Bible (Old Testament) and land Introduction The Bible (OT) is a controversial tract that has been used to justify the European imperial project: the conquest of indigenous land in different parts of the world - North & Latin America, South Africa, Australia & NZ and Palestine, and settlement of millions of Europeans. It is the scandalous, even murderous, injunctions in the Bible that instigated Christian colonizers to conquer, exterminate, dispossess and settle on indigenous land under the pretext of divine command. Sadly, Bible scholars have hesitated to pass moral judgement on these passages until Michael Prior’s book The Bible and Colonialism appeared in 1996. Genesis – Book 1 (50 chapters) This book starts with the sentence “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” We are told he next made light, water and sky, vegetation and the animals. Lastly he made man, Adam, and placed him in a garden called Eden, located in today’s Iraq. A river flowing through Eden separated into four tributaries named Pishon, Havilah, Tigris and Euphrates – the last two names will be familiar. God then decided to make a woman, Eve, as companion for Adam, using his rib for this purpose. When Eve committed a minor transgression, God was angry and cursed her: “I will greatly increase your pains in child bearing… your husband will rule over you.” The first case of patriarchal bullying recorded in the Bible.  From Adam to Noah In chapter 5, we are introduced to a long line of Adam’s descendants, remarkable for their longevity. Adam lived for 930 years and one of his sons called Seth was born when he was 130. Seth lived for 912 years and his son Enosh until 905. A host of others are mentioned until we come to Noah who had 3 sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, after reaching 500 years. (Somebody was clearly keeping tab of the ages of male members of this line. Females didn’t count.)  When Noah was 600 years old, there was a devastating flood but he and his family were saved. He lived until age 950 years. One of Shem (Noah’s son’s) descendants was Abram - later renamed Abraham. With the appearance of Abraham, the story takes a more dramatic turn.  Abraham is promised territory inhabited by others Chapter 12 starts with God ordering Abraham: “Leave your country, your people and go to the land I will show you.” So Abraham, then 72, left Haran with his wife Sarah, nephew Lot and other people and goods. They set out for the land of Canaan. Gen 12.6-7 specifically points out that at that time the land was inhabited. But God (Yahweh) promises Abraham: “To your descendants, I will give this land.” Later Yahweh said to Abraham (Gen 13.14-17): “Raise your eyes and look from the place where you are… all the land that you see I will give you and your offspring forever…” (Gen 15.18-21); Yahweh made a covenant with Abraham saying: “To your descendants, I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates - the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Amorites, Canaanites, … ” (Gen 17.8) “The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give you and your descendants as a perpetual holding…” The promise of land was also made to Isaac (Gen 26.3-4) and to Jacob (Gen 28.13-15) and again (Gen 35.12) to Jacob after his name was changed to Israel.