The Land: Gift or entitlement?

John Deehan

07 April 2026, The Tablet

What does the Bible really say about land, belonging and divine promise? A biblical scholar explores how Scripture’s diverse voices challenge modern claims of entitlement and call believers back to a vision of land as gift, responsibility and justice

Some time ago news reached me that Israeli settlers in the West Bank had attacked the village of Taybeh. Taybeh is the last entirely Christian village in the West Bank or the State of Israel. It is inhabited by Greek Orthodox and Latin Catholics. On entering the village, one can see the ruins of a church built in the fourth century. Many years ago, I stayed there for a weekend hosted by the parish priest and joined some of the parishioners as they were harvesting their olives. Today the villagers feel themselves under siege. Many of their olive trees have been destroyed, their cars and property burned. When the settlers are challenged, they often appeal to the biblical tradition. Their response is simple and forceful: ‘God gave us this land, and we are claiming it back. The Palestinians have no right to be here.’ It is the language of conquest, establishing ‘facts on the ground’.
The biblical tradition: exegetical and hermeneutical context

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