earticle

영어

“A land flowing with milk and honey” is one of the most famousdescriptions of the land of Israel. As a symbol of Paradise, thedescription has been properly interpreted as the special land that Godgave the Israelites. Does it mean, however, the ideal condition of thebest productive land? This question arises when we consider Israel’ sgeographical condition. Because, although Israel was more suitable tostock farming and honey was recorded as a main export(Ezk 27:7), itwas not an ideal, fertile land. Then, can we interpret the description of“a land flowing with milk and honey” as symbolic or realistic? This studyaims to find another explanation for this controversial question. The study seeks, first, to find in the Old Testament the distributionand pattern of the land formula, “a land flowing with milk and honey,”and then to determine its hermeneutic meaning through an exegesisof the passages in Deuteronomy where it occurs. The exegesis shows,first, that the formula was used as an image of the fertile land that wasthe foundation for the flourishing of the offspring of the Israelites andtheir longevity. Then the formula is discussed in a theological reflection,since it is premised on the land that was promised to the forefathers, withYahweh as the giver of it. Second, because the formula in Deuteronomyshows a feature used in a ceremony and a liturgy, it recalls a redemptive meaning linked to the Exodus. This study uncovers a theological meaning that has been overlookedin previous studies on the land formula, “a land flowing with milk andhoney.” This formula in Deuteronomy must be an image of the landof Israel as fertile or having other qualities. Nonetheless, a writer(or aneditor) of Deuteronomy took a step forward and described it thoroughlyin relation to Yahweh. The redemptive meaning connoted in the formulain Deuteronomy seems to influence the subject of the restoration of theland in Jeremiah 32, Ezekiel 20, and Nehemiah 9, which will be studied inthe future.

한국어

본 논문은 신명기에 사용된 이 표현 양식의 문맥에 주의하고 주석적인 방법으로 그동안 간과되어 온 신학적 의미를 찾아보았다. 신명기의 ‘젖과 꿀이 흐르는 땅’은 이스라엘 땅에 대한 풍요로운 상징적 이미지나 토질을 묘사하는 데 그치지 않고, 철저하게 야훼와의 관계 아래서 조명되고 있음을 밝혔다.