The Jewish Basis for religious Zionism - by Edward Sutherland
Zionism is not the same as Judaism: however, I believe them to be inseparable. For much of the last 3000 years, the easiest thing for a secular Jew to do was to convert; to assimilate; to forget that the Jewish people ever existed. Zionism exists because, in every generation, there have been Jews who have believed in the God of Israel and believed his covenants to be eternal. From the writer of Psalm 137 in the early 6th Century BCE, through almost 2000 years of Jews in the Diaspora praying, "Next year in Jerusalem."
Zionism begins in Genesis 12:1, when G-d commands Abram ('exalted father') and Sarai ('princess') to go "to the land I will show you."*****
Abram arrives in Shechem (near Nablus, in Samaria) and G-d tells him (12:7) "To your offspring, I will give this land." Later on in his travels, he parts from his nephew Lot near Bethel (Baytin, 22 miles by road north east of Jerusalem, in Judea), and G-d tells him, "Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land you see I will give to you and your offspring forever." (13:8-16).
G-d promises Abram many descendants, and then promises him land (15:18) "from the Wadi (river) of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates." It is generally accepted that the 'river of Egypt' is not the Nile, but the Wadi el-Arish, in northern Sinai, about 30 miles south of the Gaza border. Clearly, the geographical area described is much larger than Israel. What it describes, is the land to which both Jews and Arabs, all descendants of Abram, are indigneous, east and north of Africa, south of Turkey, west of Iran [the Arab populations of north Africa arose much later, as a result of invasions in the 7th-8th Centuries CE].
In Genesis 17:7-8, there is what I believe to be another covenant, albeit linked to the first. This one does not apply to all the physical descendants of Abraham, but sets out what will be the Jewish claim to Israel, and we find this by observing the differences between Genesis 15 and Genesis 17. In Genesis 15, the covenant is not described as 'everlasting' and it comes about in response to Abram asking G-d how he can be sure of conquering the promised land. In Genesis 17, the promised land is much smaller than in Genesis 15, but is intended "as an everlasting possession" to Abram and his descendants, and there are going to be conditions attached: the first one being, "and I will be their G-d." Having heard the other conditions - he needs to change his name to Abraham and his wife's to Sarah; he must circumcise all the males in his household; Abraham offers the first 'land for peace' deal, asking (17:18-19) for his son Ishmael to live under G-d's blessing. In return, G-d's answer is compassionate but firm: Ishmael will be blessed (17:20) and be the ancestor of a great nation (the Arabs), but Abraham is to have another son, Isaac, and God will make his covenant with Isaac (17:21), not Ishmael. G-d's promises in respect of Isaac and Ishmael are repeated (21:12-13), when poor old Abraham is caught in a quarrel between their mothers.
In Genesis 22, Abraham shows his faithfulness to G-d in being willing to sacrifice his 'only son' Isaac. Is there a contradiction here, in saying that Isaac is the 'only son'? I don't think so. Since the phrase "your only son" appears three times, it is clear that a point is being made. Isaac is legitimate, being the son of Sarah: Ishmael is not, being the son of the servant, Hagar. As far as the covenant is concerned, Isaac is the only son who is relevant. In response to Abraham's faithfulness, G-d again promises him many descendants "as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore". Moreover, "through your offspring, all nations will be blessed." Here, we find the first sense of Israel being a 'light to the nations'.
In Genesis 23, Abraham purchases land at Hebron, for the burial of his wife Sarah. Despite being offered the land for free, he insists on paying for it, so there can be no disputing its ownership. At least, until UNESCO ceased to be fit for purpose! Interestingly, all these significant events so far have taken place within Judea and Samaria, the so-called 'West Bank', which the Palestinian Authority today seeks to prevent Jews living in. Jews are called 'Jews' because they originate in Judea: if we are to question the right of settlers to move into Judea and Samaria today, we must certainly question how and why the Jewish communities who lived there for more than 3000 years until being ethnically cleansed in the 20th Century lost their literally G-d given right to live there.
