The Promised Land was literally the land, or territory, that God promised to give to Abraham (initially named Abram) and his descendants. This promise was repeated to Abraham’s son Isaac and grandson Jacob (who would later be called Israel).
Some 400 years later, the promise was reaffirmed to Moses when he led the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt to return to this area.
Since the Canaanites inhabited the land at that time, it’s sometimes called the land of Canaan or simply Canaan.
In addition to the Canaanite territory, the Promised Land also included the area inhabited by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.
Although God promised this territory, the Israelites still needed to conquer and overcome the people living there, to which they did with varying degrees of success.
The historical area of Canaan is approximately present-day Israel.
Key verse about Promised Land: By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country (Hebrews 11:9, NIV).
A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.
