Nadene Goldfoot
Arabs and Jews both are branches from Abraham who lived in the 2nd millennium BCE. At that time, Abraham's first son, Ishmael by Hagar, was sent away with Hagar. He fathered most of the Arab clans, being called the father of the Arab people. According to the Bible, Hagar had been visited by an angel who told her when she was pregnant that the son she would be carrying would be a "wild-ass of a man; his hand would be against everyone, and everyone's hand would be against him. However, he would rule over all his brothers where he would live." (Genesis 16:12). Today it is hard to tell who is a real descendant of Ishmael except by DNA because people have been transported out and others brought in many times. A majority of male Jews do carry the Cohen gene of J1 haplogroup which has been also found in some Arabs as well, showing that this ancient history is proving to be true. It is because Abraham would have been carrying the J1 gene and both Ishmael and Isaac would have carried it, also.Genesis 25:18 says, of Ishmael, "They dwell from Havilah to Shur-which is near Egypt-toward Assyria; over all his brothers he dwelt." Some Arabs trace their family line back to Esau, a member of a branch off of Isaac.
Isaac was Abraham's son by Sarah who became the father of Jacob, later to be renamed as Israel. This is where the story of the Jews come from. Jacob had a twin, Esau, who was the first born of the two, who became Jacob's enemy and father of more Arabs as when they left the family, did not follow their grandfather's teaching. The story of these 2 brothers identify the relationship between the 2 nations of Arabs and Jews which even now have developed into hostility. Jacob was Sarah's favorite son while Esau was Isaac's favorite. Esau was first a hunter, enjoying the bow and arrow and killing, and his name has been synonymous with villainy and violence along with course materialism in much literature. There must have been disputes going on then to make it written into literature. He was described as being hairy while Jacob was smooth skinned. Esau had angered his father Jacob by marrying Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. The Hittites were one of the 7 peoples the Israelites had to fight when they conquered Canaan. This was a source of spiritual rebellion to Isaac and Rebecca. Later, King David had Hittite warriors and King Solomon, his son, had Hittite wives. So all people of Canaan were not destroyed when the Israelites took The Land of Canaan.
Jacob had 12 sons of which Joseph, the 11th son by Rachel, was his favorite. Jacob showed his feelings about Joseph which naturally made his brothers very jealous, and so they decided to get rid of him by selling him to some traveling Ishmaelites. Could it be that jealousy, even among brothers, is the cause of all the world's ills in their relationships towards each other? After all, we remember that Cain, the tiller of the field killed his brother, Abel, the shepherd. (Genesis 4: 1-9)
This led to the fantastic luck of Joseph being taken to Egypt and impressing the Pharaoh so much that he became his vizier or 2nd in command with great power. Had this not happened, he wouldn't have been in the position to help his father's band of relatives at a time when there had been no rain and grazing land had disappeared. Being they were shepherds, their flocks were starving and so were they, so they turned to the great land of Egypt for food and life.
Joseph realized that this was his family, and was able to grant them land in Goshen where they had come to, and then Jacob was overjoyed at finding his favorite but lost son. As Jacob was dying, he begged Joseph to make sure he would be buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Canaan where his ancestors were buried.
