Hebrews

This article is about the Hebrew people. For the book of the Bible, see Epistle to the Hebrews.

Hebrews (syns. Heberites, Eberites, Hebreians, descendants of biblical Patriarch Eber; עברים, Standard Hebrew ʿIvrim, Tiberian Hebrew ʿIḇrîm; also עבריים Standard Hebrew ʿIvriyyim, Tiberian Hebrew ʿIḇriyyîm) were people who lived in the Levant, the area now forms the geographical region of Palestine, Sinai, Lebanon and the coastal portions of Syria. These areas were politically Phoenicia and of the Philistines in Canaan when they first arrived in the area. The Hebrews lived within this region in the 2nd millennium BCE and spoke a Canaanite dialect, which played a role in the Hebrew languages, although their culture was distinct from the local Canaanite culture. The extent of the distinction between the culture of the Canaanites and the Hebrews is a matter of great debate, touching as it does on strong religious sensibilities.

Religious views

Biblically, the term Hebrew refers to all the Children of Eber, and in particular the descendants that the Hebrew Bible states the patriarch Jacob, who was later renamed Israel, had. Hebrews are also referred to as the Children of Israel for this reason. According to the Bible, Jacob partitioned the land between ten of his 12 sons and two of his grandsons (the two sons of Joseph, Jacob's favorite son); and thus, biblically, the Hebrews constitute Twelve Tribes. The third son, Levi, was not apportioned land, and instead his descendents were entitled to receive a tax from the twelve tribes.

Today, most Jews support the biblical stance, and consider themselves descended from a few of these tribes; the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and parts of Levi (the priestly tribe – who in the period of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel had no continuous territory, unlike the others). Some would say the Tribe of Simeon is included in this list, due to a view that the Tribe of Simeon was absorbed by the Tribe of Judah. The remainder of the Twelve Tribes are said to have been exiled by the Assyrian Empire, leading to the legend in the Western world of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Many Christians support this view of the origin of modern Jews.

Certain Christian groups sometimes use the term Hebrews to distinguish the Jews in ancient times that lived before the birth of Jesus from Jews that lived afterward. This distincion is part of the Christian doctrine that the favor bestowed upon the ancient Jews, as God's chosen people, was removed upon their rejection of Jesus as the messiah, and transferred to Christians. The distinction is not recognized by Judaism. Jews often use the terms Hebrews to distinguish the descendants of Jacob prior to the writing of the Torah, or "The Five Books of Moses".

Modern academic views on the origin of the Hebrews

When the Tell el-Amarna archives were initially translated, some scholars eagerly equated the Habiru, described within the text, with the Hebrews, in particular because they were said to be nomads, raiders, and outlaws, fitting well with the biblical description of the Hebrews under Joshua conquering Canaan. Such religiously motivated conclusions proved to be hasty, and later study, taking into account linguistic research, and other ancient mentions of the Habiru, it is now considered that the term Habiru described a group of stateless foreigners who had banded together, and formed a counter culture rather than an invading force. Indeed, should the Habiru be proven to be the same as the Hebrews, biblical events preceding biblical conquest of Canaan by Joshua are probably not true, since the majority of the Habiru were Hurrian, and thus not having flowed from Egypt.

Other controversial theories hold that the Hebrews were the mysterious Hyksos, a Semitic people, who gradually migrated into Egypt from an unknown location in the Middle East, eventually taking power from the extremely weak Pharaoh by force, and subsequently were expelled after many years, matching up well with the biblical description of the Hebrews in Egypt. Indeed, it was Ahmose (in Hebrew A-moses), who was from Thebes, down the river from the seat of power – Memphis, who caused the Hyksos to leave, although in contrast to the Bible, Ahmose was the enemy of the Hyksos and expelled them by force. A curious feature of the Hyksos rulers over Egypt is that the third ruler (of six) is named Yaqob-her which is cognate with Jacob, the name of the biblical forefather of this period, although the name may just be a common one, and this would still be contrary to the Bible, as it would denote Jacob as a ruler of Egypt as well as over the Hebrews.

There are many Canaanite and Mesopotamian (via Amorite mythology) themes preserved in Hebrew culture, like the biblical version of the story of Noah which is similar to the Sumerian story of Ziusudra/Utnapishtim, the ark, and the deluge unleashed by the angry, jealous god Enlil (Babylonian Ellil, Canaanite El), who was thwarted by the wise god Enki (Babylonian Ea). Also, textual sources appear to indicate that Hebrews lived in villages and raised livestock, seasonally grazing them in drier areas which didn't farm well, a form of subsistence known as transhumance. Consequently many have drawn the conclusion that the Hebrews were merely Canaanites who lived in the more difficult mountanous areas of Canaan, over time becoming separated from other Canaanites, and thus taking separate paths, including favouring El over Hadad.

It is possible for all three of these potentials to be partially true – had a group of Canaanites separated and tried to live in the hills, which were mainly to the eastern side of Canaan, they could have absorbed other migrating groups, such as the Habiru who brought with them Hurrian stories and cultural practices, gaining a differing identity in consequence of the merging of cultures. Subsequently, the combined group, now distinct from the Canaanites who remained, could have migrated to Egypt, becoming the Hyksos, and upon their return no longer viewing the Canaanites as related, as they no longer resembled themselves. Thus although each theory has its supporters and detractors, the groups are by no means mutually exclusive.

See also

• Israelite
• Samuel
• Pashtuns
• Documentary hypothesis

External links

• ancient-hebrew.org