The recital of divine history — the grant to Abraham and the temple foundation — 'Did you not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?' (הלא אתה אלהינו הורישות את ישבי הארץ הזאת לפני עמך ישראל ותתנה לזרע אברהם אהובך לעולם). The rhetorical form (הלא, did you not) recites salvation history as covenantal precedent. The verb הוריש (drove out) refers to the conquest; the verb נתן (give) emphasizes that the land is divine gift, not human conquest. The designation of Abraham as 'your friend' (אהובך) draws on Jewish tradition (Abraham the friend of God, cf. Isa 41:8); it establishes that the present people are heirs of the patriarchal covenant. The promise 'forever' (לעולם) invokes the perpetual covenant structure. Historical memory becomes the foundation for present petition.

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