Biblical Eras: The Founding Of Israel As A Country

"Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses"

Although now commonly used interchangeably, "nation" and "country" actually refer to two very different things. "Israel" existed as a nation, a people, long before they became a country, a sovereign territory.

• Nation: "A people bound by a common heritage, their nationality."

• Country: "A sovereign territory ruled by its citizens"

The nation of Israel came into existence with and from the descendants of Jacob (see Biblical Eras: Jacobites To Israelites and The Origin Of Israelites And Jews). They originated from the people of Babylon (e.g. Abraham; see Biblical Eras: The Messiah's Covenants With The Two Men Of Iraq), Syria (the Israelite tribal patriarchs, including Judah, were born in Syria, from Syrian mothers; see The Syrian Connection) and others (see What Are Gentiles Doing In Israel?).

Jacob lived his life in the land of Canaan (see The Birth of Jacob and Esau), then in Syria (see Jacob In Syria), then in Egypt (see Biblical Eras: Israel's Immigration To Egypt and Biblical Eras: 400 Years Of Israel's Prosperity In Egypt).

Although the LORD changed Jacob's name to "Israel" when he was a middle-aged man (see The Origin Of Israel), Jacob / Israel never knew a country named Israel. Jacob, and his children and descendants for over the first four centuries of their existence, lived their entire lives as a nation of foreigners in other people's countries.

The country of Israel came into existence only when the Israelites entered the "promised land" in the time of Joshua. Prior to that time, it was "the land of Canaan" - not "Palestine" (see also Where Is Palestine?).

Joshua had been a courageous and faithful friend and ally of Moses. When Moses died (see The Passage Of Moses), the LORD gave Joshua his commission to lead the Israelites into the territory that the LORD, the Creator and Owner of all of the Earth, had assigned to become the country of Israel.

"^1:1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,

^1:2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. ^1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. ^1:4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. ^1:5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." (Joshua 1:1-5 KJV)

Joshua was a successful military and political leader who led the homeless nation of Israel into also becoming the homeland country of Israel.

"^23:1 And it came to pass a long time after that the LORD [Who was and is Jesus Christ - see A Biography Of Jesus Christ: The LORD God Of Creation] had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age.

^23:2 And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders [see also What Did The Elders Of Israel Do?], and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age: ^23:3 And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you.

^23:4 Behold, I have divided unto you by lot [see The Israel Lottery] these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea westward.

^23:5 And the LORD your God, he shall expel them from before you [see The Land Rested From War and The Frontiers], and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the LORD your God hath promised unto you." (Joshua 23:1-5 KJV)

Fact Finder: How did two and a half of the tribes of Israel obtain their homeland east of the Jordan River?
See The Israel Of East Jordan and The Return Of The Eastern Tribes

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This Day In History, September 3

36 BC: The Battle of Naulochus. Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, a naval commander of Octavian (Octavian later became known as Caesar Augustus, the Roman Emperor who declared the census that caused the Messiah to be born in Bethlehem i.e. Luke 2:1 - see A History Of Jerusalem: Pompey And The Caesars), defeated Sextus Pompeius, the son of Pompey, thereby ending Pompeian resistance to the Second Triumvirate.

301: San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world's oldest republic still in existence, was founded by Marinus.

1189: Richard I (Richard the Lion-Heart) was crowned king of England.

1260: The Battle of Ayn Jalut, a decisive victory of the Mamluks of Egypt over the invading Mongols, which saved Egypt and Islam and prevented the western expansion of the Mongol empire.

1650: The Battle of Dunbar during the Third English Civil War. English Parliamentarian forces led by Oliver Cromwell defeated the forces loyal to King Charles II.

1658: Oliver Cromwell, "lord protector" of England, died at age 59.

1752: Britain and the New England colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar (named after Roman Catholic Pope Gregory XIII - see Pope Gregory's Calendar), replacing the less accurate Julian calendar (named after Julius Caesar). To implement the new calendar, 11 days were officially omitted that year i.e. September 2 was followed by September 14. Some people rioted, accusing the government of stealing 11 days of life from them.

1783: The Treaty of Paris was signed, officially ending the revolution of some of the people (only a violent, liberal minority of the population were rebels) of the New England colonies that had been built in the wilderness nearly two centuries earlier by English pioneers and investment. Faced with political persecution and confiscation of their property, 40% of the population left for England, or Canada where they became known as United Empire Loyalists.

The United Empire Loyalists were conservatives (honest, hard-working, successful people of all walks of life i.e. farmers, merchants, tradesmen, educators) who moved to Canada from the New England colonies because they saw no need for a rebellion and were brutally persecuted by rebel forces. Totaling about 40% of the population of the New England colonies, they were later known as United Empire Loyalists. When the U.S. invaded Canada a few years later, in the War of 1812 (1812-1814), United Empire Loyalists and their adult children and grandchildren served among the British Army and Canadian militias that successfully defended Canada from U.S. annexation (the publicly-stated goal of U.S. President James Madison when he started the war).

A plaque in Hamilton, Ontario (as well as many others across Canada) commemorates the United Empire Loyalists:

"This monument is dedicated to the lasting memory of

THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS

Who, after the Declaration of Independence, came into British North America from the seceded American colonies and who, with faith and fortitude, and under great pioneering difficulties, largely laid the foundations of this Canadian nation as an integral part of the British Empire.

Neither confiscation of their property, the pitiless persecution of them by their kinsmen in revolt, nor the galling chains of imprisonment could break their spirits, or divorce them from a loyalty almost without parallel.

No country ever had such founders --

No country in the world --

No, not since the days of Abraham."

1855: During the genocide of native Americans by white Europeans, 700 U.S. troops under General William S. Harney massacred 100 Sioux men, women and children in their village in Nebraska - one of many such slaughters during "the Indian wars" (see also The First Chinese American War).

1939: Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France and India declared war on Germany in response to Adolf Hitler's invasion of Poland 2 days earlier. The beginning of the Second World War in Europe.

1943: During the Second World War (1939-1945), Italy surrendered to invading Allied forces in a secret armistice, but German forces continued fighting in Italy.

1944: British troops liberated Brussels.

1969: Ho Chi Minh (real name Nguyen Tat Thanh), president of North Vietnam during most of the Vietnam War, died at age 79.

1976: Viking 2 landed on Mars.

1978: Albino Luciani was coronated as Pope John Paul I. He died only 34 days later, some say under mysterious circumstances, at age 66. He was succeeded by Polish-born Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, 58, who took the name Pope John Paul II - the first non-Italian Catholic pope in 450 years.

1987: Burundi President Jean-Baptiste Bagaza was deposed in a coup d'état led by Major Pierre Buyoya.

1994: Russia and China agreed to no longer target nuclear weapons on each other.

1999: An 87-automobile pile-up occurred on the Highway 401 freeway near Windsor, Ontario, Canada after an unusually thick fog from Lake St. Clair blanketed the area. It was one of the worst traffic accidents in Canadian history; 7 people were killed and 62 injured.