[Infinite]

Here are some questions that I can't get good answers to. First let me explain a little about myself, I am a Arab-American, I am a Palistinean Christian from Ramallah, Palistine or as Americans refer to it, Israel. Ramallah was founded as a Christian State.

Questions I have not found efficient answers to. What do you all think about these topics... When responding just quote the question(s) you are going to answer so I know which one you are referring to.

1) Are Jews really a race? What I mean by this is a race that have physical traits that are significantly different than white people. Traits that are different enough for us to give them their own classification? Now remember, I am not talking about people who are called a certain people group because of the land area they are in, I.E. Syrians & Jordanians. My question is are they a distinct race that one could look at and recognize. Please don't say they have big noses. I want intelligent answers, all races have some sort of big nose person. For example, Arabs are a distinct race, dark complection, Asians are a distinct race, small eyes, pale, Black people are a distinct race, Mexicans a distinct race. See what I'm getting at?

2) If Abraham was a Hebrew, & his half sister Sarah who he had sex with was Hebrew, and Hagar, another woman who he had sex with was Egyptian, then that means that Isaac was full Hebrew and Ishmael was Half-Hebrew Half- Egyptian? So the father of Arabs was half-jew? So that means that the Arabs who were born from Abraham are all half jew? I am confused. If Arabs are all half-jew does that mean that The Half-Hebrew/Jew/Arabs from Hagar are also Gods chosen people? Someone please enlighten me. Also how do we know whether Hagar was a Hebrew or not, it says she was a Egyptian handmaid. Does that mean she was from the area of Egypt and a handmaid who could of been Hebrew? Are Egyptians a distinct race, and then when a Jew (Abraham) and Hagar (Egyptian) had sex, then a "Arab" was born?

3) Third question, what was Jesus? Some speculate that he was a "Palistinean Jew" which doesn't make sense unless Jew isn't a race and is now a religion. Some people try to say he was black. (LOL ) And others say he was a Nazarene. And most say he was Jewish because his mother was Jewish. What do you all think?

4) What ethnicity was Peter, Paul, John and the rest of the disciples? Some say Peter was a Arab(palistinean) and some say Paul & John were Arabs as well. What do you all think? What evidence do we have? Were they jews?

5) Also the Bible calls Israel Jacob. But if Palestine was there first, and they were living in peace with the "jews". Which should we call it? Palestine or Israel?

[Nick M]

Yes, God called Jacob Israel. His descendents look fairly caucasian to me. Does it matter? There is no such thing as Palestine. You know that right? In the same way that people just make up words like "ginormus" or "alot".

[OMEGA]

Issac married a Syrian girl.

Ruth was a Moabites

So, they are a conglomerate of many Middle east peoples.

Judah had Tamar his daughter in law who bore him Pharez and Zerah.

The Hebrews made a Contract or convenant with the Lord God

after Abraham, Isaac, Judah and Joseph had died.

The Isaac had 12 boys , Reuban Simeon, Judah, Isachar, Zebulun, Dan,
Napthtaleh etc.l

So , the Israelites are a FAMILY.

[g_n_o_s_i_s]

Palestine has been used to identify the region we find Israel and its neighbors in to varying degree since at least the time of Christ. It has never been the name of a country though, this seem to cause some confusion to some people.

A Jew is a person of a culture and a religion and not a race.

[Eeset]

Originally Posted by Infinite

1) Are Jews really a race?

No

[WandererInFog]

Originally Posted by Infinite

1) Are Jews really a race?

Both Jews and Arabs are considered to be a part of the Caucasoid race.

2) If Abraham was a Hebrew, & his half sister Sarah who he had sex with was Hebrew, and Hagar, another woman who he had sex with was Egyptian, then that means that Isaac was full Hebrew and Ishmael was Half-Hebrew Half- Egyptian? So the father of Arabs was half-jew? So that means that the Arabs who were born from Abraham are all half jew? I am confused. If Arabs are all half-jew does that mean that The Half-Hebrew/Jew/Arabs from Hagar are also Gods chosen people? Someone please enlighten me. Also how do we know whether Hagar was a Hebrew or not, it says she was a Egyptian handmaid. Does that mean she was from the area of Egypt and a handmaid who could of been Hebrew? Are Egyptians a distinct race, and then when a Jew (Abraham) and Hagar (Egyptian) had sex, then a "Arab" was born?

You're freely mixing nationalities, ethnicities, and races as though they were the same thing which makes your questions impossible to answer accurately. Again, racially, everyone you're talking about there would be Caucasoid.

3) Third question, what was Jesus? Some speculate that he was a "Palistinean Jew" which doesn't make sense unless Jew isn't a race and is now a religion. Some people try to say he was black. (LOL ) And others say he was a Nazarene. And most say he was Jewish because his mother was Jewish. What do you all think?

