You
teach that the biblical definition of a Jew is strictly by bloodline,
which means that one cannot, in the biblical sense, become a Jew, and
that a Jew cannot become a non-Jew. Yet, Esther 8:17 states, "And
many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews
had fallen on them." This seems to allow for a second biblical definition
of a Jew. Ryrie notes, "i.e., embraced the religion of the Jews as
proselytes." Please comment.
The
translation of Esther 8:17 as "became Jews" is unfortunate since
that is not the actual meaning of the term. The Hebrew word is hityahadim
which would be better translated as "converting to Judaism."
That would be the reason Ryrie footnoted it as meaning the embracement
of the Jewish religion and they became proselytes. The Hebrew text does
not say they became Jews but that they became Judaistic and converted
to Judaism.
Is
Jewishness carried through the male or female genealogy?
As
with so many similar, controversial issues, the answer here differs between
the Scriptures and Judaism. The Biblical rule is that Jewishness is traced
through the father; according to Judaism, it is traced through the mother.
But the Bible is for believers the determining factor: if the father is
Jewish, the child is Jewish. In a situation where the father is Gentile
and the mother Jewish, another Biblical priciple comes into play - the
offspring of such a marriage have the option to identify with either side,
just as Timothy did.
Are
there black Jews? I've heard that there are some in Ethiopia. Black people
are supposed to be descended from Ham, but where did his descendants settle
after the flood?
There
are black-skinned Jews, and they are from Ethiopia. Up until three years
ago, the majority of black Jews were still in Ethiopia, but most of them
have now been airlifted to Israel – and this is where the majority of
black-skinned Jews live today. It is correct that the black population
descended from some of the sons of Ham, and, based upon Genesis 10, we
know that these people settled in Central and South Africa. Other olive-skinned
descendants of Ham, such as the Egyptians, settled in North Africa. And
the descendants of Ham’s fourth son, Canaan, also olive-skinned, settled
in the land of Canaan which later became the land of Israel. The origin
of the black Jews comes from an intermarriage between the local Hamitic
black and Jewish Semitic populations. After Babylon destroyed Jerusalem
in 586 B.C., many Jews fled to Egypt and later became Egyptian army members
who guarded the cataracts of the Nile in regions that are today Ethiopia.
These Jews from Israel intermarried with the local black population that
had adopted Mosaic Judaism – such is the origin of the Ethiopian Jews,
sometimes known as the Falasha Jews.