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I remember a while back when the State of Israel was evacuating the Gush Katif, there was some talk about this, but i don't remember what was said. All I remember is that there was a question whether Gush Katif was part of biblical israel. Is this true?

Are there any sources which discuss this?

  • You mean the Gush Katif settlement location specifically or Gaza more generally? – Yishai Jun 25 '15 at 14:03
  • This is a vague question. "Biblical" border definitions changed a lot, if you are including all of Tana"ch. If you narrow it down to the Torah's definition at the end of Bamidbar, we have some specific comparison to answer your question. Even then, the Torah does mention "expansion". Please narrow down what you mean by "Biblical". – DanF Jun 25 '15 at 14:29
  • dupe? http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/5701/759 – Double AA Jun 25 '15 at 14:42
  • @DoubleAA I don't see it. This Q asks whether a specific place was within that border, not how the borders, in general, were defined. – DanF Jun 25 '15 at 14:52
  • @DanF Knowing the borders tells you what's in and what's out for all places. Any answer to that answers this. – Double AA Jun 25 '15 at 15:09
  • @DanF it still certainly falls under the "land promised to Avraham" rubric, just not "land conquered by Yehoshua/Ezra." – Isaac Kotlicky Jun 25 '15 at 15:34
  • During the reign of David, Gush Katif would have been outside of the borders of Eretz Yisrael, being as it was in Eretz Pelishtim (as were Ashdod and Ashkelon, both of which are in modern Israel). – Noach MiFrankfurt Jun 25 '15 at 16:06
  • I disagree @IsaacKotlicky. Gush Katif is in Eretz Plishtim as Noach says, and so was promised by Avraham to Avimelech and his descendents. – Epicentre Jun 28 '15 at 06:05
  • @Epicentre where do you see Avraham making that promise? The Plishtim of Avraham are NOT the Plishtim of the period of the Judges. Archeology proves that they were distinct cultural groups. – Isaac Kotlicky Jun 28 '15 at 06:16

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Rabbi Hershel Schachter has a yutorah mp3 on the Gaza Disengagement.

The southern Biblical border described in the end of Numbers is "Nachal Mitzrayim", generally understood to be Wadi-al-Arish; by that definition, Gush Katif would be included.

The borders listed in the Mishna in Gittin reflect which parts of the land were consecrated during the times of Ezra, which affect agricultural laws today. The southern border on those is Ashkelon, and by that definition Gush Katif wouldn't be included.

Shalom
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  • The 3rd paragraph doesn't really answer the O.P.'s question as he specified "Biblical", which I assume means only Torah Shebichtav – DanF Jun 25 '15 at 14:54
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    @DanF He answers OP's question "Biblically" in the second paragraph and provides contrasting, relevant information in the third. Seems to be a perfect answer to me. – Isaac Kotlicky Jun 25 '15 at 15:59
  • As I just commented above, during the period of the nevi'im, the whole Gaza area was outside of E"Y. @DanF, that is part of the Bible, even though many use that term to refer only to Torah, as opposed to Tana"ch. – Noach MiFrankfurt Jun 25 '15 at 16:08