The Biblical 'land promises' to Abraham and his descendants were fulfilled by God, and the concept of 'giving' the land must be understood within the Ancient Near Eastern context of the relationship between a land, its people, and their deity. According to ancient conceptions, deities were associated with certain spheres, usually of a geographic nature... it is beyond dispute that land belonged to the gods.

The Israelites understood matters somewhat differently in light of Yahwism, for they understood Yahweh to be the owner of all of the land... That the land of Israel was not owned by the people, but by Yahweh, is made most clear in Leviticus 25:23: 'The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.' On the other hand, the role of the people was that of a tenant in the land.

The god is the one that gives and owns the land; the people possess it. The word 'possess' here is the Hebrew yarash, which represents the human activity of transfer of property or territory, including in war. But it is quite clear that this transfer did not involve legal ownership as we understand it, but possession. Evidence from ANE documents and the OT further clarify the nature of the relationship between a deity and its people as that of a feudal landlord and his tenants. Under such an arrangement the land was owned by a deity and granted for the use of the people; the 'landlord' had certain obligations, and the people had certain responsibilities.

Even the original promise of Genesis was not a matter of 'here it is with no strings attached.' Abraham would have expected the grant of land to be accompanied by conditions. Time and again, possession of the land is linked with keeping of the covenant rules... The gift of the land was qualified by Israel's apostasy. The land remains reserved for Abraham's seed even in exile, but perpetual 'residency' or use of the land is conditional upon obedience to the covenant.