers 34:1–13 provides a detailed description of the borders of the land to be conquered west of the Jordan for the remaining tribes. The region is called "the Land of Canaan" (Eretz Kna'an) in Numbers 34:2 and the borders are known in Jewish tradition as the "borders for those coming out of Egypt". These borders are again mentioned in Deuteronomy 1:6–8, 11:24 and Joshua 1:4.

As the Hebrew Scriptures explain, Canaan was the son of Ham who with his descendents had seized the land from the descendents of Shem according to the Book of Jubilees. Jewish tradition thus refers to the region as Canaan during the period between the Flood and the Israelite settlement. Schweid sees Canaan as a geographical name, and Israel the spiritual name of the land: The uniqueness of the Land of Israel is thus "geo-theological" and not merely climatic. This is the land which faces the entrance of the spiritual world, that sphere of existence that lies beyond the physical world known to us through our senses. This is the key to the land's unique status with regard to prophecy and prayer, and also with regard to the commandments.^[7] Thus, the re-naming of this landmarks a change in religious status, the origin of the Holy Land concept. Numbers 34:1–13 uses the term Canaan strictly for the land west of the Jordan, but Land of Israel is used in Jewish tradition to denote the entire land of the Israelites. The English expression "Promised Land" can denote either the land promised to Abraham in Genesis or the land of Canaan, although the latter meaning is more common.

Ezekiel 47[link]

Ezekiel 47:13–20 provides a definition of borders of land in which the twelve tribes of Israel will live during the final redemption, at the end of days. The borders of the land described by the text in Ezekiel include the northern border of modern Lebanon, eastwards (the way of Hethlon) to Zedad and Hazar-enan in modern Syria; south by southwest to the area of Busra on the Syrian border (area of Hauran in Ezekiel); follows the Jordan River between the West Bank and the land of Gilead to Tamar (Ein Gedi) on the western shore of the Dead Sea; From Tamar to Meribah Kadesh (Kadesh Barnea), then along the Brook of Egypt (see debate below) to the Mediterranean Sea. The territory defined by these borders is divided into twelve strips, one for each of the twelve tribes.

Hence, Numbers 34 and Ezekiel 47 define different but similar borders which include the whole of contemporary Lebanon, both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and Israel, except for the South Negev and Eilat. Small parts of Syria are also included.

From Dan to Beersheba[link]

The common biblical phrase used to refer to the territories actually settled by the Israelites (as opposed to military expansions) is "from Dan to Beersheba" (or its variant "from Beersheba to Dan"), which occurs many times in the Bible. It is found in the biblical verses Judges 20:1, 1 Samuel 3:20, 2 Samuel 3:10, 2 Samuel 17:11, 2 Samuel 24:2, 2 Samuel 24:15, 1 Kings 4:25, 1 Chronicles 21:2, and 2 Chronicles 30:5.

Locating biblical landmarks[link]

Brook of Egypt[link]

The border with Egypt is given as the Nachal Mitzrayim (Brook of Egypt) in Numbers and Deuteronomy, as well as in Ezekiel. Jewish tradition (as expressed in the commentaries of Rashi and Yehuda Halevi, as well as the Aramaic Targums) understand this as referring to the Nile; more precisely the Pelusian branch of the Nile Delta according to Halevi—a view supported by Egyptian and Assyrian texts. Saadia Gaon identified it as the "Wadi of El-Arish" referring to the biblical Sukkot near Faiyum. Kaftor Vaferech placed it in the same region which approximates the location of the former Pelusian branch of the Nile. 19th century Bible commentaries understood the identification as a reference to the Wadi of the coastal locality called El-Arish. Easton's however, notes a local tradition that the course of the river had changed and there was once a branch of Nile where today there is a wadi. Biblical minimalists have suggested that the Besor is intended.

Genesis gives the border with Egypt as Nahar Miztrayim – nahar denotes a large river in Hebrew never a wadi.

Southern and eastern borders[link]

Only the "Red Sea" (Exodus 23:31) and the Euphrates are mentioned to define the southern and eastern borders of the full land promised to the Israelites. The "Red Sea" corresponding to Hebrew Yam Suf was understood in ancient times to be the Erythraean Sea, as reflected in the Septuagint translation. Although the English name "Red Sea" is derived from this name ("Erythraean" derives from the Greek for red), the term denoted all the waters surrounding Arabia—including the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, not merely the sea lying to the west of Arabia bearing this name in modern English. Thus the entire Arabian peninsula lies within the borders described. Modern maps depicting the region take a reticent view and often leave the southern and eastern borders vaguely defined. The borders of the land to be conquered given in Numbers have a precisely defined eastern border which included the Arabah and Jordan.

