SPECIAL TOPIC: THE PEOPLE OF THE LAND

This phrase has a wide range of meaning in the OT (see Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, vol. 1, pp. 70-72). It can be used:

1. of the Hittites in Gen. 23:7,12-13
2. of Egyptians in Gen. 42:6
3. of Canaanites in Num. 14:9 (i.e. Deut. 1:21,29)
4. by Pharaoh of Hebrew slaves in Exod. 5:5

It was used of the children of Israel but in various ways.

1. used of the common person of God's covenant people, but not leadership (cf. Exod. 5:5; Lev. 20:2; 2 Kgs. 11:19; 25:19; Jer. 1:18; Dan. 9:6; Hag. 2:4; Zech. 7:5)
2. part of the leadership (cf. 2 Kgs. 25:23-24; Jer. 34:19)
3. used of the poorest of the covenant people (cf. 2 Kgs. 24:14; 25:12; Jer. 40:7)
4. used of
   1. the people of God who did not go into exile and compromised with the pagan culture that Babylon had settled in Palestine
   2. non-Israelite inhabitants imported by Assyria and Babylon
   3. Ezra 4:4; 9:10-14; 10:2,11; Neh. 10:28-31; Ezek. 9:11,12

This is a good example of how phrases change meaning over time. The immediate historical context and literary context determine meaning, not a lexicon! Words have meaning only in sentences. Sentences have meaning only in paragraphs.

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