He was Jewish ethnically and was raised in Nazareth. Referring to him as Palestinean is an anachronism as the province of Palestine didn't exist until nearly a century after his death and resurrection.

4) What ethnicity was Peter, Paul, John and the rest of the disciples? Some say Peter was a Arab(palistinean) and some say Paul & John were Arabs as well. What do you all think? What evidence do we have? Were they jews?

There is no reputable scholar who holds that any of the 12 Apostles or Paul were anything but Jewish. Of the authors of the New Testament, the only where there is even the possibility they might not have been Jewish would be Luke.

5) Also the Bible calls Israel Jacob. But if Palestine was there first, and they were living in peace with the "jews". Which should we call it? Palestine or Israel?

There was no Palestine until 132 CE when the Roman Emporer Hadrian merged Judea and Galilee into a single province named Syria Palaestina.

[Tambora]

A little correction to your post ....

Originally Posted by OMEGA

The Isaac had 12 boys , Reuban Simeon, Judah, Isachar, Zebulun, Dan,
Napthtaleh etc.l

Jacob was the father of those 12 sons.

[Spitfire]

Why all this preoccupation with race? What difference would it make if, for example, there were some criteria through which Jews could be determined to be racially distinct from Europeans?

I don't see why agonize over this when there's no scientific validity to the concept of race and as Christians we should believe that our race is of no consequence to God anyway.

[steko]

Originally Posted by Infinite

.

1) Are Jews really a race? What I mean by this is a race that have physical traits that are significantly different than white people. Traits that are different enough for us to give them their own classification? Now remember, I am not talking about people who are called a certain people group because of the land area they are in, I.E. Syrians & Jordanians. My question is are they a distinct race that one could look at and recognize. Please don't say they have big noses. I want intelligent answers, all races have some sort of big nose person. For example, Arabs are a distinct race, dark complection, Asians are a distinct race, small eyes, pale, Black people are a distinct race, Mexicans a distinct race. See what I'm getting at?

The term 'Jew' arose from the tribe of Judah, and began to be used in the books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. It originally pertained to the Southern tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi who were returning from the Babylonian captivity. There were some from the Northern tribes who were attached to the Southern tribes, also.
The term 'Jew' has evolved in its' usage to describe any who either live according to Jewish culture or religion, or who are blood descendents of Jacob(Israel).

2) If Abraham was a Hebrew, & his half sister Sarah who he had sex with was Hebrew, and Hagar, another woman who he had sex with was Egyptian, then that means that Isaac was full Hebrew and Ishmael was Half-Hebrew Half- Egyptian? So the father of Arabs was half-jew? So that means that the Arabs who were born from Abraham are all half jew? I am confused. If Arabs are all half-jew does that mean that The Half-Hebrew/Jew/Arabs from Hagar are also Gods chosen people? Someone please enlighten me. Also how do we know whether Hagar was a Hebrew or not, it says she was a Egyptian handmaid. Does that mean she was from the area of Egypt and a handmaid who could of been Hebrew? Are Egyptians a distinct race, and then when a Jew (Abraham) and Hagar (Egyptian) had sex, then a "Arab" was born?

Ishmael was not a 'half-Jew'. The term cannot legitimately be retroactively applied to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, or any of the people of that era. One could only possibly use the term Jew to describe the man Judah and his descendents, but historically it would be wise to stick to its' beginning useage during the time of the end of the Babylonian captivity.

The 'choseness' pertains to GOD's covenant with Abraham and his descendents through Isaac and Jacob and then down through Moses and those who were delivered from bondage in Egypt and is directly related to the inheritance of the land of promise.

Arabs are not 'half-Jews'. Arabs are a mixture of peoples, as are many of the Jews today. As far as blood lineage and 'race' go, the bloodline of Abraham is from Shem, the son of Noah. This is where we get the term 'Semite', 'Semitic people' or 'anti-semitic'. Bloodline Jews are Semites racially speaking as are the descendents of Ishmael and Esau. Esau married a daughter of Ishmael, which reinforces that blood tie. Many Arabs are of a Semitic bloodline. Many Arab people have bloodlines from from the division of nations/gentiles in Genesis 10, such as Joktan.

The Egyptians of today are not the Egyptians of Abraham's time. There have been many changes since then. When Abraham traveled to Egypt, through his dealings with the King there at that time, he left with many possessions and servants. One of these was Hagar. Ishmael was a mixture of Hebrew and the Egyptian blood of that time. Many Arabs claim to be descendents of Ishmael. I don't think that one could say that they all are. Again, there have been many blood mixtures over the ages.

