Were the Hebrew Israelites black people?

Answer 1

Answer 1 - Jewish and Secular Perspective

Today the term "Israelite" is not used to refer to the Jewish Nation, this is a term normally used to refer to the ancestors of modern day Jews. The original group of Israelites were from the Middle East and the majority would have been olive in skin tone. However, the Torah, specifies that the other groups which accompanied the Israelites out of Egypt were absorbed into the main Israelite group and did have diverse appearances with some being black.

Today, there are Jews of every colour.

Answer 2 - Black Hebrew Israelite Perspective

Since they were, are, and have always been what's called black, yes, of course there are. All one needs to search is His truth and prophecy.

Actually, all the Israelites of the bloodline of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were black like them. It's not factually incorrect, and the Israelites haven't been called by this name [by majority] because they were spit out of the land and to be destroyed, in many numbers, by Him; they were to be spit upon, hated, defeated and sought as not His people and not having claim to anything for as long as He says.

I'm not the first to see this, though; it's been known by slaves in America, though much of their history was beaten out of them and forgotten by them, but it persisted as He wanted since He said He would definitely bring them back, but that's not excluding all else with prophecy that's to happen as well.

Answer 2

Answer:

They speak the truth about the the word of Yahweh (God) and who his chosen people were. Yahweh is a man of war and only seeks to save his chosen people. The Israelites don't speak from their own opinions but speak from the words of the Most High!

King James Version:

Exodus 15:3 The Lord is a man of war:the Lord is his name.

Matthew 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace but a sword.

Shalom.

All I have to say is if your white then your evil. So yes there just as bad as the KKK

Answer 3

While there are several African-American churches which support this contention, namely the Black Israelite churches, the historical and general religious consensus has come to the fact that the Jews (both in the Arab world and in Europe) along with several non-Jewish Levantine populations are the descendants of the ancient Hebrews. This has been clearly supported by DNA studies. The Jews (Israelites; Hebrew people) are Mediterranean in origin and range fair-skinned to Middle Eastern in appearance.

Answer 4

This is a controversial topic, and no one really knows. But it's likely that the Ancient Hebrews were a range of skin colors, just as the Jews of today are a range.

This is a controversial topic, and no one really knows. But it's likely that the Ancient Hebrews were a range of skin colors, just as the Jews of today are a range.

Answer 5

There are black Jews today, for example the Ethiopian Jews who converted to Judaism many centuries ago. The black entertainer, Sammy Davis Junior was a Jew, having converted to Judaism as an adult. Many Jews, including some black Jews, now live in Israel and are called Israelis.

Strictly speaking, being a Jew is a religious identity, while the Israelites were an ancient ethnic group. The Israelites were West Semitic people and were therefore brown-skinned and of 'Middle Eastern appearance'.

Answer 6

Today? Black Jews are either converts or children of converts.

In the past:

Just as today, Israelites came in differing skin-tones, heights, and body-types. Our tradition is that the twelve sons of Jacob (the 12 Tribes) were not completely similar to each other in appearance, though none of them was really dark-skinned (Rashi commentary on Genesis 12:11).
Abraham and Sarah came from southern Iraq and their wider family from northern Iraq. Since DNA tests have shown that Jews intermarried infrequently throughout history, Abraham and his Israelite descendants, including Moses, probably looked like Jews today.
DNA testing of Jewish communities worldwide has shown that they are all interrelated and of Middle Eastern genetics, not African or Egyptian.
In 2000, the analysis of a report by Nicholas Wade "provided genetic witness that Jewish communities have, to a remarkable extent, retained their biological identity separate from their host populations, evidence of relatively little intermarriage or conversion into Judaism over the centuries. The results accord with Jewish history and tradition." (See: What race were the Israelites?)

The only exception to this is the Ethiopian Jews, who show only a trace of DNA connection to other Jewish communities. Western ethnologists today hold the view that the Jews of Gondar (Ethiopia) either emerged from a Judaizing strain among Ethiopian Christians, or were converted by Yemeni Jews who crossed the Red Sea. A study by Professors Lucotte and Smets has shown that the genetic father of Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) was close to the Ethiopian non-Jewish populations. This is consistent with the theory that Beta Israel are descendants of ancient inhabitants of Ethiopia, not the Middle East. Hammer et al. in 2000, and the team of Shen in 2004, arrive at similar conclusions, namely that the DNA of the Ethiopian Jews probably indicates a conversion of local populations.It has been estimated that this happened some 2,000 years ago.

See also:

Are the African-Americans from the lost Israelite tribes?

Answer 7

NO. The Ancient Israelites are a Semitic People

Ancient Israelites and Blacks
As Semites, the Ancient Israelites looked more or less the same as current peoples of the Middle East (Arabs, Assyrians, and Middle Eastern Jews).

Now, there are Black Jews, such as the Ethiopian Beta Israel Community and Blacks who have converted to Judaism recently and their offspring, but this happened long after the Israelites became Jews, so these people would not be "Black Israelites", but Black Jews, in much the same way that people refer to Ashkenazi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Sephardi Jews, Kaifeng Jews, etc. instead of Ashkenazi Israelites, Mizrahi Israelites, Sephardi Israelites, Kaifeng Israelites, etc.

Black Hebrew Israelite Churches
The term "Black Hebrew Israelites" refers to a number of African-American Churches that claim without any scientific, historical, and other reputable evidence that the Africans who were enslaved in the West are the descendants of the Tribes of Israel. If anything, the Lost Tribes of Israel would be assimilated into the Middle East. The Black Hebrew Israelites' claim to be the true Israelites generally rests on the applicability of the curses listed in Deuteronomy chapter 28 to African-American history. In those passages, the "evidence" that the Africans are the Lost Tribes of Israel is the fact that they were moved by ships and sold in distant lands as slaves. They believe this in spite of the facts that many of the peoples they consider to be Israelite Tribes are either wholly or partially mixed with non-Blacks (such as Whites or Native-Americans). This should cause major theological problems for the Non-Black Tribes since neither Whites nor Native-Americans were moved by ships and sold in distant lands, but since Black Hebrew Israelite Churches do not suffer from robust criticism of their doctrines from both constituents and non-members, they have never had to actually question their theology.

Answer 8

This is a controversial topic, and no one really knows. But it's likely that the Ancient Hebrews were a range of skin colors, just as the Jews of today are a range.