The American Wisdom Series

Presents
"To The Hebrews"

Who are the Hebrews Paul addresses this book titled "Hebrews" to.
by John Rhine

"Hebrews" comes from the word "eber" which is from the root word "abar" meaning "transition" or to "cross over". The "ebers", or "Hebrews", were the people, the descendants Abraham, who "crossed over" the Euphrates river.

Hebrews are descendants Abraham (Abram) a son of Terah, a grandson of Eber, a grandson of Shem, Noah's son, who traveled southeast and crossed the river Euphrates to go into the land of Canaan. Therefore; all of Abraham's descendants technically are Hebrews with some percentage of perfection in their generations, but none of his ancestors are Hebrews since they were born before he crossed the Euphrates.

What does that tell us?



#1. Abraham's nephew Lot was a Hebrew because he crossed the River with Abram.
    a. Only two of Lot's daughters survived Sodom and Gomorrah and both gave birth to sons that Lot fathered; therefore, all the descendants of Lot's daughters are Hebrew to a lesser degree depending on who the sons married. But they can not be greater than 50% Hebrew.


#2. All descendants of Abraham's son Ishmael to Hagar, Sarai's (Sarah's) handmaid, are at best only 50% Hebrew because Hagar was Egyptian.
    a. This would include all descendants of Ishmael's 12 sons to some degree. But they can not be greater than 50% Hebrew.


#3. All descendants of Abraham's son Isaac to Sarai (Sarah), are Hebrews since Sarai was Abram's half sister from the other side of the river.

    a. This would include all descendants of Isaac's son Esau, (Edom/Russia). But they can not be greater than 50% Hebrew since Esau did not take Hebrew women for wives.

    b. This would include all descendants of Isaac's son Jacob (Israel) He had 12 sons. If all were to Hebrew wives this makes it possible for his descendants to be 100% Hebrew depending on who the sons married.

        1. Ten of these sons formed the House of Israel after escaping captivity in Egypt only to be carried away out of their own land to Assyria in 721 BC (II Kings :23).



History - In 721BC, well over eight hundred thousand Israelite men  2 Samuel 24:1 - 9 and their families from ten different tribes, all except the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, were taken captive and brought out of the promised land by the Assyrians. 2 Kings 16:9 - 17:6 They were all removed completely and never returned.


        2. Two of these sons formed the House of Judah after escaping captivity in Egypt only to be carried away by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon 135 years later in 586 BC. But not all of the House of Judah was left in Judea for Nebuchadnezzar to carry away because Assyria also carried away most of the House of Judah shortly after they carried away the House of Israel.

But not only the ten tribes of The House of Israel;  Assyria also took many from the other two tribes when they took all the fenced cities of The House of Judah.

 II Kings 18:13 "Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them."

II Kings 18:13 Makes it clear that much of the House of Judah was also taken by Assyria and most likely went with the House of Israel over the Caucasus Mountains after the power of Assyrians was broken.

That means it was only those in and around Jerusalem who were  left of the House of Judah for Nebuchadnezzor to carry into Babylon several hundred years later.

It is this group of Israelites after mixing with descendants of Cain (Kenites) while in Babylon that we now call Jews, and who latter, in 740 A.D. mixed with the Khazar empire (another group of Kenites) who now populate the tiny country in the middle east called Israel today (They call themselves Irraeli, they don't even claim to be Israelites).



History - In 586BC, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon carried more than one half million Israelite men 2 Samuel 24:1 - 9 and their families from the other two tribes, Benjamin and Judah (the Jews), away to Babylon. 2 Kings 25:1 - 21   These were the only remaining Israelites in the Promised Land.


        They were taken away to Babylon from where a small percentage returned to Palestine to rebuild the temple and restore worship 70 years after Judah's captivity.


History - 70 years after Judah's captivity the temple was rebuilt and 42,360 (Nehemiah 7:66 - 67) from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin returned again "unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city". (Ezra 8:1 - 20 & Nehemiah 7:5 - 45) Note: The Nethinim listed (Nehemiah 7:46 - 65) were not Israelites or even of the tribe of Judah, but we incorectly include them as and call them Jews today.


