The Black Hebrew Israelites are one of the most infamous cults in America today. Throughout their short history so far, they have split into some different groups, holding different beliefs. Some of them believe that white people cannot be saved whereas others do not. But one thing they all agree upon is this: that they are the true Israelites (in other words, the Ancient Israelites were Negroes), and that the Ashkenazi Jews are imposters. In this essay, I will critique that claim from somewhat of a historical and biblical point of view.
Part One: A Historical Critique
J. Daniel Hays in his book From Every People and Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race, gives us an idea of what the Ancient Israelites may have looked like:
"....[The Israelites] combine the look of the current inhabitants of the Middle East with the representations of the Israelites and other 'Asiatic' peoples in the paintings and monument carvings of the Egyptians and the Assyrians. As mentioned above, numerous 'Asiatics' are depicted in Egyptian art from the Old Testament period. Likewise, numerous Israelites are portrayed in Assyrian sculpture[s]. Jehu, king of Israel, along with several other Israelites is depicted in the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (about 825 BC). Numerous scenes portraying Israelites are included in the sculptured wall-panels from Sennacherib's palace (701 BC) portraying the siege of the Israelite city of Lachish. The people in these artistic portrayals are, in general, similar in appearance to the Israelis and Arabs living in and around Israel/Palestine today." (J. Daniel Hays, From Every People and Nation, pg. 33-34, emphasis mine)
When one looks at these pictures, one can notice that the Israelites did not have Negroid features. For example, they had straight hair, which is not a Negroid facial feature. You can view the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III here and the depiction of the Siege of Lachish right here
Part Two: A Biblical Critique
In this portion of this article, I will go through some evidence from the Scriptures that further demonstrate that the Ancient Israelites weren't Negroes, and I will also examine some "proof-texts" used by the BHI and show that they do not support their claims.
Numbers 12:1
In this passage, we read that Moses married a Negro woman, and that his siblings were in opposition to this:
"Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman". (Numbers 12:1)
We have already shown that the Cushites resembled extremely closely that of black Africans.
"It is clear that Moses marries a black African woman" (J. Daniel Hays, From Every People and Nation, pg. 71)
Semitic scholar Edwin Yamauchi notes this:
"The Cushite woman was no doubt dark-skinned" (Edwin M. Yamauchi, Africa and the Bible, pg. 35)
It is very obvious to see that the reason being for Miriam and Aaron speaking against Moses for his marriage to a Negro woman was that she was black (Cushite) and they (the Israelites) were not. The Bible is not promoting racism here however because in Numbers 12:10 God punishes Miriam for her prejudice against the Cushites.
Jeremiah 13:23
"Can the Cushite change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil." (Jeremiah 13:23)
If the Israelites had black skin like the Cushites, then why would this passage emphasize the Cushites' skin color in this way?
Genesis 28:11 (BHI "Proof-Text")
"And he (Jacob) came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep." (Genesis 28:11 ESV)
The BHI argue that this proves that Jacob was a Negro, since he uses stones as pillows, and they say this would only work if Jacob had an afro to give his head extra support. Black Hebrew Israelites Anu M'Bantu and Get Muller say this proves that "Jacob's hair was similar to that of sub-Saharan Africans." (Anu M'Bantu, Gert Muller, The Ancient Black Hebrews and Arabs, pg. 15)
However, it is more likely that Jacob used these stones for self-defense rather than as a pillow. In Hebrew, the word being used is מְרַֽאֲשֹׁתָ֑יו (mera-a-sotaw) which is translated as "he put it at his head place" by the NET and the HCSB, while the ISV,YLT,KJV all translate it as "he put them for pillows". Here is a renowned commentary that proves it is better read as a phrase that does not indicate the BHI interpretation:
"The same word occurs in v. 18. See BDB, pg. 912, which says of מְרַֽאֲשֹׁתָ֑יו 'place at the head, head place'. In addition to v.18, see 1 Samuel 19:13, 16, 26:7, 1 Kings 19:6. The stone more likely served as protection for his head rather than as a pillow." (Victor P. Hamilton, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Genesis, pg. 236-237)
Job 30:30 (BHI "Proof-Text")
"My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat." (Job 30:30 KJV)
It is pretty obvious what BHI are claiming. Job must have been a black man because of this text! However, the context is Job's suffering that causes him to have a skin disease causing his skin to dark on him.
Old Testament scholar Franz Delitzsch proves that this is referring to a disease, not Job's natural skin color. (Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job, pg. 171)
Conclusions
As we have seen, it takes a lot of hermeneutical gymnastics in order to support the claims of Hebrew Israelism. Hopefully, these people will come to know the true gospel of Christ revealed in the Scriptures.
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