The Land of Canaan and the Destiny of Israel: Theologies of Territory in the Hebrew Bible.

• Author: Erisman, Angela Roskop
• Position: Book review

The Land of Canaan and the Destiny of Israel: Theologies of Territory in the Hebrew Bible. By DAVID FRANKEL. Siphrut, vol. 4. Winona Lake, Ind.: EISENBRAUNS, 2011. Pp. ix + 443. $49.50.

David Frankel takes the reader on a tour of various texts throughout the Hebrew Bible which explore how the land plays a role in the constitution of Israel. Is Israel a territorial entity whose communal existence and relationship with Yahweh is bound to the land, or an ethnic entity constituted by law? Frankel distinguishes his work from other theologies of land by celebrating the plurality of ideas about Israel's connection to the land. He does not allow the reader to escape the character of the Hebrew Bible as a "battleground" (p. 64) on which scribes with different views on Israel's relationship with the land sought to establish their respective ideologies by shaping and reshaping the text.

Frankel illustrates this plurality first with a discussion of the Sinai and Shechem covenants in chapter 2. The Shechem covenant emphasizes the centrality of living on the land. Its laws are designed for life in the land; Israel is chosen when a land promise is given to the patriarchs; and Yahweh's saving acts include both exodus and conquest. The Sinai covenant places a greater emphasis on law than land. Its laws are given outside the land and can be followed anywhere; Israel is chosen at the exodus; and Yahweh's saving act is the exodus alone. These independent traditions came to be juxtaposed in the text and now exist in tension with one another.

The issue of what defines Israel is not a black-and-white one, but different texts explore different and often quite nuanced ways to navigate the tension between the concerns of law and land. In chapter 3 Frankel notes that the exile raised the question of whether Yahweh can be worshipped on foreign soil, which is related to the question of whether Yahweh is a land-bound or a universal deity. Na'aman builds an altar to Yahweh in Aram out of Israelite soil, implying that there is something special about Yahweh's connection to the land even when he is worshipped outside of it, while Mal. 1:11 emphasizes that people in other lands worship Yahweh on their own soil. 1 Kgs. 8 emphasizes that Yahweh dwells only in heaven and can receive prayer from anywhere, even though the Temple remains the central place to which Yahweh turns his attention.

In chapters 5-6 Frankel considers attitudes about Israel's relationship with foreigners...