Etymology

promised 3,000 years ago

Today it means: Mocking the claim that Israel was promised to the Jews by God 3,000 years ago; used to imply that Israelis, or Jews, feel entitled to commit theft or other criminal and immoral acts. Full definition →

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The story

Alluding to the Promised Land in the Hebrew Bible, later popularized as an Internet meme in 2025. The reference of the number 3,000 is unclear. According to traditional chronology, the covenant between God and Abraham took place in 1743 BCE (3,768 years ago); it presumably refers to the establishment of the United Kingdom of Israel traditionally dated to 1047 BCE (3,072 years ago).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.