Abrahams Lands

Now in these searchings of Biblical lands and researching ancient people, we should always go to The Scriptures for our information. So lets do that and see what lands was given to The Descendants of Abraham. And remember now, these borders DO NOT define the same size of lands as the 12 Tribes was living in. We know that Jacob and even Isaak ventured deeper down and towards the southern parts of Africa, where the 12 Tribes would later settle, on both sides of the Jordan. We know that these borders was shaped by the Conquests of Joshua (the man that came AFTER Moses, so quite a bit of time after Abraham). Remembering that let us read (Genesis 15,18-21):

18 On that day SoNiNi made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

From The River of Egypt, which we have identified as the Nile. So from the Nile and, The Great River (could be Congo) and to the River Euphrates (Zambezi). Now we also need to arrest the English language here, it reads something more to the effect of the Borders of the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Amorites, and so and so. So if we draw up some lines, we get almost half of Africa as having been given to Abraham and his descendants. All depending on where you place the River Gihon, or Egypt River and its mouthing into the Sea.

So we have put the map on its side, as we have discussed before this is how SoNiNi sees the world. Now remember aBantu bam - to the East is His throne (Ezekiel 46,1). Now we are very much certain of the placement of Gihon as being River Nile. We are fairly certain of the Orange River being The River Jordan that divides the land in Southern Africa (although we could be wrong about that one also). The other 3 of the 4 River of Paradise, makes it harder because well, Zambezi and Congo, might well have been seen as just One Big Great River back in the Day. Now what Rivers are where today is not of the greatest importance (for now), but through their identification we can more easily start to identify ancient peoples. More then likely they have not moved, with a deep connection to the land they came from. Africans love their homelands, and rightly so.

From the map above, you can basically draw a line from the base or end i f you will of the Gihon, The River Nile, and then follow it all the way down, on both sides and see all the borders of the Lands of Abraham. Now before we draw these lands we have to include that these lands would also have been settled by Ishmaels descendants (servant Hagars child), that would also have a claim to a big portion of the lands of Abraham.

This is the promise given in Genesis 12,7, where SoNiNi appeared to Abram and said: To your offspring I will give this land. Furthermore we remember the borders in Genesis 15,18-21. We see here clear descriptions of borders of the land, and confirmed again in Genesis 28,13 (to Jacob), though also here the borders are rather vague as it says the land on which you are lying.

Now Going more into the bone and marrow and the true geographical borders in the Promised Land, given in Exodus 23,31:

31 I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates; for I will hand over to you the inhabitants of the land, and you shall drive them out before you.

And here we see a border marked by the Red Sea, and the Sea of the Philistines and THE RIVER (Euphrates?).

So then. We need to account for two Seas here, one of which we think has dried up (on the map where you see dry parts in Botswana and Namibia, they used to be fertile with a large inland lake like the above). And we see a mention of the Sea of the Philistines (which would be close to Mozambique and or todays Malawi). Now the lakes we are left with today are not as impressive as the suggested Great African Lakes on the left. And we speculate could the Sea of Reeds have been in the Congo Basin?. Now the lakes are open for interpretation as they may be dried up now, HOWEVER The Rivers are still around, and we will try to use them as markers of the borders of Abrahams Lands. If we move on in Scriptures, we see that the promises are also given to Isaak (Genesis 26,3) and to Jacob (Genesis 28,13), later named One who Strives with SoNiNi (Genesis 32,25-32):

25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with SoNiNi and with humans, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen SoNiNi face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket, because he struck Jacob on the hip socket at the thigh muscle.

So another Abrahamic custom for Bantu tribes here, the abstaining from eating a certain thigh muscle, a few Vendas and Lembas actually do still keep these. Let us know if you know any other tribes that has held this or any other Abrahamic customs until today. Now back to the lands, we see here The Promised Land was in the territory of the River of Egypt to the Euphrates River (Exodus 23,31). Now the Tribes of Isaak lived in a smaller area, formerly knows as Kanaan on the other side of the River Jordan (Numbers 34,1-12). We will go through these further below as they are the most detailed descriptions we are left with.

With quotes like the ones we can read in Deuteronomy 1,8:

8 See, I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land that I swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them.”

We see the promise fulfilled. Now in Deuteronomy 19,8-9 we see that this promise would be fulfilled IF they were obedient to the covenant.

