Reading the Bible cover to cover during 2022, I have just finished the five Books of Moses or the Torah as the Jews would say. Torah means instruction and it is a fitting name. Reading these books also makes it very clear that the instructions are given in a covenant setting. The language often resembles other Near Eastern treaties that have survived to this day. Covenants were an integral part of society. On this blog we have identified and discussed several covenant terms. "Land of our/his/her/their inheritance" is another one of those. The Hebrew words, yeresh and yereshah mean to inherit/possess and possession, respectively. It is very likely that the name, Jershon in the Book of Alma is derived from this root, with the suffix -on denoting a place name according to Ricks and Tvedtnes. I will get back to that.
The first use of this Hebrew word in the Bible is in Genesis 15 where the Abrahamic covenant is established. Interestingly, the word yeresh (inherit/possess) is used both about his promised heir (as in "son") and the land that he is granted as inheritance for his posterity, two "yeresh" aspects of the same covenant. Later, the terms is used very frequently during the Exodus and upon entering into the promised land. This is the fulfillment of the promise given to their father, Abraham. The land promised as their inheritance by covenant is not just any land. It is:
- A land "flowing with milk and honey". This was language that would invoke the image of a prosperous land. (See e.g. Exodus 20:6, Leviticus 20:24, Deuteronomy 26:9)
- A land of rest. The Hebrew word, nuach, that we have written about on this blog extensively, is often used to describe the promised land. (See e.g. Numbers 10:33, Deuteronomy 3:20, Deuteronomy 28:64-65, Joshua 1:13)
- A land where they have to sanctify themselves to enter into and that they are obliged to keep undefiled. Most of Deuteronomy is Moses' sermon to the Israelites with covenant conditions and instructions before they enter into the promised land. The expression "purge the evil from your midst/Israel" is used 10 times in that sermon (e.g. in Deuteronomy 13:5, 17:7, 19:19)
64 And the Lord shall thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.
65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and
You can only find rest when worshiping Yahweh in the promised land, and not by worshiping idols among other nations. The phrasing is a bit different in English, but in Hebrew the bold part "rest for the sole of your foot" is exactly the same as in Genesis 8:9 where Noah sent out the dove. The wording is so specific that I wonder if this parallel is intentional. Perhaps the intention would be to compare the worship of idols in foreign lands with the chaos that water represents that gives no rest as long as it covers the earth. Separating water from land is the creation motif that we find in Exodus as they set out on the journey to the promised land crossing the red sea and again in Joshua when they cross the river Jordan to enter into the promised land of rest.
Regarding the third bullet point, when reading about the tabernacle in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, I notice what can almost be characterized as an obsession with creating and preserving sacred space. The same seems to be the case for the promised land in Deuteronomy with the repeated admonition to purge the evil from their midst, and make absolutely sure to not defile the promised land by breaking the commandments. The promised land acts as a giant tabernacle of sorts, a pure, undefiled place of rest, where God dwells, even though God cannot find complete rest there until the temple is built. The need to purge the land from evil leads to drastic measures. This was meant to show the Israelites that
this is no trifling matter for you, but rather your very life (Deuteronomy 32:47, NRSV translation)
As a result, the imagery and language may seem a bit over the top to the modern Westerner, like this passage in Deuteronomy 13, explaining what to do if the people of a city start worshiping idols:
15 you shall put the inhabitants of that town to the sword, utterly destroying it and everything in it— even putting its livestock to the sword. 16 All of its spoil you shall gather into its public square; then burn the town and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It shall remain a perpetual ruin, never to be rebuilt. 17 Do not let anything devoted to destruction stick to your hand, so that the LORD may turn from his fierce anger and show you compassion, and in his compassion multiply you, as he swore to your ancestors (Deuteronomy 13, NRSV translation)
I still find it very interesting, though. The defiled city in the promised land shall be burnt as a burnt offering to the Lord, as would usually be done in the tabernacle. Like the priests in the tabernacle, who literally could not touch anything unclean (like a corpse), the people in the promised land should not let anything devoted to destruction stick to their hand. Here is another scripture drawing parallels between the promised land and the tabernacle.
33 So ye shall not the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.
34 not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the Lord dwell the children of Israel. (Numbers 35)
This is getting too long for one post, so I will get to the Book of Mormon and more about the Hebrew yeresh in the next part. But to briefly summarize this part, the land of inheritance has a covenant connotation in the scriptures. It is a land of (covenant) promise and must be kept pure and undefiled, reserved for a nation who is holy as God is.