What was God's choice to be father of the Hebrews?

Answer 1

The answer you're looking for is Abraham, who was a Hebrew; and the word "Hebrews" is often used to refer to the early Israelites. God chose Abraham (see Genesis 12:2 and ch.15), because Abraham had already chosen, for decades, to serve God and teach about Him.However, "Hebrews" actually means descendants of Eber (Ever). Ever was an ancestor of Abraham (Genesis ch.10-11) and the earliest Hebrews were Abraham's uncles and cousins for several generations back. They were among the Western Semites and lived in northern Mesopotamia, near the confluence of the Balikh and the Euphrates.

Abraham (18th century BCE) was called a Hebrew (Genesis ch.14) because of his wider family.

Poetically, however, Abraham himself is called Hebrew because that name (Ivri) also translates to "the other side." Abraham was figuratively on "the other side" since he was the only monotheist (Midrash Rabbah 42:8) until his teachings took root. His ancestors and cousins had slipped into idolatry well before his time, as is evident from Genesis 31:30, 31:53, and Joshua 24:2. For that reason, Jews do not bestow on them the honorific title of ancestors despite the genealogical connection.
We credit Abraham as our first ancestor despite knowing exactly who came before, since it was Abraham who founded our beliefs. Thus, "Hebrews" is often used to mean Abraham and his Israelite descendants, instead of his wider family.

See: Abraham's biography

and history timeline

Answer 2

A Hebrew manuscript from Qumran (4QDeut = 4Q37) appears to suggest the original wording of Deuteronomy 32:8-9, from the early period of polytheistic Judaism, when the people of Judah (and no doubt also the northern kingdom, Israel) believed that God (YHWH) was allocated the Hebrew people as his portion:

When Elyon gave the inheritance of the nations, when he divided the sons of Adam (or man),
He established the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of El.
For YHWH's lot is his people and Jacob his inherited portion.

Some translation may be in order: Elyon is the 'Most High God', although later writings from the monotheistic period begin to use this name for the God of Judaism; El was the Father of the Gods in north-western Semitic belief; YHWH was the name of the Jewish God, but is no longer used much, usually being replaced by 'LORD'. 'Sons of El' became the more innocuous 'Sons of Israel' in the Masoretic (MT) text, but became 'angels of God' in the early Greek Septuagint (LXX) version.

The KJV follows the MT by referring to 'sons of Israel':

When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

The NAB translation compromises between the MT and the LXX:

When the Most High assigned the nations their heritage, when he parceled out the descendants of Adam, He set up the boundaries of the peoples after the number of the sons of God; While the LORD'S own portion was Jacob, His hereditary share was Israel.