Subject: was abraham ever a gentile? |
Bible Note: Abraham was a Hebrew before God made a covenat with him! (Gen 14:13 NASB) Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram. (Gen 15:18 NASB) On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: From the Holman Bible Dictionary: HEBREW (Hee' broo) A descendant of Eber. See Eber. It differentiates early Israelites from foreigners. After David founded the monarchy the term Hebrew seems to disappear from the Hebrew language. The designation apparently begins with Abraham (Gen. 14:13), showing that he belonged to an ethnic group distinct from the Amorites. It distinguished Joseph from the Egyptians and slaves of other ethnic identity (Gen. 39:14,17; 41:12; 43:32). Abraham's land has become the land of the Hebrews (Gen. 40:15), and his God, the God of the Hebrews (Ex. 5:3). Given the ethnic identity, special laws protected Hebrew slaves (Ex. 21:2; Deut. 15:12; compare Lev. 25:40-41; Jer. 34:8-22). After the death of Saul (1 Sam. 29), the term "Hebrew" does not appear in the historical books, pointing possibly to a distinction between Hebrew as an ethnic term and Israel and/or Judah as a religious and political term for the people of the covenant and of God's nation. See Habiru. |