Jacob then told of the prophecy that he knew about his descendants. He would have many descendants who would become a congregation of nations and the land would be theirs as an eternal possession. This would be the Middle East. Jacob was concerned about Joseph's two sons who were born in Egypt, so he had Joseph bring them to him to confer on them a special blessing. He made sure that Ephraim and Manasseh would have inheriting rights just like his other sons, such as Reuben and Simeon, and not like grandsons. However, any more sons that Joseph would have would have grandson inheritance. (Genesis 48:1-50)
A time for a special blessing occurred with this prophet where Joseph got down on the floor with his head to the ground while his father took Ephraim with his right hand and Manasseh with his left while Joseph held the other hand of each boy. Then Jacob/Israel put his right hand on Ephraim's head and his left hand on Manasseh's head and blessed Joseph and prayed that the name of Jacob would be on them along with the names of Abraham and Isaac and that they would produce many children like fish and live on the land. This is explained that they would live calmly, unseen by man. The strange thing is that in this blessing, it was Ephraim who was the second born and by this blessing was the inheritor of the best blessing, and Jacob had it backward and so Joseph explained this to Jacob. The surprise is that Jacob knew what he was doing. He told Joseph that Ephraim would become greater than he and his off-spring and would fill the nations. However, Manasseh, first born, would also father a people, and they would become great, too. In the period of the Judges, Ephraim claimed priority among the Israelite tribes since their religious center was situated at Shiloh in its territory. After Solomon's death, the secession of the northern tribes centered on the tribe of Ephraim to which Jeroboam, first king of Israel (933-912 BCE) belonged. Later, prophets spoke of the House of Judah and House of Ephraim as being the 2 branches of the Hebrew people.
The prophecy went on and he said that G-d would bring Joseph back to the land of his fathers, Canaan. He then gave Joseph the city of Shechem (Nablus) , a portion more than his brothers, again showing favoritism which this time was earned. Shechem was land that Jacob had taken in fighting using swords and bows and arrows from the Amorites. During the time from 1948 to 1967, it lay in Jordanian territory who had illegally seized it from the newly created state of Israel just as it was conferred back to this tiny state by the League of Nations. It's earliest walls dated back to 2,000 BCE when it was under Egyptian control as early as the 12th dynasty. The Biblical patriarchs had camped under its walls and was taken by Simeon and Levi. Later, it was in the territory of Ephraim and became a levitical city and a city of refuge as well as the center of the House of Joseph. Joseph was even buried there. A small Jewish community had existed here, but by 1967 it was a Moslem town with about 44,000 people. It did have a tiny Samaritan community but became a center of fanatical Arab nationalism.
Now as Jacob lay dying, he called all his sons to him to tell them what would happen to their descendants in the End of Days. Using his new name of Israel, possibly a name denoting his special abilities of prophecy, he started with Reuben, his firstborn. Reuben had inherited Jacob's strength and vigor and being first, held the high rank and power of the 12 sons. But he had showed a "water-like impetuosity, and because of his impetuousness, cannot continue to lead. He had mounted Jacob's bed and had desecrated G-d in this manner. Reuben had messed up in an incident after Rachel had died with Bilhah, his father's concubine. This is when Reuben slept with her when Jacob was away.
Simeon, 2nd son of Jacob and Leah, and Levi, 3rd son of Jacob and Leah, were a pair in arms. Their weapons came from another land's making and they conspired with each other and for this Jacob said they did not have his soul. The other sons were told not to join up with them became they had rage and they had murdered people and at a whim they had hamstrung an ox. We were told right then that harming animals was a terrible sin as well. Their rage is cursed because it was an intense rage. They had displayed a harsh wrath and Jacob separated them and they would be dispersed in Israel. Simeon and Levi had attacked the people of Shechem and killed all the men and took the women and children captive in the act of defending their sister, Dinah's honor after she had been raped by one of them. Simeon received land within the lot of Judah in 2 different locals of the Negev. During the reign of Hezekiah, they took land of the Arab areas of Seir with some settling in the mountains of Ephraim. Levi had one daughter, Jochebed who was the mother of Amram and Moses. He had 3 sons; Gershom , Kohath and Merari. Jochebed had been married to her nephew, Amran, son of her brother, Kohath.
Judah, 4th son of Jacob and Leah, was to become the leader of his 11 other brothers. As it was, he was to have the largest tribe of the twelve. They would be able to fight their enemies as "this hand would be at the nape of the enemies. Their icon was to be a lion cub as from being prey for others, they would rise. Even when he is quiet, others will respect him, not wanting to anger him like rousing a sleeping lion. The tribe of Judah would keep the leader's scepter and he would produce scholars until Shiloh arrives. Shiloh was where the Ark and Tabernacle were kept. He shall be the leader of nations. Judah was not destined to be like the rest of his brothers. This is the father of Jews.
