Historically speaking, southern Lebanon is in fact northern Israel, and the roots of the Jewish people in the area run deep.
As the IDF battles to clear southern Lebanon of Hezbollah terrorists, it is worth highlighting an intriguing historical fact, one that many seem to have forgotten. Having grown up with an international boundary between the Jewish state and our neighbors to the north, we take it for granted that this is how it has always been and should be. But the truth is that the current border between Israel and Lebanon is little more than a century old and is entirely artificial, a relic of a time when European colonialists whimsically drew lines on maps over a bottle of brandy in smoke-filled rooms.
Historically speaking, southern Lebanon is in fact northern Israel, and the roots of the Jewish people in the area run deep. Whether or not this can or should be translated now into a political reality is a far more complex question, but there is simply no denying our connection to the land. Indeed, back in biblical times, southern Lebanon was clearly part of the Land of Israel. In the Book of Genesis (10:19) it says, “and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Tsevoyim as far as Lasha.” Sidon, a city in Lebanon, is about halfway between the current Israeli border and Beirut.
Just prior to his death, our biblical patriarch Jacob blessed his 12 sons, and the blessing he gave to Zevulun was “Zevulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon” (Genesis 49:13). The Book of Joshua (13:6) mentions Sidon explicitly as being promised to the Jewish people, and it also says (19:28) that the border of the tribe of Asher extended to Sidon. INTERESTINGLY, THE midrash in Bereishit Rabbah (39:8) says it was in Tyre, a city now 12 miles (19 kilometers) north of the Israeli border, that God promised the Land of Israel to Abraham.
The midrash quotes Rabbi Levi, who said, “When Abraham was traveling through Aram Naharayim and Aram Nahor, he saw them eating, drinking, and reveling. He said: ‘Would that my portion not be in this land.’ When he reached the Promontory of Tyre, he saw them engaged in weeding at the time of weeding, hoeing at the time of hoeing. He said: ‘Would that my portion be in this land.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘To your descendants I will give this land’” (Genesis 12:7). (Ed note: This article from the Jerusalem Post was first posted on Prophecy Headlines on Nov 16, 2024 and is still very timely today.) (Read More)
