תהלים, פרק ק״ה, פסוק י״ב

The realization of God's covenant with the founders of the nation began in a state of extreme vulnerability. The primary approach among commentators is that during their early days in the land of Canaan, the forefathers were a tiny, easily counted group of people [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. They were not only small in number [מצודת דוד], but they also lacked physical power and influence [מלבי״ם]. Furthermore, they were not citizens of the land. They lived merely as temporary strangers with no established legal status [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Despite their physical weakness and the fact that the local nations knew about their future intention to inherit the territory, the forefathers lived among them without fear [מאירי]. It was exactly during this fragile period that God chose to promise them the land [מלבי״ם]. Even when famine forced them to leave and wander among foreign nations, their belief in His promise remained completely firm [רד״ק].

Beyond their small numbers, their experience as strangers can also be understood through the lens of time. They resided in the land for only a brief period before being forced to move to Egypt and other territories [רד״ק]. Another perspective views this early period as a reflection of God's mercy regarding the future hardships of His people. The difficult years of exile and slavery that were decreed for Abraham's family began to be counted almost immediately after Isaac was born. God considered them strangers while they were still living in the land of Israel, a merciful calculation meant to lighten the heavy burden of their eventual exile in foreign countries [אלשיך].