Zebulun, 6th son of Jacob and Leah, was to live by the seashore and harbors and his farthest border of land was to reach Zidon. They received the land in central Canaan, the Valley of Jezreel. It is associated with trade. The scholarly descendants of Issachar were supported by this tribe. Issachar, 5th son of Jacob and Leah, was to be very strong in body. He would live between boundaries and wanted a peaceful life. He was destined to be an indentured laborer. They became the 3rd largest tribe with 64,309 at the end of the Exodus and inherited land between Mt. Tabor and the Jordan including the Valley of Jezreel. Some of the tribe were saved from the Assyrian exile and the men answered Hezekiah's call to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem.
Dan, 5th son of Jacob and Bilhah, the handmaid of Rachel, was one to be the avenger of his people. The tribes of Israel would be a united group working as one power. Dan would be the snake that bites those that would come to harm his people. Dan had been given the land south of Jaffa, but was pushed back into the hill country by the Amorites. A part of the tribe stayed in the coastal areas. Most had to migrate north where they took a settlement from the Phoenicians near Laish, which became the biblical city of Dan.. Samson, son of Manoah, was a Danite. He was the strongman who fought for the Israelites' desire for freedom from the Philistine suzerainty. Their northern land held the Temple where Manasseh's or Aaron's descendants acted as priests. Ben Hadad of Syria captured their land in 900 BCE.
Gad, son of Zilpah, was one to recruit a regiment that would retreat. The territory of the Gadites was Gilead on the east of the Jordan. They had crossed the river to help their brothers in conquering the land. They had a warlike reputation. They stayed with Samaria when the split of Israel happened when Solomon died. They wound up suffering from Syrian attacks. In 732BCE the region was taken over by Tiglath-Pileser III and most of the people were exiled. Later the land was inhabited by the Ammonites. Jacob had prophesied that after the conquest, Gad would return safely on its heel, that is by the same roads and paths upon which it had first traveled and not one of the troops would be lost.
Asher, 8th son of Jacob and concubine Zilphah, would make excellent bread and would be the caterer for kings with his delicacies. His land became the fertile territory west of the Galilee to the south of Carmel. Naphtali would deliver beautiful sayings, acting like a hind let loose. A hind was a young deer. He would be the farmer, growing wheat for bread and other plants, for he was to have the most fertile land. Joseph was blessed again amongst his brothers. His descendants would be good looking and charming, especially to girls. Men would hate him for it. He would receive an abundance of blessings. Benjamin, 12th son of Jacob and Rachel, would act like a predatory wolf. He would be able to attack in the morning and distribute his spoils in the evening. Benjamin's descendants would live between Ephraim and Judah's land which included Jerusalem. Saul, son of Kish, Israel's first king, was a Benjamite. Their land was fought over by the kingdoms of Israel and Judah after King Solomon died and was finally divided between the two.
The the course of historic events, 10 of the Tribes were carried off and dispersed among the nations of the period in the Middle East and even the Far East in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and again in 597 and 586 BCE by the Babylonians. Only Judah and some of the Benjamites remained in Judah. With the return of these exiles, some of the lost tribes are now gathered back in Israel who have maintained their religion they had learned at the time of King Solomon (961-920 BCE). This is not surprising as Jews who escaped the Spanish Inquisition of 1492 have maintained Judaism from that period and are now embracing Judaism once again in the open as Jews.
Both the children of Ishmael and the children of Isaac have assets and liabilities of their own human natures. Though they are related, they have been fighting each other not only since Esau but today as well, especially since WWI and the creation of Israel once again, which was also prophesied. Since the Arab world of 22 nations and 422 million people is much larger than the one Jewish nation and 14 million Jews remaining from the days of Abraham, it must be up to the Muslims of the world to call off the disagreements and indignation they have harbored for so long, and become magnanimous for the betterment of the world.