A generation after Isaac and Ishmael, G-d again skips over the elder brother (Esau) to renew the covenant with Jacob (28:10-15); promising the land to Jacob's descendants and promising that "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring." In Genesis 32:22-32, Jacob has another encounter with G-d and receives the name 'Israel'.
When did the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac & Jacob) live? For Abraham, we have all the extra-Biblical written and archaeological evidence that we would expect for a desert nomad living in the early second Millennium BCE - ie, none. However, we do know that Jacob/Israel must have lived well before about 1200 BCE, because that of the existence of the Merneptah Stele, which provides the earliest source from outside of the Bible for Israel. Pharaoh Merneptah ruled from 1213-1203 BCE and it is clear from the inscription that it is not referring to Jacob/Israel personally, but to the nation of Israel which was sufficiently well-established to have engaged Merneptah in battle. There is another clue from Genesis 37:28, when Jacob's son Joseph is sold by his brothers into slavery for a price of 20 shekels of silver. Ancient people didn't always document their prophets, but they did document the price of slaves: this was the common price between about 1700-1800 BCE, thus supporting the early second Millennium BCE as the time of the Patriarchs.
So, to recap, the evidence so far is:
- that G-d intends all of the descendants of Abraham to be blessed, and they are entitled to live in Israel and the surrounding countries;
- however, G-d intends the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to have the land of Israel as an eternal possession;
- the covenant is binding and eternal on the Jewish people; they may struggle, as Jacob did, but they cannot swap it for an easier life, as Abram tried to do;
- other peoples are blessed if they accept G-d's will and his covenant with the Jews
However, we have one more covenant to consider:
- that G-d intends all of the descendants of Abraham to be blessed, and they are entitled to live in Israel and the surrounding countries;
- however, G-d intends the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to have the land of Israel as an eternal possession;
- the covenant is binding and eternal on the Jewish people; they may struggle, as Jacob did, but they cannot swap it for an easier life, as Abram tried to do;
- other peoples are blessed if they accept G-d's will and his covenant with the Jews
------------------------TO BE COMPLETED-------------------------------------------------------------------
***** (All quotes from NIV, accessed through Bible Gateway)
Zionism begins in Genesis 12:1, when G-d commands Abram ('exalted father') and Sarai ('princess') to go "to the land I will show you."*****
Abram arrives in Shechem (near Nablus, in Samaria) and G-d tells him (12:7) "To your offspring, I will give this land." Later on in his travels, he parts from his nephew Lot near Bethel (Baytin, 22 miles by road north east of Jerusalem, in Judea), and G-d tells him, "Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land you see I will give to you and your offspring forever." (13:8-16).
G-d promises Abram many descendants, and then promises him land (15:18) "from the Wadi (river) of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates." It is generally accepted that the 'river of Egypt' is not the Nile, but the Wadi el-Arish, in northern Sinai, about 30 miles south of the Gaza border. Clearly, the geographical area described is much larger than Israel. What it describes, is the land to which both Jews and Arabs, all descendants of Abram, are indigneous, east and north of Africa, south of Turkey, west of Iran [the Arab populations of north Africa arose much later, as a result of invasions in the 7th-8th Centuries CE].
In Genesis 17:7-8, there is what I believe to be another covenant, albeit linked to the first. This one does not apply to all the physical descendants of Abraham, but sets out what will be the Jewish claim to Israel, and we find this by observing the differences between Genesis 15 and Genesis 17. In Genesis 15, the covenant is not described as 'everlasting' and it comes about in response to Abram asking G-d how he can be sure of conquering the promised land. In Genesis 17, the promised land is much smaller than in Genesis 15, but is intended "as an everlasting possession" to Abram and his descendants, and there are going to be conditions attached: the first one being, "and I will be their G-d." Having heard the other conditions - he needs to change his name to Abraham and his wife's to Sarah; he must circumcise all the males in his household; Abraham offers the first 'land for peace' deal, asking (17:18-19) for his son Ishmael to live under G-d's blessing. In return, G-d's answer is compassionate but firm: Ishmael will be blessed (17:20) and be the ancestor of a great nation (the Arabs), but Abraham is to have another son, Isaac, and God will make his covenant with Isaac (17:21), not Ishmael. G-d's promises in respect of Isaac and Ishmael are repeated (21:12-13), when poor old Abraham is caught in a quarrel between their mothers.
