ISRAEL - Biblical Map Controversy
Israel’s foreign affairs ministry (MFA) has created a regional diplomatic storm after it published a biblical map that many in the Arab world view as “expansionist” and a direct threat to their sovereignty.
“Did you know that the Kingdom of Israel was established 3000 years ago?” reads the first sentence of the post.
The post concluded: “However, the Jewish people in the Diaspora continued to look forward to the revival of their powers and capabilities and the rebuilding of their state, which was declared in the State of Israel in 1948 to become the only democracy in the Middle East.”
“The [Jordanian] ministry condemns in the strongest terms the maps of the region published by official Israeli accounts on social media platforms, claiming that they are historical for Israel, including parts of the occupied Palestinian territories, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria,” read the public statement.
Palestinian writer Yaseen Izeddeen claimed on his X account that the publication of the maps “is not the first time and it will not be the last, but it is part of their beliefs that drive the occupation government.”
Izeddeen also contended that “the current rulers of Israel declare that Jordan is part of the Land of Israel, and these are old positions that go back more than a hundred years.”
-www.jpost.com, 8 January 2025
Arno's Commentary
That the publishing by the MFA caused an uproar among Islamic Arabs is not surprising. After all, the Islamic religion was established in 610 AD, when the prophet Muhammed received his first “revelation,” which became the foundation of Islam.
TheIsraelBible.com shows a map of Israel with even more territory: from the Nile at Cairo along the Mediterranean, to the northeastern corner of the Sea, then going southeast to the Persian Gulf, and back west to Egypt’s Nile. [https://theisraelbible.com/biblical-boundaries-land-israel/].
God said to Moses: “Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel” (Deuteronomy 32:52). In plain words, when following Moses’ footsteps, we know that territory is not Promised Land.
The little brook el-Arish, which flows into the Mediterranean below Gaza, is often named the River of Egypt. The northern part is mentioned by name: “In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18).
Not much information is given about the territory at the Euphrates, yet we read in 2 Samuel 8:3: “David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates.”
The border to the east is the Jordan River, but we read of the extended border in Numbers 32:33: “And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.”
Within these Biblically defined borders, there is much Arab-occupied Israeli territory.
At this point in time, Israel has no intention to conquer or occupy more territory. The overwhelming majority of Israelis would be opposed to such action. Nevertheless, it’s what the Bible says, and that is decisive.
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
