What best describes the Hebrews?

Answer 1

The Hebrews were once a tribe of Canaan, who spoke the Hebrew language. Today they are called Jews.

Answer:
The name "Hebrews" comes from Ever, and refers to all of Ever's descendants, one of whom was Abraham (Genesis ch.11). Abraham is therefore called "the Hebrew" (Genesis ch.14).
However, once we received the name of Israel (Genesis ch.35), we preferred to use that name instead of "Hebrews," because "Hebrews" is generic, while Israel is a title of honor.
The Hebrews and the native Canaanites were unrelated (see Genesis ch.10).

Answer 2

Answer 1

The term Hebrew was one of the ancient names for Jews. Today, Hebrew refers specifically to the language.

Answer 2

Actually, the Jews were not called Jews until after they returned from their 70 years of captivity in Babylon. Prior to that, all 12 tribes were called Yisra'el. Then they split and 10 tribes went to the north and Yehuda and Benyamin stayed in the south. Due to their rebellion, the 10 northern tribes were and are scattered through out the world and completely lost their identity as Yisra'el, (but are currently realizing who they are. they are being regathered by Yah (God) and will soon all return to The Land). Yehuda also rebelled against the Almighty and was taken into captivity more that once but it was not until they returned to Yerushalyim from Babylon were they called Jews, (which was originally a derogatory term which came about in Bablyon).

Answer 3

"Hebrews" (Ivrim) 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 himself was called a Hebrew (Genesis ch.14) because of his wider family. Poetically, however, Abraham is called Ivri because the name also translates to "other side." Abraham was figuratively on "the other side" since he was the only monotheist (Midrash Bereshit 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.
However, "Hebrews" is often used to mean Abraham and his Israelite descendants, instead of his wider family. In this sense it can refer to the Jewish people.
The word Hebrews can continue to refer to Abraham's descendants until the lifetime of Jacob. After that, we prefer "Israelite," since Jacob was given that name by God (Genesis ch.35), and it is considered a national title; one of honor. "Israelite" refers to the people (Jacob's descendants) down to about the time of the destruction of the First Temple some 2500 years ago. "Jews" refers to the people from Second Temple times, up to this day, because after the Assyrian conquest the remaining Israelites were (and are) mostly from the Israelite tribe of Judah. But all the above terms are occasionally interchanged.

In modern usage, we prefer to use the term Hebrew only to refer to the language.

Answer 3

No one knows for sure, since there are no photos of Ancient Hebrews. But we can surmise that the Ancient Hebrews were a range of skin tones, just as the Jews of today are a range of skin tones.

Answer 4

The ancient Hebrews were the first ancient group of people to believe

in monotheism. Monotheism is the belief in one god. Other ancient groups like

Egypt, ect. believed in polytheism. Polytheism is the belief in more than one god or goddess. The father of the Hebrews was Abraham. He had a covenant with God. God promised that he would give him the Promised Land, many descendents ( more than the stars in the sky), blessings to the descendents, love, and protection. Abraham promised God that he would love God and obey God. Abraham then took his family from Ur to Canaan.

Answer:

"Hebrews" (Ivrim) actually means descendants of Eber (Ever).

Answer 5

According to the Bible, the Hebrew people were the descendants of Abraham, who was born in the ancient city of Ur in Mesopotamia, and of his grandson, Jacob.

According to modern scholars,the Hebrew people were west Semetic people, closely related to the Canaanites. The bulk of the people probably migrated from coastal Canaanite cities to the sparsely inhabited Palestinian hinterland around 1250 BCE, and may have been joined by other Semitic people who had been wandering tribesmen known as Habiru. The Hebrew language was quite closely related to the Canaanite language and archaeologists say that the earliest buildings in Israel resemble those found in the Canaanite cities.

• Answer 2

The Jewish people are descendants of Abraham. Abraham is called a Hebrew (Genesis ch.14) because "Hebrews" (Ivrim) means descendants of Eber (Ever). Ever was a Western Semite, not Canaanite, and he was an ancestor of Abraham (Genesis ch.10-11). The early Hebrews were Abraham's uncles and cousins for several generations back. They lived in the Fertile Crescent, in northern Mesopotamia, west of the Euphrates river. Abraham was born in the city of Ur (in Mesopotamia; now Iraq).
In 1934-39, excavations were conducted at ancient Mari on the Euphrates River. They found that ancient towns were named after the ancestors (Genesis ch.11) of Abraham:
The "city of Nahor" was found near the city of Haran which exists to this day. Equally clear signs of early Hebrew residence appear in the names of other towns nearby: Serug (Assyrian Sarugi), Terah (Til Turakhi, "Mound of Terah"), and Peleg (Paliga, on the Euphrates near the mouth of the Habur). All these names are found in Genesis ch.11.
This tradition has been substantiated by DNA analysis of Jewish communities all over the world, showing them to be inter-related and of Middle Eastern origin. The Cohanim, a family of the tribe of Levi, also share common genetics.
We possess the names and dates of our ancestors and leaders in an unbroken chain for 3800 years.
In 2000, Nicholas Wade concluded that his DNA study "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."
Abraham was a historical person, as recorded in the Book of Genesis; and his gravesite is known to this day, in the Machpelah at Hebron, Israel. He is revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, comprising over three billion people. The Jewish people have attested to his existence for 3800 years, and his name is mentioned by several ancient non-Jewish historians as far back as 2,300 years ago.

