Appendix — Geographical Map and Illustration of the Land Division
The following map illustrates a possible relationship between the land promised to Abraham, the more specifically described inheritance territory in Ezekiel, and a possible northern extension. The coloured boundaries do not represent established geographical or political borders.
Geographical Explanation of the Map
The Promise to Abraham — Yellow
Genesis 15:18–21 describes a promise extending from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates. The Euphrates is identifiable, but the precise course of the boundaries cannot be established everywhere. The identification of the river of Egypt is also a matter of interpretation. Research into former branches of the Nile and ancient waterways provides historical context, but does not establish which watercourse the text refers to. The yellow area is therefore indicative.
The Inheritance Territory in Ezekiel — Blue
Ezekiel 47:13–23 describes the land to be divided in more concrete terms. The Mediterranean Sea forms its western boundary; the text also mentions, among other places, the regions of Hamath and Damascus, the Jordan River, and the Dead Sea. Not all ancient boundary locations can be identified with certainty. The northern and southern boundaries in particular remain subject to differing reconstructions. The blue representation does not fully convey these uncertainties through its sharply defined boundaries.
A Possible Northern Extension — Purple
Deuteronomy 1:7–8 and Joshua 1:4 refer to a broader geographical context, including the land of the Hittites. The historical territory under Hittite rule changed over time. Not every reference to the Hittites necessarily refers to the entire historical empire. The possible extension towards the Black Sea is therefore a research hypothesis, not a proven scriptural boundary.
The Relationship Between the Descriptions
The promise to Abraham and the territorial description in Ezekiel need not exclude one another. One text refers to a broader promise of land (extending to the outermost boundaries mentioned), while the other provides a more concrete description of the land and its division (up to and including the boundaries described).
The Manifesto proposes applying the principles of land division set out in Ezekiel 48 to the broader promised territory. This is a reasoned interpretation, not a proven geographical commandment. The separate concluding illustration demonstrates this principle. The map confers no legal or political rights and does not diminish the rights of existing inhabitants.
Sources Supporting the Geographical Map
1. Scriptural Sources — Tanakh (JPS 1917)
• Genesis 15:18–21 — the promise of land to Abraham and the outermost watercourses mentioned.
• Exodus 23:31; Deuteronomy 1:7–8 and 11:24; Joshua 1:4 — additional descriptions of the extent of the land and references to the land of the Hittites.
• Numbers 34:1–12 — the boundaries of Canaan, for comparison with other descriptions.
• Ezekiel 47:13–23 — the described boundaries of the inheritance territory and the inheritance rights of resident foreigners.
• Ezekiel 45:1–8 and 48:1–35 — the territorial arrangement, sacred allotment, princely land, and division.
2. Existing Works and Scholarly Research
• Nili Wazana (2013), All the Boundaries of the Land, Penn State University Press, doi:10.5325/j.ctv18r6rkt — distinctions between different biblical boundary descriptions.
• Yigal Levin (2015), “The Three Biblical Maps of Israel: Small, Medium, and Large”, TheTorah.com — comparison of broader and narrower biblical descriptions of the land.
• Harold Brodsky (2006), “The Utopian Map in Ezekiel (48:1–35)”, Jewish Bible Quarterly 34, 20–26 — the schematic character of Ezekiel’s tribal division.
• Claudia Glatz and Roger Matthews (2005), “Anthropology of a Frontier Zone: Hittite-Kaska Relations”, BASOR 339, 47–65, doi:10.1086/BASOR25066902 — changing boundaries of Hittite influence.
• Adam Kryszeń (2021), “The Hittite Notion of Border: A Practical View”, doi:10.22012/baf.2019.17 — interpretation of boundaries in Hittite sources.
• A. Sneh and T. Weissbrod (1973), “Nile Delta: The Defunct Pelusiac Branch Identified”, Science 180, 59–61, doi:10.1126/science.180.4081.59 — a former branch of the Nile.
• S. O. Moshier and A. El-Kalani (2008), “Late Bronze Age Paleogeography along the Ancient Ways of Horus in Northwest Sinai, Egypt”, Geoarchaeology 23, 450–473, doi:10.1002/gea.20227 — historical geography of the Nile Delta and Sinai.
3. Other Sources and Preparation
The map is an AI-generated illustrative reconstruction, developed through comparison of scriptural passages, historical and geographical literature, and successive visual checks. It is not a precisely surveyed historical map. The works cited support individual research questions; taken together, they do not prove every coloured boundary.