As I write, debates are going on all over the world about what to do about Syria who has killed over 100,000 of its own people in a Civil War and now is being accused of using chemical warfare on groups of its people many times, with the present attack killing hundreds more to finally raising the alarm of all people. The USA is debating to attack Syria or not in order to put a stop to it. Assad has certainly shown his side of being a "wild ass of a man." The world is at a quandary as to who is the righteous in this case; the Syrian government or the people, because both have lowered their values to the other's level. The rebels include Al Qaeda and the Taliban, both terrorist groups among the good people of Syria. Yes, it seems that Jacob's prophecy was right on target as far as the End of Times about his descendants. The largest tribe, Judah, are the Jews who established the state of Israel on May 14, 1948. President Assad of Syria, descended from Ishmael, is acting like a wild ass, kicking out every which way in his anger.
Resource:Tanakh, Stone Edition
Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
http://questions.org/attq/does-the-bible-teach-that-the-arabs-are-sworn-enemies-of-the-jews/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_world
.
Arabs and Jews both are branches from Abraham who lived in the 2nd millennium BCE. At that time, Abraham's first son, Ishmael by Hagar, was sent away with Hagar. He fathered most of the Arab clans, being called the father of the Arab people. According to the Bible, Hagar had been visited by an angel who told her when she was pregnant that the son she would be carrying would be a "wild-ass of a man; his hand would be against everyone, and everyone's hand would be against him. However, he would rule over all his brothers where he would live." (Genesis 16:12). Today it is hard to tell who is a real descendant of Ishmael except by DNA because people have been transported out and others brought in many times. A majority of male Jews do carry the Cohen gene of J1 haplogroup which has been also found in some Arabs as well, showing that this ancient history is proving to be true. It is because Abraham would have been carrying the J1 gene and both Ishmael and Isaac would have carried it, also.Genesis 25:18 says, of Ishmael, "They dwell from Havilah to Shur-which is near Egypt-toward Assyria; over all his brothers he dwelt." Some Arabs trace their family line back to Esau, a member of a branch off of Isaac.
Isaac was Abraham's son by Sarah who became the father of Jacob, later to be renamed as Israel. This is where the story of the Jews come from. Jacob had a twin, Esau, who was the first born of the two, who became Jacob's enemy and father of more Arabs as when they left the family, did not follow their grandfather's teaching. The story of these 2 brothers identify the relationship between the 2 nations of Arabs and Jews which even now have developed into hostility. Jacob was Sarah's favorite son while Esau was Isaac's favorite. Esau was first a hunter, enjoying the bow and arrow and killing, and his name has been synonymous with villainy and violence along with course materialism in much literature. There must have been disputes going on then to make it written into literature. He was described as being hairy while Jacob was smooth skinned. Esau had angered his father Jacob by marrying Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. The Hittites were one of the 7 peoples the Israelites had to fight when they conquered Canaan. This was a source of spiritual rebellion to Isaac and Rebecca. Later, King David had Hittite warriors and King Solomon, his son, had Hittite wives. So all people of Canaan were not destroyed when the Israelites took The Land of Canaan.
Jacob had 12 sons of which Joseph, the 11th son by Rachel, was his favorite. Jacob showed his feelings about Joseph which naturally made his brothers very jealous, and so they decided to get rid of him by selling him to some traveling Ishmaelites. Could it be that jealousy, even among brothers, is the cause of all the world's ills in their relationships towards each other? After all, we remember that Cain, the tiller of the field killed his brother, Abel, the shepherd. (Genesis 4: 1-9)
Joseph realized that this was his family, and was able to grant them land in Goshen where they had come to, and then Jacob was overjoyed at finding his favorite but lost son. As Jacob was dying, he begged Joseph to make sure he would be buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Canaan where his ancestors were buried.