• Is the Jewish tradition reliable?

"Although critics contended that the Hebrew Bible is untrustworthy, time and time again, the archaeological record supports places, times, and events mentioned in Scripture." (Professor John Arthur Thompson, The Bible and Archaeology). The personal names Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are names of the time and area mentioned in the Bible (ibid).

"One city after another, one civilization after another, one culture after another, who were known only from the Bible, have been restored to their place in ancient history through archaeology" (Prof. Gleason Archer, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction).

No parchment, scroll, or inscription has ever been found that would support the Bible-critics' JEPD (different sources) hypothesis, which remains a set of mere postulates. And those ancient writers who mention, describe, summarize or translate the Torah (Josephus, Samaritans, Targum, Septuagint etc.), describe it in its complete form.

Archaeological finds, such as the Ugarit documents and those of Nuzu, Mari, Susa, Ebla, and Tel el-Amarna, have repeatedly caused the critics to retract their claims. The entire social milieu portrayed in the Torah, once criticized as anachronistic, has been shown to be accurate, including customs of marriage, adoption, contracts, inheritance, purchases, utensils, modes of travel, people's names and titles, etc. Professor Gleason Archer states: "In case after case where inaccuracy was alleged as proof of late and spurious authorship of the biblical documents, the Hebrew record has been vindicated by the results of excavations, and the condemnatory judgment of the Documentary theorists have been proved to be without foundation."

Answer 6

Surprisingly, the original Hebrew people were actually Canaanites. At one stage, scholars thought they might have been the 'Abiru, Canaanite brigands and mercenaries mentioned in the Amarna letters from the Canaanite princes to their Egyptian overlords in the fourteenth century BCE, but this hypothesis has now been discarded.

The modern consensus among scholars is that they were farm people who peacefully left areas under direct control of the coastal cities and migrated inland to the mountainous hinterland just before 1200 BCE. This seems to have been a time of economic decline throughout the eastern Mediterranean, and it is believed that subsistence farming in the hinterland offerred better prospects than producing farm produce in the richer farmlands of the coast and valleys at a time when the townspeople could no longer afford to purchase that produce.

The legends of Abraham travelling from Ur in Mesopotamia and of the Exodus arose much later, when the Hebrew people began to develop epic stories about their glorious past.

Answer 7

Semitic. The Torah speaks of three branches of post-Flood mankind: Yefet (Jafeth), Ham, and Shem (the three sons of Noah; Genesis ch.10).
The children of Yefet are (broadly speaking) the Europeans.
The children of Ham include the ancient Egyptians, Canaanites, Nubians, Bantu (and sub-Saharan Africans in general), Canaanites and many others.
The children of Shem include the ancient Assyrians, Elamites, Arameans, Lyddians and Semites in general. One group of Semites gave rise to the Arabs, Hebrews, Moabites, Ammonites, Edumeans and others.
Though technically "Hebrews" includes all descendants of Eber (a Semite descendant; see Genesis ch.10-11), today the term is usually used to mean those who would later be called Israelites.
Note that all Israelites are the children of Jacob, grandson of Abraham.

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 probably looked like Jews today.
DNA testing of Jewish communities worldwide has shown that they are all interrelated and of Middle Eastern genetics, comparable to the Sephardim today (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."

Answer 8

Biblical tradition says that the Hebrew people were descended from the semitic people of Mesopotamia, through the patriarch Abraham. This would suggest that they were of north-eastern semitic stock, although biblical reference to "Ur of the Chaldees" even suggests southern semitic stock, since the Chaldeans were an Arabic tribe that migrated into what is now Iraq, around the eighth century BCE.

Scholars working with archaeologists have drawn the strong consensus that the Hebrews were actually rural Canaanites who migrated away from the rich Canaanite cities on the Mediterranean coast, into the hitherto sparsely populated hinterland, only later developing legends of a mass Exodus from Egypt and conquest of the Canaanite cities. On this basis, the Israelites were West Semitic people like the Canaanites and Aramaeans.

Answer 9

"Hebrews" (Ivrim) 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. In this sense it can refer to the Jewish people.

(See: Abraham's biography)

The word "Hebrews" can continue to refer to Abraham's descendants until the lifetime of Jacob. After that, we prefer "Israelites," since Jacob was given that name by God (Genesis ch.35), and it is considered a national title; one of honor. "Israelites" refers to the people (Jacob's descendants) down to the Assyrian conquest (133 years before the destruction of the First Temple), some 2600 years ago.

See: Jewish history timeline

Jewish ancestry

"Jews" refers to the people from the end of First Temple times, up to this day, because after the Assyrian conquest the Israelites who remained in the land were (and are) mostly from the Israelite tribe of Judah, and the land was then called Judea. But all the above terms are occasionally interchanged.

In modern usage, we prefer to use the term "Hebrew" only to refer to the language.

Answer 10

They are actually called Jews today, and they are an ethnic group and religion that originated in Western Asia.

Today, Jews live in almost every country of the world, but predominantly in Israel and North America.