8 If SoNiNi naNiNi enlarges your territory, as he swore to your ancestors—and he will give you all the land that he promised your ancestors to give you, 9 provided you diligently observe this entire commandment that I command you today, by loving SoNiNi naNiNi and walking always in his ways—then you shall add three more cities to these three, 10 so that the blood of an innocent person may not be shed in the land that SoNiNi is giving you as an inheritance, thereby bringing bloodguilt upon you.

Reading the Book of Numbers you find the whole land outlined in great detail. Now remember if it gets confusing, when the Bible says south you have to remember, to the south of what? If we read the Book of Numbers (chapter 34) we will find South Border or southern parts of the Land (Numbers 34,2):

SoNiNi spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Command the Israelites, and say to them:

When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan, defined by its boundaries), 3 your south sector shall extend from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom. Your southern boundary shall begin from the end of the Dead Sea on the east; 4 your boundary shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its outer limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea; then it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and cross to Azmon; 5 the boundary shall turn from Azmon to the Wadi of Egypt, and its termination shall be at the Sea.

Now we have tried to do these outlines and finding these 4 farthest points, but for now they do not come out alright, so we have just drawn a circle below of the southern part of Africa, as being the land that is described in Scriptures. The actual places and lines from the borders, are much harder to place. We see the corners being drawn in the Borders below.

In verse 6 we find the Western Border (Numbers 34,6):

6 For the western boundary, you shall have the Great Sea and its coast; this shall be your western boundary.

Then the North Border (Numbers 34,7-9):

7 This shall be your northern boundary: from the Great Sea you shall mark out your line to Mount Hor; 8 from Mount Hor you shall mark it out to Lebo-hamath, and the outer limit of the boundary shall be at Zedad; 9 then the boundary shall extend to Ziphron, and its end shall be at Hazar-enan; this shall be your northern boundary.

And culminating on the Eastern Border (Numbers 34,10):

10 You shall mark out your eastern boundary from Hazar-enan to Shepham; 11 and the boundary shall continue down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain; and the boundary shall go down, and reach the eastern slope of the sea of Chinnereth; 12 and the boundary shall go down to the Jordan, and its end shall be at the Dead Sea. This shall be your land with its boundaries all around.

Now as we are getting close to the end here as this post took a LOOONG time to conclude. We can see and fin good sources that Jerome (writer of the Latin Bible), drew the borders of the Promised Land. From the South by the desert road and mount Sinai, between the Dead Sea and the City of Kadesh Barnea.

Now were was Kadesh Barnea... we are not quite sure. But it seems it must have been in the area known and called Arabia (Arabah) in the Scriptures. So the Eastern Border went from Arabah, to the West as far as the River Egypt that (back in those days) went out into the Sea by Rhinocolara. Meaning the Egypt River could well have gone further down into Southern Africa, and mouthing somewhere on the East Border of the Promised Land, but drawing the Southern Border. Which is really the northern Border, we know confusing, but remember it needs to be seen as North or South of somewhere, right? And that somewhere is ALWAYS from the point of Jerusalem, and which way you see the world from. Remember we invented the Globe, Bible talks of no such thing at all. Now we will be first to admit that North and South could very well be reversed here, but we must think SOUTH and NORTH off what?

Continuing in describing Abrahams lands, we see that Jerome (Writer of Latin Vulgate) says the River of Egypt would discharge into the Sea, as we move west, into Syria, and we get bounded in the north by the Taurus Mountains (Could be Drakensberg?), then to places called Zephyrium and Hamath. Then to the East African coast we would expect to find Antioch and Lake Kinnereth (possibly Lake Malawi) that used to be called Sea of Tiberias (could be dried up now). And then All the way down we find Jordan River that discharges into the Salt Sea (on the west Coast), and another inland lake called the Dead Sea. So, we are indeed missing a Dead Sea or another Lake up there on the salt flats of Namibia, Angola and Botswana. If we take these Scriptures literally and indeed, we tend to do that. Now for all this to be clearer, we need to determine where the River of Egypt wold start (or end) in the old maps. Because the water levels of today, has certainly dried up, as our coming article on The River of Egypt will testify.

Coming up next is an 4 article expose on where we think the Four Rivers of Paradise are located today, and how they tie into Old Biblical Geography. They will also help in finding and mapping Abrahams lands more exactly.

SoNiNi unathi