The modern land area of Israel has created much "unpeace" in the world and yet this is not the totality of the land that God granted to the Hebrews in the Bible. The map above shows an approximate outline (the shaded area) of the ancient land that was promised to the Hebrews, which was later named Israel, after God changed Jacob's name to Israel.

Using the biblical accounts - Genesis 15:18 states, "In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." This one verse sets the west and east boundaries. The river of Egypt is, of course, the Nile and the Euphrates runs through what is currently Iraq.

Joshua 1:4 lays down the north and south boundaries - "From the wilderness [The Negev desert in the south] and this Lebanon [the northernmost point] as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the Great Sea [The Mediterranean] toward the going down of the sun [toward the west], shall be your territory."

The archeological evidence found throughout the whole region has, in large part, been dated back to the times of the Bible's Old Testament and the historical record unearthed agrees with biblical accounts of cities and people.

Where modern day politics takes the conflict in the Middle East is anybody's guess but to the Christian there is a promise that the whole land given by God is an ever-lasting covenant and will be restored as the Nation of Israel at some point in the future.