The Color of Ancient Israel - The Hebrews and the Sons Of Ham
Acts 21:37-38, states that Paul, (Shaul in Hebrew) the apostle, was being led into a castle by a chief captian. Paul spoke to the chief in Greek, asking permission to speak with him. The chief captain was suprised that Paul could speak Greek and in verse 38, asks Paul, "Are not you that EGYPTIAN?" Paul responded, (Verse 39) "I am a man of Israel (Hebrew)."
In order for this chief captian to mistake Paul (the Hebrew) for a black-skinned Egyptian, Paul had to look like an Egyptian, as scripture tells us the whole nation of Israel did. This is why in the book of Matthew 2:13, the angel of Yah told Joseph to arise and take the young child Yahshuah, (The son of Yah true Hebrew name is Yahshua) and his mother Mary (Miriam in Hebrew) and FLEE INTO EGYPT. He was told to stay there until he received further instruction, because Herod would seek the young child to destroy him.
Joseph, Miriam and Yahshua were told to flee into Egypt, (Africa) not for military protection, because during this time, Egypt was a Roman province under Roman control. They fled into Egypt because Egypt was still a "black" country, populated by a majority of black-skinned people (Egyptians). Joseph, Miriam and Yahshua would have been just another black-skinned family among many. Remember, they fled into Egypt to HIDE from Herod who was seeking to kill Yahshua. If Yahshua and the rest of the Hebrews looked like those pictures of the "Christian Christ", it would have been hard for him to hide in Egypt and not be noticed.
NOTE: the above fact about Yahshua hidding in Egypt was attested to by a biblical scholar on a BBC produced program last year (2001).
The Program was called 'THE COMPLETE JESUS'. The scholar stated that it would have been hard for Yahshua to hide among the Egyptians, if he looked like the traditional painting of Jesus the christian christ, he was saying that Yahshua could not have been white skinned. That info has been on this site since 1999.
He also made mention that the Israelites of the first-third centuries wore their hair in Afro's. this is only the tip of the iceberg, you can't hold down the truth. Now back to our discussion
Herod was put on the throne of Israel by the Romans, and Egypt was under Roman dominion. All Herod had to do was check with the Roman officals in Egypt to find out if there were any Hebrews with baby boys around. But, since the Hebrews and the Egyptians looked the same physically, it would have been hard to single out a Hebrew family among the Egyptians.
As was mentioned, the ancient Egyptians were the descendants of Noah's son, Khawm, or Ham in English. Khawm means black, hot and burnt. The ancient Egyptians of biblical times called their land and themselves Khemet, which in their tongue means "THE LAND OF BLACKS." The word Khemet is nothing but a variation on the word Khawm in the language of ancient Egypt.
In Psalm 78:51, Egypt is called "The House of Khawm (Ham)."
"...AND SMOTE ALL THE FIRSTBORN IN EGYPT; THE TABERNACLES OF KHAWM (Ham)." Psalm 105:23, calls Egypt the land of Khawm (Ham), "ISRAEL ALSO CAME INTO EGYPT; AND SOJOURNED IN THE LAND OF KHAWM (Ham)."
Verse 27 "THEY SHOWED HIS SIGNS AMONG THEM, AND WONDERS IN THE LAND OF KHAWM (Ham)."
The Bible calls Egypt the land of Khawm, and remember one of the meanings of Khawm is black, so The Bible is calling Egypt "The Land of Bla Acts 21:37-38, states that Paul, (Shaul in Hebrew) the apostle, was being led into a castle by a chief captian. Paul spoke to the chief in Greek, asking permission to speak with him. The chief captain was suprised that Paul could speak Greek and in verse 38, asks Paul, "Are not you that EGYPTIAN?" Paul responded, (Verse 39) "I am a man of Israel (Hebrew)."
In order for this chief captian to mistake Paul (the Hebrew) for a black-skinned Egyptian, Paul had to look like an Egyptian, as scripture tells us the whole nation of Israel did. This is why in the book of Matthew 2:13, the angel of Yah told Joseph to arise and take the young child Yahshuah, (The son of Yah true Hebrew name is Yahshua) and his mother Mary (Miriam in Hebrew) and FLEE INTO EGYPT. He was told to stay there until he received further instruction, because Herod would seek the young child to destroy him.
He also made mention that the Israelites of the first-third centuries wore their hair in Afro's. this is only the tip of the iceberg, you can't hold down the truth. Now back to our discussion
Herod was put on the throne of Israel by the Romans, and Egypt was under Roman dominion. All Herod had to do was check with the Roman officals in Egypt to find out if there were any Hebrews with baby boys around. But, since the Hebrews and the Egyptians looked the same physically, it would have been hard to single out a Hebrew family among the Egyptians.
