The Land of Canaan and the Destiny of Israel

"What place does the land of Canaan play in the biblical conception of {u2018}Israel{u2019}? To what extent does the religion promoted by the Hebrew Bible require that Israel live its communal life in the national homeland? And how does life in the land compare in importance with other elements presented as belonging to Israel{u2019}s ultimate density, such as, for example, adherence to the law? To what extent must the people of Israel take hold of and settle in the {u2018}entire land of Canaan{u2019} for them to fulfill their destiny? Might the land be shared with other peoples, or must non-Israelites be expelled and subjugated, or at least kept at a safe and isolated distance? Frankel asks these questions and others of the Hebrew Bible as a whole and of the biblical texts individually. He shows that all of these questions were addressed by various biblical authors and that diverse and even opposing answers were given to them. These issues are not completely new.^ Many of them have been addressed in recent times by various scholars and theologians who have taken a renewed interest in the {u2018}territorial dimension{u2019} of the Hebrew Bible. However, works of a predominately the