Those returning were of the House of Judah and they returned "unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city" (Ezra 2:1). Only those of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi, who constituted the house of Judah, returned (Ezra 1:5). These Israelites, from the house of Judah, along with The Khazar civilization which adopted Judaism as their state religion in 740 AD make up the people we call Jews today.

Anyone who would like to be brought up to "modern times" concerning the Khazar conversion can do some research on the subject of Khazars. The Khazars were not Hebrews. Khazaria was a conglomerate of Turkish tribes. Here's a quote from one paragraph in the Encyclopedia Britannica:

"Khazar civilization shows a fairly complex texture and their religious life raises more than one problem... About 740 the Khazar ruler - and probably the greater part of the ruling classes - were converted to Judaism. The circumstances of the conversion remain obscure, the depth of the Jewish layer difficult to assess; the fact itself is, however, undisputed and unparalleled in the history of Eurasia. ... The story of this conversion of the Khazars had a considerable and lasting impact on the western world."

Editors Note: log unto Google and do a search on the word Khazar.   The Thirteenth Tribe



    #4. All descendants of Abraham's from the wife he took after Sarah's death and his concubines. (Genesis 25:1-6)
        a. These were all non-Hebrew women.  Therefore their descendants can not be greater than 50% Hebrew.


The Book of Hebrews is not written to a specific person or church, but to a people, which includes those Israelites who had (and have) "crossed over" from where Paul was even to the west and the isles of the west (see note below), even to the time of the final generation. In other words, the Book of Hebrews is written to the dispersed House of Israel in these last days. That could be and probably is you, my Christian friend.

Note: The knowledge concerning the whereabouts of the so-called 10 lost tribes of the House of Israel is a prerequisite to being able to mature in one's understanding of the Word of God, even the Book of Hebrews which contains an entire chapter one could call the "Acts of the Patriarchs" (Ch. 11). To that end, if you are in need of or would like some basic information about the migrations of the tribes of Israel and where their sons and daughters reside in this final generation, log unto the pamphlets below.

Does it make sense to you that the United States of America, the greatest superpower in the history of the world, would be left out of endtime Biblical prophecy? Of course not! Log unto the pamphlets below to learn more about where the 10 "lost" tribes of the House of Israel reside today.  Pamphlet #1064 or Pamphlet #1020  You can also find them in the Table of Contents under  "Wisdom" on this American Wisdom Series web site.


So who are the Hebrews Paul addresses?
Must they be 100% pure in their generations?
I don't think so, but it makes sence to me that he is speaking to those who have crossed over.


Hum! "Crossed Over"
They crossed over the Euphrates physically in Abraham's day, and later over the Jordan. Did those physical ensamples happen as a guide for our spiritual actions today?
1 Corinthians 10:11 makes me think so!
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them {the ancient Israelites} for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Aren't we to be crossing over from darkness into light?
Read Acts 26:15-18

It should again be pointed out that this "scholarly" letter to the Hebrews, written to the dispersed tribes of Israel (who are the Christian nations Western Europe, the Isles of Britain, and the Americas of today) presumes that one is schooled (disciplined) in the Old Testament. To wit, almost half of the entire first chapter of Hebrews is made up of direct quotes from the Old Testament, particularly and fitting to the subject as we shall see, taken from the Psalms.  One's familiarity of the scriptures will determine how much of these "sayings", call them mysteries if you like, Paul will be able to "utter", as in relate to you with those scriptures and ensamples of our forefathers. So if you find yourself just not quite "getting it" do not become discouraged or frustrated and become "dull", but rather keep asking and seeking Him through His Word and He promises to give you wisdom and understanding.

In the past God communicated with our fathers many times and in many ways by the prophets, but now, in these last days, He speaks to us through His Son whom He has appointed heir of all things and by whom also He made the "worlds" (Heb. 1:1-2).

live link-to Hebrews

To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.



The "American Wisdom Series"

is

Published by:

Rhine Publishing Co.

If you would like to have your essay published

as part of the American Wisdom Series
submit your manuscript to Rhine Publishing Co
at the address above for consideration, or e-mail us
at the address shown on our home page.

Click Here to Return to "The American Wisdom Series" home page.