Category:Israel

Eretz Israel, literally translated: Land of Israel (Hebrew: ארץ ישראל "Land of the God-fighters"), is a traditional Hebrew name for the land, usually called the Land of Canaan in the Bible, where, according to the biblical account, the Israelites settled and lived for several centuries alongside Canaanites, Philistines and other peoples. Eretz Israel roughly means the area that has traditionally been called Palestine in European sources since antiquity. The term Holy Land is also used synonymously. In religious terms, Eretz Israel can also be equated with the Promised Land. The name Israel was originally given to Jacob, the progenitor of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, after he had wrestled victoriously with his divine adversary at the river Jabbok and was blessed by the latter.