As was mentioned, the ancient Egyptians were the descendants of Noah's son, Khawm, or Ham in English. Khawm means black, hot and burnt. The ancient Egyptians of biblical times called their land and themselves Khemet, which in their tongue means "THE LAND OF BLACKS." The word Khemet is nothing but a variation on the word Khawm in the language of ancient Egypt.
In Psalm 78:51, Egypt is called "The House of Khawm (Ham)."
"...AND SMOTE ALL THE FIRSTBORN IN EGYPT; THE TABERNACLES OF KHAWM (Ham)." Psalm 105:23, calls Egypt the land of Khawm (Ham), "ISRAEL ALSO CAME INTO EGYPT; AND SOJOURNED IN THE LAND OF KHAWM (Ham)."
Verse 27 "THEY SHOWED HIS SIGNS AMONG THEM, AND WONDERS IN THE LAND OF KHAWM (Ham)."
The Bible calls Egypt the land of Khawm, and remember one of the meanings of Khawm is black, so The Bible is calling Egypt "The Land of Black" which is what Khemet means. Egypt is called the land of Khawm because the Egyptians were descendants of Noah's son Khawm. This is more than likely the reason they called themselves Khemet. The Bible supports the fact that the Egyptians were a black-skinned people.
In the book of Amos chapter 9: we will see Israel being compared to Ham (khawm) first born son Cush / Ethiopians. Verse 7 says "ARE YOU NOT AS CHILDREN OF THE ETHIOPIANS UNTO ME, O CHILDREN OF ISRAEL?"...
In this Verse, the Israelites are being called children of the Ethiopians by the Most High. The Ethiopians are known as a black- skinned people, and the most high is calling Israel their children. How much sense would it make to call a white skinned people, CHILDREN OF THE ETHIOPIANS? The majority of Jews today are white-skinned.
If ancient Israel were a white skinned people, wouldn't it make more sense to compare them to a white skinned nation. This verse does not say,
"ARE YOU NOT AS CHILDREN OF THE ROMANS / GREEKS / GENTILES UNTO ME O CHILDREN OF ISRAEL?"
It clearly compares Israel with a black skinned people. The reason for this is simple. Israel was and is a black skinned people, and the majority of them still are.
That verse also coincides with Acts 8: 26-36. When the angel of Yah spoke to the apostle, Philip saying:
"Arise go toward the south."
Verse 27: "...And he arose and went: and behold, a man of ETHIOPIA an eunuch of great authority... who had come to Jerusalem for to WORSHIP."
In verse 29, The Spirit tells Phillip to go and JOIN HIMSELF TO THE CHARIOT OF THIS ETHIOPIAN.
Verse 30, tells us that Philip heard him reading SCRIPTURE (Hebrew Scripture) about Yahshua, (erroneously called Jesus) which he didn't understand.
In verses 34-36, Philip explains the meaning of the scripture and then preaches Yahshua to him,
and in verse 38, Phillip baptizes him.
Lets analyze these verses.
First, this Ethiopian was coming to Jerusalem to worship. In those days only the Hebrews came to Jerusalem for worship, because this is where the Temple of Yah stood, making Jerusalem the spiritual home of all Hebrews (2nd Chronicles.6:6 - 7:16).
Hebrews continued to come to Jerusalem to worship, up until the time of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. As a matter of fact, Many Hebrews were worshipping at the temple while the Romans were breaking down the walls of Jerusalem about to lay seige to it.
Second, this Ethiopian had Hebrew scriptures in his possession. In those days the scriptures were still considered sacred, and remained in the possession of the Hebrews, not everyone had access to scripture, as we do today. Hebrews, whether abroad or in the land, were the primary owners of scripture in those days.
Third, the Ethiopian was baptized by Phililp.
All these facts prove that this Ethiopian was a Hebrew, according to what Peter said in Acts 10:28:
"You know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Hebrew TO KEEP COMPANY OR COME UNTO ONE OF ANOTHER NATION."
If the Hebrews thought it was unlawful to keep company with those of another nation, why would Philip go and keep company with this Ethiopian, if indeed he was from a entirely different nation? Philip didn't even try to argue with the spirit, when he was told to go and teach this Ethiopian. The reason for that is:
The Ethiopian was a Hebrew who lived in Ethiopia. Making him what we know as a Ethiopian Hebrew.
As stated previously, it is a known fact that the Ethiopians are a black-skinned people. The name Ethiopian comes from the Greek word Aethiops which means burnt face. This was a title the ancient Greeks gave to the people who lived south of Egypt because they were closer to the equator than the Egyptians. Their hue on an average was a little darker than the Egyptians. This Hebrew was not called Ethiopian just because he lived in Ethiopian, but because he also looked like a black-skinned Ethiopian. To this very day, there are many black-skinned Hebrews who live or have lived in Ethiopia in the past. Today many of them are known as the "Falasha" or Beta Yisrael.