Variability of the boundaries[link]

Deuteronomy 19:8 indicates a certain fluidity of the borders of the promised land when it refers to the possibility that God would "enlarge your borders." This expansion of territory means that Israel would receive "all the land he promised to give to your fathers", which implies that the settlement actually fell short of what was promised. According to Jacob Milgrom, Deuteronomy refers to a more utopian map of the promised land, whose eastern border is the wilderness rather than the Jordan.^[8]

Paul R. Williamson notes that a "close examination of the relevant promissory texts" supports a "wider interpretation of the promised land" in which it is not "restricted absolutely to one geographical locale." He argues that "the map of the promised land was never seen permanently fixed, but was subject to at least some degree of expansion and redefinition."^[9]

Historical kingdoms[link]

Different interpretations of what the Bible says about the extent of king David's empire

Another map of the Kingdom of Israel. Pink area indicates the lands inhabited by Israelites or under direct central royal administration during the United Monarchy, according to the Bible.

Few, if any, archaeological remains of the Kingdom of David and Solomon have been uncovered to date that would accord with the huge conquests described in the Bible. It is more probable that the kingdom was smaller than described, encompassing only the areas settled by the Israelite tribes. The divided Kingdoms of Judah and Israel came into existence during the 8th century BC. While Israel encompassed the north of the country, including Samaria and the Galilee as far as Dan, Judah was restricted to a comparatively small area around Jerusalem, with a northern boundary near Mitzpah and a southern one around Hebron, probably not projecting effective rule as far as Beersheva. The Hasmonean Kingdom and the Herodian dynasty did rule a political unit that corresponds to the description, "From Dan to Beersheva."^{[5][6][10][11]}

Jewish law[link]

According to Jewish law (halakha), some religious laws only apply to Jews living in the Land of Israel and some areas in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria (which are thought to be part of biblical Israel). These include agricultural laws such as the Shmita (Sabbatical year); tithing laws such as the Maaser Rishon (Levite Tithe), Maaser sheni, and Maaser ani (poor tithe); charitable practices during farming, such as pe'ah; and laws regarding taxation. One popular source lists 26 of the 613 mitzvot as contingent upon the Land of Israel.^[12]

Many of the laws which applied in ancient times are applied in the modern State of Israel; others have not been revived, since the State of Israel does not adhere to traditional Jewish law. However, certain parts of the current territory of the State of Israel, such as the Arabah, are considered by some authorities to be outside the Land of Israel for purposes of Jewish law. According to these authorities, the religious laws do not apply there.^[13]

According to some Jewish religious authorities, every Jew has an obligation to dwell in the Land of Israel and may not leave except for specifically permitted reasons (e.g., to get married).^[14] There are also many laws dealing with how to treat the land. The laws apply to all Jews, and the giving of the land itself in the covenant, applies to all Jews, including converts.^[15]

Traditional Jewish interpretation, and that of most Christian commentators, define Abraham's descendants only as Abraham's seed through his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob.^{[4][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]} Johann Friedrich Karl Keil is less clear, as he states that the covenant is through Isaac, but notes that Ishmael's descendants have held much of that land through time.^[26]

From the Kingdom of Judah to the present[link]

After the fall of the ancient Kingdom of Judah, political rule was held by the following powers:

• 586–539 BC: Babylonian Empire
• 539–332 BC: Persian Empire
• 332–305 BC: Empire of Alexander the Great
• 305–198 BC: Ptolemaics
• 198–141 BC: Seleucids
• 141–37 BC: The Hasmonean kingdom in Israel established by the Maccabees, after 63 BC under Roman supremacy
• 37 BC–70 AD: Herodian Dynasty ruling Judea under Roman supremacy (37 BC–6 AD and 41–44 AD), interchanging with direct Roman rule (6–41 CE and 44–66 AD). This ended in the first Jewish Revolt of 66–73 AD, which saw the Temple destroyed in 70 AD.
• 6 AD Census of Quirinius and establishment of Roman Iudaea Province
• 70–395: province of Roman Empire first called Judea, after 135 called Palaestina by the Romans to spite the Jews following the Second Jewish Revolt (The Bar Kokhba Revolt). In 395 the Roman Empire is split into a Western and an Eastern part.
• 395–638: Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire
• 618-623 Sassanian Persian conquest of Israel
• 623-638 Reconquest by Byzantines.
• 638–1099: Arab Caliphates and subject rulers
• 1099–1187: Crusader states, most notably the Kingdom of Jerusalem
• 1187–1260: dominated by the Ayyubids of Egypt and Damascus
• 1260–1516: dominated by the Mamluks of Egypt
• 1516–1917: Ottoman Turks, having previously conquered the Byzantine Empire in 1453
• 1918–1948: British mandate of Palestine under, first, League of Nations, then, successor United Nations; the Emirate of Trans-Jordan was separated from the rest of Palestine in 1922, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan became independent upon the expiration of the League of Nations Mandate in 1946.
• May 1948 – June 1967: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, for the Old City of Jerusalem and the larger part of the area; State of Israel for a smaller strip of land in the west
• June 1967 to present: State of Israel
• 1993 to present: State of Israel and Palestinian territories