In Genesis 22, Abraham shows his faithfulness to G-d in being willing to sacrifice his 'only son' Isaac. Is there a contradiction here, in saying that Isaac is the 'only son'? I don't think so. Since the phrase "your only son" appears three times, it is clear that a point is being made. Isaac is legitimate, being the son of Sarah: Ishmael is not, being the son of the servant, Hagar. As far as the covenant is concerned, Isaac is the only son who is relevant. In response to Abraham's faithfulness, G-d again promises him many descendants "as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore". Moreover, "through your offspring, all nations will be blessed." Here, we find the first sense of Israel being a 'light to the nations'.
In Genesis 23, Abraham purchases land at Hebron, for the burial of his wife Sarah. Despite being offered the land for free, he insists on paying for it, so there can be no disputing its ownership. At least, until UNESCO ceased to be fit for purpose! Interestingly, all these significant events so far have taken place within Judea and Samaria, the so-called 'West Bank', which the Palestinian Authority today seeks to prevent Jews living in. Jews are called 'Jews' because they originate in Judea: if we are to question the right of settlers to move into Judea and Samaria today, we must certainly question how and why the Jewish communities who lived there for more than 3000 years until being ethnically cleansed in the 20th Century lost their literally G-d given right to live there.
A generation after Isaac and Ishmael, G-d again skips over the elder brother (Esau) to renew the covenant with Jacob (28:10-15); promising the land to Jacob's descendants and promising that "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring." In Genesis 32:22-32, Jacob has another encounter with G-d and receives the name 'Israel'.
When did the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac & Jacob) live? For Abraham, we have all the extra-Biblical written and archaeological evidence that we would expect for a desert nomad living in the early second Millennium BCE - ie, none. However, we do know that Jacob/Israel must have lived well before about 1200 BCE, because that of the existence of the Merneptah Stele, which provides the earliest source from outside of the Bible for Israel. Pharaoh Merneptah ruled from 1213-1203 BCE and it is clear from the inscription that it is not referring to Jacob/Israel personally, but to the nation of Israel which was sufficiently well-established to have engaged Merneptah in battle. There is another clue from Genesis 37:28, when Jacob's son Joseph is sold by his brothers into slavery for a price of 20 shekels of silver. Ancient people didn't always document their prophets, but they did document the price of slaves: this was the common price between about 1700-1800 BCE, thus supporting the early second Millennium BCE as the time of the Patriarchs.
So, to recap, the evidence so far is:
- that G-d intends all of the descendants of Abraham to be blessed, and they are entitled to live in Israel and the surrounding countries;
- however, G-d intends the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to have the land of Israel as an eternal possession;
- the covenant is binding and eternal on the Jewish people; they may struggle, as Jacob did, but they cannot swap it for an easier life, as Abram tried to do;
- other peoples are blessed if they accept G-d's will and his covenant with the Jews
However, we have one more covenant to consider:
- that G-d intends all of the descendants of Abraham to be blessed, and they are entitled to live in Israel and the surrounding countries;
- however, G-d intends the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to have the land of Israel as an eternal possession;
- the covenant is binding and eternal on the Jewish people; they may struggle, as Jacob did, but they cannot swap it for an easier life, as Abram tried to do;
- other peoples are blessed if they accept G-d's will and his covenant with the Jews
------------------------TO BE COMPLETED-------------------------------------------------------------------
***** (All quotes from NIV, accessed through Bible Gateway)