So far we have not seen where scripture likens Israel to any white-skinned nations as it relates to physical appearance. This is very important to understand because many of the people who are called Jews today are white- skinned and come from Europe. These white skinned Jews make up the majority of the Jews in Israel and in the world.
This is not a racist or anti-Semitic statment. It's only the truth according to scripture.
For further proof of the color of the biblical Israelites lets look at Acts 13:1: "Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain PROPHETS AND TEACHERS: as Barnabas,and SIMEON THAT WAS CALLED NIGER, AND LUCIUS OF CYRENE, and Manaen which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Shaul (Paul)".
The word Niger is a latin word that means BLACK, and Cyrene is a city in Libya, which is located in North Africa. Historians and scholars both agree that the city of Cyrene was a black area, meaning it was heavily populated with black skinned-people in biblical times. Cyrene is also the place where Simon, the man who helped Yahshua carry the cross (stake) was from (Matt. 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26). Many acknowledge that Simon (the cross bearer) was a black skinned man.
This man who was called Niger wasn't called black because he was the only black- skinned person there. He was called black because his hue was maybe darker than the rest of the prophets and teachers. Much like in the "African American" community, when one of our brothers or sisters have a skin tone that is darker than the rest, we sometimes give that person a nick name that describes his color. If the person's name is Micheal we might call him Black Mike, or we might just call him Black, even though, we are all black-skinned. He's just been given a FRIENDLY nick name which describes him. This is why Simeon was called Niger or black.
Scripture confirms in Acts 13:1, that there were two black-skinned men who were prophets and teachers at the church in Antioch. But, we must understand that the Hebrews were not dealing with any other people or racial group at this time, other than scattered Israel. It is written in Acts 11:19:
"Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, traveled As far as Phenice and Cyprus, and Antioch, PREACHING THE WORD TO NONE BUT THE HEBREWS ONLY".
This was before the apostles ministries to the Gentiles at large started, so why were there two black-skinned men there, if the Hebrews were a white skinned people? Simple, they were Hebrews, just like Paul who was also there with them in the church in Antioch. Remember Paul was mistaken for a black-skinned Egyptian. Niger and Lucius were prophets and teachers, and as scripture shows us, all the prophets and teachers were Hebrews.
Now, I will refer to a few historical sources that are also in agreement with The Bible about the color of the biblical Hebrews. The Romans who knew the Hebrews well, had this to say about their physical appearance.
A Roman historian named Tacitus who lived about C.E. 90 said, "Many assert that the Hebrews are an ETHIOPIAN RACE." Once again, we have the Hebrews compared to one of Khawm's black-skinned descendants. Historian and scholar, J.A. Rogers commented, "For the Romans to have considered them Ethiopians is a clear indication of their color, because the Ethiopians are a known black people". Tacitus also said that the Hebrews were Egyptians , who left Egypt during a disease outbreak.
The Roman Emperor, Justinian the Great, who ruled basically from 527 - 564 C.E., 500 years after the time of Yahshua, had engraved on on a coin, the image of Yahshua with woolly / kinky hair and "Negroid" features. On the obverse side of the coin there is an image of Justinian but with straight hair, the Cambridge Encyclopedia has this particular listing about that image on the coin. "Whatever the fact, this coin, with the straight haired Justinian on the obverse side, places beyond doubt the belief that "Jesus" was a Negro (black-skinned)."
Now, lets go back to The Bible for one more scripture that proves the Hebrews were a black-skinned nation. Lamentations 5:10 reads:
"OUR SKIN WAS BLACK LIKE AN OVEN BECAUSE OF THE TERRIBLE FAMINE."
Notice, it says here that the Hebrews' skin was black like an oven or charcoal black, because of the famine. When the Jews were in concentration camps in Europe during WWII, many of them were starved or in famine. Footage of them in the camps, show that their skin turned pale white. The same is true of the people in Kosvo. They were in famine and their skin turned pale white, because they are also a white-skinned people. But pictures of starving people in Africa, show that their skin turns jet black or darker than its orignial hue.
When brown or black skinned people don't eat for a long period of time or get sick, they get darker. When white or lighter skinned people get sick or don't eat, they turn pale. In this verse of Lamentations, the prophet, Jeremiah clearly was describing a black skinned-people.
All the preceding information is sufficient proof that the biblical Israelites were a black skinned people / nation. Now, we must go one more step, and prove that they were a black skinned people from the beginning of their history beginning with Abraham.
Abraham is the father of the Hebrew Israelite nation. He was the first to be called Hebrew. (Genesis 14:13) He came from Ur of the Chaldeans, (Genesis 11:31) which is in the country of Iraq today.
Godfrey Higgins, a careful and reliable English antiquary says, "The Chaldeans were originally Negroes".
Professor Rudolph Windsor is in total agreement with this, which he states in his very noteworthy book,FROM BABYLON TO TIMBUKTU. He writes, "The Chaldeans and the other People of that region were Jet black in their complexion."