Jacob then told of the prophecy that he knew about his descendants. He would have many descendants who would become a congregation of nations and the land would be theirs as an eternal possession. This would be the Middle East. Jacob was concerned about Joseph's two sons who were born in Egypt, so he had Joseph bring them to him to confer on them a special blessing. He made sure that Ephraim and Manasseh would have inheriting rights just like his other sons, such as Reuben and Simeon, and not like grandsons. However, any more sons that Joseph would have would have grandson inheritance. (Genesis 48:1-50)
The prophecy went on and he said that G-d would bring Joseph back to the land of his fathers, Canaan. He then gave Joseph the city of Shechem (Nablus) , a portion more than his brothers, again showing favoritism which this time was earned. Shechem was land that Jacob had taken in fighting using swords and bows and arrows from the Amorites. During the time from 1948 to 1967, it lay in Jordanian territory who had illegally seized it from the newly created state of Israel just as it was conferred back to this tiny state by the League of Nations. It's earliest walls dated back to 2,000 BCE when it was under Egyptian control as early as the 12th dynasty. The Biblical patriarchs had camped under its walls and was taken by Simeon and Levi. Later, it was in the territory of Ephraim and became a levitical city and a city of refuge as well as the center of the House of Joseph. Joseph was even buried there. A small Jewish community had existed here, but by 1967 it was a Moslem town with about 44,000 people. It did have a tiny Samaritan community but became a center of fanatical Arab nationalism.
Now as Jacob lay dying, he called all his sons to him to tell them what would happen to their descendants in the End of Days. Using his new name of Israel, possibly a name denoting his special abilities of prophecy, he started with Reuben, his firstborn. Reuben had inherited Jacob's strength and vigor and being first, held the high rank and power of the 12 sons. But he had showed a "water-like impetuosity, and because of his impetuousness, cannot continue to lead. He had mounted Jacob's bed and had desecrated G-d in this manner. Reuben had messed up in an incident after Rachel had died with Bilhah, his father's concubine. This is when Reuben slept with her when Jacob was away.
Simeon, 2nd son of Jacob and Leah, and Levi, 3rd son of Jacob and Leah, were a pair in arms. Their weapons came from another land's making and they conspired with each other and for this Jacob said they did not have his soul. The other sons were told not to join up with them became they had rage and they had murdered people and at a whim they had hamstrung an ox. We were told right then that harming animals was a terrible sin as well. Their rage is cursed because it was an intense rage. They had displayed a harsh wrath and Jacob separated them and they would be dispersed in Israel. Simeon and Levi had attacked the people of Shechem and killed all the men and took the women and children captive in the act of defending their sister, Dinah's honor after she had been raped by one of them. Simeon received land within the lot of Judah in 2 different locals of the Negev. During the reign of Hezekiah, they took land of the Arab areas of Seir with some settling in the mountains of Ephraim. Levi had one daughter, Jochebed who was the mother of Amram and Moses. He had 3 sons; Gershom , Kohath and Merari. Jochebed had been married to her nephew, Amran, son of her brother, Kohath.
Zebulun, 6th son of Jacob and Leah, was to live by the seashore and harbors and his farthest border of land was to reach Zidon. They received the land in central Canaan, the Valley of Jezreel. It is associated with trade. The scholarly descendants of Issachar were supported by this tribe. Issachar, 5th son of Jacob and Leah, was to be very strong in body. He would live between boundaries and wanted a peaceful life. He was destined to be an indentured laborer. They became the 3rd largest tribe with 64,309 at the end of the Exodus and inherited land between Mt. Tabor and the Jordan including the Valley of Jezreel. Some of the tribe were saved from the Assyrian exile and the men answered Hezekiah's call to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem.
Dan, 5th son of Jacob and Bilhah, the handmaid of Rachel, was one to be the avenger of his people. The tribes of Israel would be a united group working as one power. Dan would be the snake that bites those that would come to harm his people. Dan had been given the land south of Jaffa, but was pushed back into the hill country by the Amorites. A part of the tribe stayed in the coastal areas. Most had to migrate north where they took a settlement from the Phoenicians near Laish, which became the biblical city of Dan.. Samson, son of Manoah, was a Danite. He was the strongman who fought for the Israelites' desire for freedom from the Philistine suzerainty. Their northern land held the Temple where Manasseh's or Aaron's descendants acted as priests. Ben Hadad of Syria captured their land in 900 BCE.
