Area of Israel Genesis upheld (English version) (5)
I believe the answer is:
negev
'area of israel' is the definition.
(desert in Israel)
'genesis upheld english version' is the wordplay.
'genesis' becomes 'Gen' (abbreviation for the book of the Bible).
'upheld' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'english version' becomes 'EV' (abbreviation for English Version of the Bible).
'gen' in reverse letter order is 'neg'.
'neg'+'ev'='NEGEV'
(Other definitions for negev that I've seen before include "Southern Israeli desert" , "part of Israel" , "Israeli desert area abutting Sinai" , "Desert region in Israel" , "Semi-desert area" .)