The root word of Ur which is orr means fire oven. The average temptature in that region was 120 degrees. It was close to the equator in the fertile crescent, this is where the ancient Sumerian civilization began. The Sumerians called themselves "Saggig", which means "black headed ones", because they shaved their heads. The ancient Chaldeans were their cousins.
Abraham father Terah, was a relative of Nimrod. He was a merchant who sold idols in the city of Ur. It's a widely known fact that Nimrod was the son of Cush. Cush is the progenitor of the Nubians / Ethiopians, and the Nubians are a black skinned people. So, this means that Nimrod was also black. Abraham came from this part of the world, which in his day was overwhelmingly populated with black skinned people. This is not surprising because in that region the average temperature was 120 degrees. This means that the people in that part of the world had to have large amounts of melanin in their skin, which means that were very dark skinned.
Dr. Charles S. Finch III, M.D. says in his book Echoes of the Old Darkland, on pgs 5, & 32,
"We know from the fate of albinos all over Africa that unprotected skin (light skin) is subject to grotesque, disfiguring cancers that are soon fatal." "Melanin, the substance that gives the skin a dark brown or black pigment, by absorbing ultra violet radiation and scattering the ions produced, protects the skin from cancer".
So, for Abraham to have come from that part of the world, he had to have been very dark / black-skinned.
It is a must that we fully identify Israel including their appearance, because so much have been written about these people, but at the same time, so little is actually known about them.
I have just highlighted one particular fact about the biblical Israelites. And that fact is: THEY WERE A BLACK SKINNED PEOPLE, but this one fact alone does not fully identify who the true children of Israel are today. There are millions upon milions of black skinned people, and Many "black" nations the Hebrews were just one black skinned people among many black-skinned nations. (NOTE: Whenever I make mention of black-skinned people I am referring to the people who are known as "Africans" and "Blacks", whose skin has the darkest pigmentation of all mankind. Their skin tones range from light brown to the darkest black hue,and this even includes some who are known as Indians.).
Many will try to make the argument that, "if the original Hebrews were "black" they didn't remain that way, because the Hebrews mixed with many different people".
True, the Hebrews did some mixing with other's, due to the many captivities they suffered. But that didn't change the racial make up of ancient Israel.
Because the Hebrews were black skinned people their Genes would have carried the dominate trait.
Black hair,+ dark eyes + dark skin = dominate traits.
Light hair,+ light eyes + light skin = recessive traits.
The recessive can come from the dominate, but the dominate cannot come from the recessive.
This is a scientific fact, so if the Hebrews mixed with other people of lighter hues, the offspring would have come out looking like Hebrews with a bit lighter hue, than the Hebrew parent. If they mixed with others of the same or darker hue, the offspring would have continue to look like the Hebrew Israelites.
This is why the Egyptians ordered the Hebrew males to be killed and not the female. Because, the Egyptian males could impregnate the Hebrew females, and produce offspring which were still black-skinned, and still possessing the physical charteristics of the Egyptians. Remember there were no physical differences between the Hebrews and the Egyptians.
"African Americans" have mixed seed with the various racial groups of the America's for over 400 years. But we are still known as a black skinned people / race. We have mixed with various European,Indian, and Hispanic ethnicities and yet, our racial make up has remained unchanged. One of the reasons for this is that our genes carry the dominate traits.
Consider, for a moment the children of mixed parents, one black parent and one white. The child will have more traits of the black skinned parent than of the white skinned one. The hair texture of the offspring, skin color and facial features, will be closer to that of the "Black" parent. Sometimes it's impossible to even tell that the offspring is of mixed parentage, because the child looks like he was conceived by two black parents.
A good example of this would be superstar golfer, TIGER WOODS. He is black and Thai. The actress HALLE BERRY is also biracial, as well as singer/actress, Vanessa Williams. However, these people look no different from any other "black" person you might see walking down the street. And this is how it was with ancient Israel.
Note that Israel didn't mix TOO MUCH because of their spiritual beliefs, which is evidenced in the story of Moses in Numbers 12 and also with Peter in Acts 10. .
As previously shown, even the New Testament proves that Israel was a black- skinned people. The New Testament came about after Israel's first captivities,and before their last great captivity. The scriptures show without a doubt in both old and new testament times that Israel was a black-skinned people. But again, the fact that Israel was a "Black" people does not fully identify who they were and still are today. We must return to the scriptures for more information.
There are also refferences to being the color Black made in Solomons Song of Songs.
ISRAEL IS BLACK!
JESUS CHRIST IS BLACK!
HAILE SELASSIE I IS BLACKA DAN BLACK!
HIGHEST OF ITES TO RASTAFARI! ONE PERFECT BLACK LOVE ITERNALLY LIVE!
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