Who are the Hebrews that are mentioned in the Bible?

Answer 1

Answer # 1

This is a very interesting question.

Often the Hebrews are confused with the name Jews, however the name Jew refers to the tribe of Judah only, not all 12 tribes of Israel. You will find the word Hebrew first used in Genesis 14:13, to describe Abraham.

Hebrew is Strong's word 5680 pronounced "ibriy" it means and Eberite (that is Hebrew) or descendant of Eber, its from Strong's word 5667 which is pronounced "Eber", and is the name of two patriarchs and for Israelites its the same as Strong's word 5676 pronounced "eber" and it means a region across; but used only adverbially (with or without a preposition), on the opposite side (especially of the Jordan; usually meaning East). The root word is Strong's 5674 pronounced "abar" which means to cross over, or Transition, specifically to cover (in copulation), Bring over or beyond, Carry over, come over, come on, make partition ... etc.

You will find Eber (Son of Salah) first mentioned in Genesis 11:15 he will be 7 generations prior to Abram (Later Abraham) or in the English; the great, great, great, great, great grandfather of Abraham. Eber was the great grandson to Shem (Noah's son), Noah was perfect in his generations to Adam (or ethhaadam).

Therefore the Hebrews are the direct descendants of Adam (The man created on the 8th day to till the soil). Remember Abraham will have several sons but only one that his family tree will be call within, that is Isaac "in Isaac shall the seed be called". Your Hebrews are the direct descendants of Eber, great grandson of Shem, son of Noah, direct descendant of Adam (eth-ha-adam). The tribes of Israel will therefore all be Hebrews and not Jews as some incorrectly suppose.

Hebrews are still alive today and are the direct descendants of Eber/Shem/Noah/Adam. The word Adam in the hebrew is Strong's word 119 and 120. You may want to look that up as it identifies how the Hebrew appear.

Another Answer:

In the Bible, the first person called a Hebrew was Abram:

Genesis 14:13New King James Version (NKJV)

13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre

In the New Testament, Jesus' genealogy goes back to Abraham which is proof of His Hebrew ancestry. Further, He sends His Apostles to these 'lost' sheep and not the gentiles:

Matthew 10:5-7New King James Version (NKJV) Sending Out the Twelve5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying:"Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

Minimalist discount all biblical history prior to the Persian period, yet Christ lived in the 1st Century AD and notes the tribes 'lost sheep' of the House of Israel.

Answer 2

Over the last two hundred years, and especially since the 1970s, scholars have spent a good deal of effort in attempting to answer this question. For a long time, they were satisfied with the biblical account, even if they needed to adjust some of the history. Then cracks started to appear, particularly after modern, objective Archaeology began to supplant biblical archaeology, whose objective was no more than to prove the biblical account.

Scientists have long known that Adam and Eve were not really the ancestors of all humans alive today. Scholars now also dismiss Abraham as purely mythical, and say that there was no unified military conquest of Canaan as described in The Bible. This leaves the question of who the Hebrew people really were. The overwhelming majority of scholars have concluded that the Hebrews, or Israelites, were Canaanite peasants and townspeople who left the region of the rich coastal cities, to settle in the hitherto sparsely populated hinterland. The legends of a glorious past in which they conquered the land came much later.