Modern history[link]

Jewish religious tradition does not distinguish clearly between religious, national, racial, or ethnic identities.^[27] Nonetheless, during two millennia of exile and with an almost continuous small settlement, a strong sense of bondedness exists throughout this tradition, expressed in terms of people-hood; from the very beginning, this concept was identified with that ancestral biblical land or, to use the traditional religious and modern Hebrew term, Eretz Yisrael. Religiously the area was seen broadly as a land of destiny, and always with hope for some form of redemption and return. It was later seen as a national home and refuge, intimately related to that traditional sense of people-hood, and meant to show continuity that this land was always seen as central to Jewish life, in theory if not in practice.^[28] Having already used another religious term of great importance, Zion, to coin the name of their movement,^[29] the term was considered appropriate for the secular Jewish political movement of Zionism to adopt at the turn of the 20th century; it was used to refer to their proposed national homeland in the area then controlled by the Ottoman Empire and generally known as the Holy Land or Palestine.^[30] Different geographic and political definitions for the "Land of Israel" later developed among competing Zionist ideologies during their nationalist struggle. These differences relate to the importance of the idea and its land, as well as the internationally recognized borders of the State of Israel and the Jewish State's secure and democratic existence. Many current governments, politicians and commentators question these differences.

When Israel was founded in 1948, the majority Labor leadership, which governed for three decades after independence, accepted the partition of the previous British Mandate of Palestine into independent Jewish and Arab states as a pragmatic solution to the political and demographic issues of the territory, with the description Land of Israel applying to the territory of the State of Israel within the Green Line. The then opposition revisionists, who evolved into today's Likud party, however, regarded the rightful Land of Israel as Eretz Yisrael Ha-Shlema (literally, the whole Land of Israel), which came to be referred to as Greater Israel.^[31] Joel Greenberg, writing in The New York Times relates subsequent events this way:^[31]

The seed was sown in 1977, when Menachem Begin of Likud brought his party to power for the first time in a stunning election victory over Labor. A decade before, in the 1967 war, Israeli troops had in effect undone the partition accepted in 1948 by overrunning the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Ever since, Mr. Begin had preached undying loyalty to what he called Judea and Samaria (the West Bank lands) and promoted Jewish settlement there. But he did not annex the West Bank and Gaza to Israel after he took office, reflecting a recognition that absorbing the Palestinians could turn Israel it into a binational state instead of a Jewish one.

Following the Six Day War in 1967, the 1977 elections and the Oslo Accords, the term Eretz Israel became increasingly associated with right-wing expansionist groups who sought to conform the borders of the State of Israel with the biblical Eretz Yisrael.^[32] Nevertheless, it remains the standard term for referring to the region prior to the establishment of the state, and ultra-Orthodox Jews who are opposed to the State of Israel still refer to the region as Eretz Yisrael.

British Mandate[link]

This 1920 stamp, issued by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, set a precedent for the wording of subsequent Mandate stamps.

The biblical concept of Eretz Israel, and its re-establishment as a state in the modern era, was a basic tenet of the original Zionist program. This program however, saw little success until the British acceptance of "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" in the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The subsequent British occupation and acceptance of the British Mandate of Palestine by the League of Nations, advanced the Zionist cause. Chaim Weizmann, as leader of the Zionist delegation, at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference presented the Zionist Statement on 3 February. Among other things, he presented a plan for development together with a map of the proposed homeland. The statement noted the Jewish historical connection with Eretz Israel. It also declared the Zionists' proposed borders and resources "essential for the necessary economic foundation of the country" including "the control of its rivers and their headwaters". These borders included present day Israel, the occupied territories, western Jordan, southwestern Syria and southern Lebanon "in the vicinity south of Sidon".^[33]

During the Mandate, the name Eretz Yisrael (abbreviated א״י Aleph-Yod), was part of the official name of the territory, when written in Hebrew. The official name "(פלשתינה (א״י" (Palestina E"Y) was also minted on the Mandate coins and early stamps (pictured). Some in the government of the British Mandate of Palestine wanted the name to be פלשתינה (Palestina) while the Yishuv wanted ארץ ישראל (Eretz Yisrael). The compromise eventually achieved was that the initials א"י would be written in brackets whenever פלשתינה is written.^[34] Consequently, in 20th century political usage, the term "Land of Israel" usually denotes only those parts of the land which came under the British mandate, i.e. the land currently controlled by the State of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, and sometimes also Transjordan (now the Kingdom of Jordan).^[35]

