Was Joseph Jewish

Answer 1

[Supervisor note: Joseph was a Jew. The accepted meaning of the word "Jew" is any adherent of the religion of Judaism, regardless of tribe. No reliable answer would claim that Kohanim and Levites (for example) aren't Jewish because they aren't specifically from Judah. Any answers which would go technical by using a definition of Judaism based upon a particular Israelite tribe, would be misleading. Etymologically, "Jewish" stems from "Judah" only because the people of that tribe became the majority of the Jews; but Jewry has always contained members from every one of the Israelite tribes.]

Short Answer: No.

Long explanation follows.

The answer to this question depends upon frame of reference and requires some historical understanding and the answer will make more sense if we discuss some other terms that are often considered equivalent to "Jew", namely: Semite, Hebrew, and Israelite. Many people think that these terms are all the same thing but they are not.

First let's discuss this from the perspective of The Bible.

A Semite is a person who is descended from SHEM the son of Noah. This includes all kinds of people who are not "Jews"

Similarly, a Hebrew is a descendant of Eber or Heber in the Bible. It may shock you to think about it, but by this ancestral connection, Moslems are Semites and Hebrews since they claim descent from Abraham -- who was both Hebrew and Semite.

An Israelite is a descendant of Jacob -- who had his name changed to Israel. All of the 12 Tribes of Israel are Israelites. Jacob had a brother. The brother was a Hebrew and a Semite but NOT an Israelite!. (He was the first Edomite as I recall).

Now, getting to the original question, of the 12 Tribes, only one tribe is Judah and that is the tribe from whence the term Jew came from. Joseph was NOT of the Tribe of Judah and thus was not a Jew.

There are other Biblical definitions of Jew that is closely related and should be noted.

At about 700 BCE the Tribes of Israel Split into two groups. One group became the Kingdom of Israel. The people in this Kingdom were "Israelites", although after many years they became known as Samaritans for their location in Samaria. The other group was the Kingdom of Judah, and the people in that Kingdom became "Jews", even though some of them were not of the tribe of Judah.

Then in the days of Christ, even Judah was a bit fractured. The people in Galilee for example were called "Galileans" but the people around Jerusalem were called "Judeans" or Jews. Thus, the Galileans who also followed the law of Moses would call the Judeans "The Jews"!

Now after many dispersals of the populations of Israel, eventually on a very small number remained. These were nearly all members of the old "Kingdom of Judah" and were called Jews and because these are the only people practicing the Law of Moses it has been assumed that being Jewish and Practicing the Law of Moses are exactly the same thing. Indeed, since about 70 AD that has been pretty much true. But it was not always true.

Through the ages, it became common (but incorrect) knowledge that all Semites, Hebrews and Israelites were Jews. It actually works like this: All Jews are Israelites. Many Israelites are not Jews. All Israelites are Hebrews. But some Hebrews are not Israelites. And All Hebrews are Semites, but there are Semites who are not Hebrews!

Much as All F-250's are Fords but not all Fords are F-250's. And how all Fords are Cars but not all Cars are Fords. And how all cars are a means of transportation but not all means of transportation are cars.

Answer 2

No, Joseph Smith's family and ancestors were Christians, like the majority of families of the early 1800s, had little affiliation with organized religion; however, they were privately religious, accepting of things like visions and prophecies, and they practiced various kinds of folk religion. Smith's paternal grandfather Asael Smith was a Christian universalist. Smith's maternal grandfather Solomon Mack published a book in 1811 describing a series of heavenly visions and voices which he says led to his conversion to the "Christian faith" at the age of seventy-six.

Answer 3

Yes; and he is one of the best examples, ever, of a Jewish person.

1) Dictionaries define Judaism as the religion of Moses. Joseph, who steadfastly stuck to the Israelite traditions even when incarcerated in Egypt for years, was one of the staunchest upholders of the religion which we today call Judaism.

2) We call someone Jewish not just because of genealogical descent, but also because of their beliefs and practices. "Anyone who opposes idolatry is called Jewish" (Talmud, Megillah 13a). It is in that sense of belonging to the Jewish religion that members of Israelite tribes other than Judah are called Jewish.

Therefore, any attempt to go technical based upon Joseph's tribe, is disingenuous and misleading. No one today would claim, for example, that today's Kohens and Levites are not Jewish.

See also the Related Link.

More about Joseph

Answer 4

He was an Episcopalian.