3) Third question, what was Jesus? Some speculate that he was a "Palistinean Jew" which doesn't make sense unless Jew isn't a race and is now a religion. Some people try to say he was black. (LOL ) And others say he was a Nazarene. And most say he was Jewish because his mother was Jewish. What do you all think?

Jesus, through His mother Mary was a descendent of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob(Israel) and from Judah, the son of Jacob and King David through his son Nathan.
As others have said, the term Palestine was not used with regard to a people or land until the Emperor Hadrian used it as a further insult to the Jews in naming the land after their long time chief enemies, the Philistines. Commentators who refer to the land of Israel during the time of Jesus as 'Palestine' are in error.
Though the term 'Jew' today does not always refer to race, Jesus was a 'racial' Jew. He was of the tribe of Judah. His legal parent, Joseph, was also of the tribe of Judah, through the lineage of Solomon, son of David.
Jesus was called a Nazarene because he grew up around the town of Nazareth, and also because He fufilled the prophecy of being 'the branch/netzer' raised up out of dry ground unto David.

4) What ethnicity was Peter, Paul, John and the rest of the disciples? Some say Peter was a Arab(palistinean) and some say Paul & John were Arabs as well. What do you all think? What evidence do we have? Were they jews?

Galilean fishermen.....all Jews.
Paul calls himself an Israelite, a Pharisee, and a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin. They were not Arabs.

5) Also the Bible calls Israel Jacob. But if Palestine was there first, and they were living in peace with the "jews". Which should we call it? Palestine or Israel?

Again, Palestine wasn't there first. Palestine is not a legitimate name.
The land was originally called Canaan land from the descendents of Canaan, son of Ham, son of Noah. If the Palestinians of today are descendents of the original inhabitants of the land, then they are Hamites, not Semites and have no blood connection to Abraham at all.
After the sons of Israel conquered the land under Joshua and those following, the land became known as Israel. It was promised to the sons of Israel for an everlasting possession. Israel is the legitimate name as affirmed by YHVH Himself.
This thing ain't over yet. There are promises yet to be fulfilled concerning the land. They will come to pass. It's written in the Prophets for all to see.

[bybee]

Originally Posted by Infinite

Here are some questions that I can't get good answers to. First let me explain a little about myself, I am a Arab-American, I am a Palistinean Christian from Ramallah, Palistine or as Americans refer to it, Israel. Ramallah was founded as a Christian State.

Questions I have not found efficient answers to. What do you all think about these topics... When responding just quote the question(s) you are going to answer so I know which one you are referring to.

1) Are Jews really a race? What I mean by this is a race that have physical traits that are significantly different than white people. Traits that are different enough for us to give them their own classification? Now remember, I am not talking about people who are called a certain people group because of the land area they are in, I.E. Syrians & Jordanians. My question is are they a distinct race that one could look at and recognize. Please don't say they have big noses. I want intelligent answers, all races have some sort of big nose person. For example, Arabs are a distinct race, dark complection, Asians are a distinct race, small eyes, pale, Black people are a distinct race, Mexicans a distinct race. See what I'm getting at?

2) If Abraham was a Hebrew, & his half sister Sarah who he had sex with was Hebrew, and Hagar, another woman who he had sex with was Egyptian, then that means that Isaac was full Hebrew and Ishmael was Half-Hebrew Half- Egyptian? So the father of Arabs was half-jew? So that means that the Arabs who were born from Abraham are all half jew? I am confused. If Arabs are all half-jew does that mean that The Half-Hebrew/Jew/Arabs from Hagar are also Gods chosen people? Someone please enlighten me. Also how do we know whether Hagar was a Hebrew or not, it says she was a Egyptian handmaid. Does that mean she was from the area of Egypt and a handmaid who could of been Hebrew? Are Egyptians a distinct race, and then when a Jew (Abraham) and Hagar (Egyptian) had sex, then a "Arab" was born?

3) Third question, what was Jesus? Some speculate that he was a "Palistinean Jew" which doesn't make sense unless Jew isn't a race and is now a religion. Some people try to say he was black. (LOL ) And others say he was a Nazarene. And most say he was Jewish because his mother was Jewish. What do you all think?

4) What ethnicity was Peter, Paul, John and the rest of the disciples? Some say Peter was a Arab(palistinean) and some say Paul & John were Arabs as well. What do you all think? What evidence do we have? Were they jews?

5) Also the Bible calls Israel Jacob. But if Palestine was there first, and they were living in peace with the "jews". Which should we call it? Palestine or Israel?

I would suggest thaqt we are all God's children. Our differences make life interesting.
Today, governments, in free societies, are comprised of person's best suited for the job (wishful thinking at times). Whether they have big noses or small noses would not be one of the criteria for ability to serve.