Gad, son of Zilpah, was one to recruit a regiment that would retreat. The territory of the Gadites was Gilead on the east of the Jordan. They had crossed the river to help their brothers in conquering the land. They had a warlike reputation. They stayed with Samaria when the split of Israel happened when Solomon died. They wound up suffering from Syrian attacks. In 732BCE the region was taken over by Tiglath-Pileser III and most of the people were exiled. Later the land was inhabited by the Ammonites. Jacob had prophesied that after the conquest, Gad would return safely on its heel, that is by the same roads and paths upon which it had first traveled and not one of the troops would be lost.
Asher, 8th son of Jacob and concubine Zilphah, would make excellent bread and would be the caterer for kings with his delicacies. His land became the fertile territory west of the Galilee to the south of Carmel. Naphtali would deliver beautiful sayings, acting like a hind let loose. A hind was a young deer. He would be the farmer, growing wheat for bread and other plants, for he was to have the most fertile land. Joseph was blessed again amongst his brothers. His descendants would be good looking and charming, especially to girls. Men would hate him for it. He would receive an abundance of blessings. Benjamin, 12th son of Jacob and Rachel, would act like a predatory wolf. He would be able to attack in the morning and distribute his spoils in the evening. Benjamin's descendants would live between Ephraim and Judah's land which included Jerusalem. Saul, son of Kish, Israel's first king, was a Benjamite. Their land was fought over by the kingdoms of Israel and Judah after King Solomon died and was finally divided between the two.
The the course of historic events, 10 of the Tribes were carried off and dispersed among the nations of the period in the Middle East and even the Far East in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and again in 597 and 586 BCE by the Babylonians. Only Judah and some of the Benjamites remained in Judah. With the return of these exiles, some of the lost tribes are now gathered back in Israel who have maintained their religion they had learned at the time of King Solomon (961-920 BCE). This is not surprising as Jews who escaped the Spanish Inquisition of 1492 have maintained Judaism from that period and are now embracing Judaism once again in the open as Jews.
Both the children of Ishmael and the children of Isaac have assets and liabilities of their own human natures. Though they are related, they have been fighting each other not only since Esau but today as well, especially since WWI and the creation of Israel once again, which was also prophesied. Since the Arab world of 22 nations and 422 million people is much larger than the one Jewish nation and 14 million Jews remaining from the days of Abraham, it must be up to the Muslims of the world to call off the disagreements and indignation they have harbored for so long, and become magnanimous for the betterment of the world.
Resource:Tanakh, Stone Edition
Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
http://questions.org/attq/does-the-bible-teach-that-the-arabs-are-sworn-enemies-of-the-jews/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_world
.
Assad was probably not an Ishmaelite but a Canaanite (all the locals convertd to Islam during the Jihad). Canaanite people were known for "abominations" and this is what Assad is exactly proving to be. No doubt he descends from them. If you wonder why G0d allowed these Canaanites to survive Joshua's conquest, check my web page at http://www.seder-olam.info/seder-olam-g22-judges.html It has the biblical references. Also on the same page further down, it mentions the tribe of Benjamin which caused a very bad civil war in these times. It ties up to Jacob's blessing to their ancestor (a "predatory wolf") and the fact that the Talmud considers tht Rome, a so-called Numa, behaved in a way that was more Jewish than Roman...if interested, see more at http://www.seder-olam.info/seder-olam-g26-israel.html at the (bottom of that page.)
ReplyDeletefrom friend,
Albert Benhamou
Thanks, Albert. This is great material as is your new blog.
ReplyDeleteNadene, I enjoyed this very much! Great blog post! - Revis
ReplyDeleteThanks, Revis. I appreciate your comment.
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