In the haftara for Parashat Vayigash, the prophet Yechezkel foresees the day when Benei Yisrael "shall dwell upon the land that I have given to My servant Yaakov, in which your forefathers had dwelled; and they shall dwell upon it – they, their children, and their children's children, forever, with My servant David ruler over them, forever" (Yechezkel 37:25).
Rav Mendel Hirsch, in his commentary to the haftarot, notes the different formulations employed in this verse with regard to Benei Yisrael's residence in the land. Twice the prophet depicts Benei Yisrael dwelling "upon the land": "they shall dwell upon the land…and they shall dwell upon it." By contrast, in reference to the residence of the earlier generations of Benei Yisrael in their homeland, a different expression is used: "in which your forefathers had dwelled." Our forefathers had dwelled "in" Eretz Yisrael, and the prophet foresees the time when we will all dwell "upon" the land.
Rav Mendel explains this transition in light of the comments of his father, Rav Shimshon Refael Hirsch, in his commentary to a verse in Sefer Vayikra (25:18), "vi-shavtem al ha-aretz la-vetach" – "you shall dwell securely upon the land." As Rav Hirsch explains, it emerges from this verse that dwelling "upon" the land connotes a sense of stability and security that directly contrasts with the warning earlier in Sefer Vayikra (18:28) that the land will "spew out" Benei Yisrael should they fail to live in accordance with the Torah. The description of a nation living "upon" a land is one of control and permanence, without any threat of expulsion.
In retrospect, we can describe our ancestors' residence in Eretz Yisrael as one of living "in the land," but not living "upon the land." By failing to resist the influences of the surrounding peoples, Benei Yisrael suffered the same fate as their Canaanite predecessors, as the Torah warned in Sefer Vayikra, and were expelled. Yechezkel thus foresees the time when, as opposed to the previous generations, who lived "in" our homeland, Am Yisrael will once and for all dwell "upon the land," safely, securely, and, most of all, permanently.