Song of Solomon 2:8-13; Genesis 29:31-35; John 13:1-17
Wednesday 8 July
I was in a discussion earlier this year, and was asked about my use of the phrase ‘Holy Land’. I was actually trying not to use ‘Israel and Palestine’ or ‘Israel and the Occupied Territories’. ‘What did I understand by the term?’ And I said I was referring to those territories assigned to the twelve tribes in Joshua 13–19.That, of course, is not strictly true, but I thought it was a good starting point, and still do.
If we look at a map of what that part of the world might have looked like 3000 or so years ago, and compare it with one today, there are some differences. The main one is that the tribes held quite a bit of land east of the Jordan. East Manasseh was where modern-day Syria and Jordan are; Gad and Reuben were inside modern-day Jordan; parts of Asher and Naphtali extended into modern-day Lebanon; there are changes in the south involving Egypt and Jordan; and of most interest, I think, Gaza and the Golan Heights (which, along with the West Bank, have been most hotly contested in living memory) were never part of Israel to begin with.
If I was asked again, I would probably say the same thing i.e. that the Holy Land does encompass not just modern-day Israel, but Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt as well. I might, though, refrain from using ‘Holy Land’ at all. Holy to whom? ‘Bible Lands’ might be better. For years there was a Christian charity called ‘Bible Lands Society’. I remember they produced an excellent carol sheet each Christmas, which I often used. They have their origins in modern-day Turkey. Started in the 19th century, in 2012 they changed their name to ‘Embrace the Middle East’ instead. Was it, I wonder, because they found Bible Lands to be contentious? Or was it maybe to sound more secular? I’m not sure. What I do know, however, is that it did cost them £150,000 to do so.
Incidentally, as you look at the older of the two maps, you’ll notice that there is no Levi. The Levites were given a special overarching role as priestly (rather than political) people. And you’ll notice that there’s no Joseph either. Joseph’s territory is split between his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
Genesis 29:31 is careful not to blame God for the fact that, to begin with, Rachel was not able to conceive. This, I think, is true throughout the whole of the Bible, all the way from the story of Sarai / Sarah in Genesis 11:30 to that of Elizabeth in Luke 1:7.
Let us pray (from Ultrasound by Kathleen Jamie):
VII. PRAYER
Our Baby’s heart, on the sixteen-week scan
was a fluttering bird, held in cupped hands.
I thought of St Kevin, hands opened in prayer
and a bird of the hedgerow nesting there,
and how he’d borne it, until the young had flown
– and I prayed: this new heart must outlive my own.
Amen.