Declaration of Independence of Israel[link]

On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution (United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181(II)) recommending to the United Kingdom, as the mandatory Power for Palestine, and to all other Members of the United Nations the adoption and implementation, with regard to the future government of Palestine, of the Plan of Partition with Economic Union. The Resolution contained a plan to partition Palestine into Independent Arab and Jewish States and the Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem.^[36]

On May 14, 1948, on the day in which the British Mandate over a Palestine expired, the Jewish People's Council gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum, and approved a proclamation, in which it declared THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A JEWISH STATE IN ERETZ-ISRAEL, TO BE KNOWN AS THE STATE OF ISRAEL. Earlier in the paragraph the proclamation states that the declaration is ON THE STRENGTH OF THE RESOLUTION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY.^[37]

There is no mention of Eretz Israel in Resolution 181(II) of 29 November 1947.

Usage in Israeli politics[link]

Early government usage of the term, following Israel's establishment, continued the historical link and possible Zionist intentions. Twice in official state documents David Ben-Gurion, announced that the state was created "in a part of our small country"^[38] and "in only a portion of the Land of Israel".^[39] He later noted, "The creation of the new State by no means derogates from the scope of historic Eretz Israel."^[40]

Herut and Gush Emunim were among the first Israeli political parties basing their land policies on the Biblical narrative discussed above. They attracted attention following the capture of additional territory in the 1967 Six-Day War. They argue that the West Bank should be annexed permanently to Israel for both ideological and religious reasons. This position is in conflict with the basic "land for peace" settlement formula included in UN242. The Likud party, in its platform, supports maintaining Jewish settlement communities in the West Bank and Gaza as the territory is considered part of the historical land of Israel.^[41] In her 2009 bid for Prime Minister, Kadima leader Tzipi Livni used the expression, noting, "we need to give up parts of the Land of Israel", in exchange for peace with the Palestinians and to maintain Israel as a Jewish state; this drew a clear distinction with the position of her Likud rival and winner, Benjamin Netanyahu.^[42]

Usage by Palestinians[link]

In its 1988 charter, Hamas claims that After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates.^[43] The same year, Yasser Arafat voiced the same claim at the United Nations, the so-called 10 Agorot controversy.^[44] About Arafat, Rubinstein writes: he used to repeat the claim that a map of Israel, extending from the Nile to the Euphrates, hangs on the Knesset wall. He even saw the blue stripes in the Israeli flag as a symbol that the Egyptian and Iraqi rivers are the borders for the Zionist state's expansionist aspirations.^[45]

See also[link]

• History of the Middle East
• History of Palestine
• History of Israel
• History of the Jews in the Land of Israel
• Holy Land
• Promised land
• Canaan
• Greater Israel
• Jewish history
• Masoretic text
• List of Jewish leaders in the Land of Israel

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

• Keith, Alexander. The Land of Israel: According to the Covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and Jacob, W. Whyte & Co, 1844.
• Schweid, Eliezer. The Land of Israel: National Home Or Land of Destiny, translated by Deborah Greniman, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1985. ISBN 0-8386-3234-3
• Sedykh, Andreĭ. This Land of Israel, Macmillan, 1967.
• Stewart, Robert Laird. The Land of Israel, Revell, 1899.
• John P. McTernan, As America Has Done to Israel, Whitaker House Publishers, 2008. ISBN 978-1-60374-038-8

v t e Geography of Israel Historical  · Land of Israel  · Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)  · Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)  · Kingdom of Judah  · Iudaea Province  · Israel Districts  · List of districts  · Jerusalem District  · North District  · Haifa District  · Center District  · Tel Aviv District  · South District  · Judea and Samaria Bodies of water  · Sea of Galilee  · Jordan River  · Mediterranean Sea  · Gulf of Eilat / Red Sea  · Dead Sea Disputed territories  · Judea and Samaria  · Gaza Strip  · Golan Heights Cities  · List of cities  · Jerusalem  · Tel Aviv-Yafo  · Haifa  · Beersheba Regions  · Arabah  · Bet Shean Valley  · Galilee  · Judea  · Judean Mountains  · Hulah Valley  · Jezreel Valley  · Jordan Valley  · Negev  · Samaria  · Shephelah  · Brook of Sorek Bordering nations  · Lebanon  · Syria  · Jordan  · Egypt Archaeology  · Archaeology of Israel