“
The origin of the Jews is revealed by the origin of their tribal
name. The word "Jew" was unknown in ancient history. The
Jews were then known as Hebrews, and the word Hebrew tells us
all about this people that we need to know. The Encyclopaedia
Britannica defines Hebrew as originating in the Aramaic word,
Ibhray, but strangely enough, offers no indication as to what the
word means. Most references, such as Webster's International
Dictionary, 1952, give the accepted definition of Hebrew. Webster
says Hebrew derives from the Aramaic Ebri, which in turn
19
derives from the Hebrew word, Ibhri, lit. "one who is from across
the river. 1. A Member of one of a group of tribes in the northern
branch of the Semites, including Israelites."
That is plain enough. Hebrew means "one who is from across
the river." Rivers were often the boundaries of ancient nations,
and one from across the river meant, simply, an alien. In every
country of the ancient world, the Hebrews were known as aliens.
The word also, in popular usage, meant "one who should not be
trusted until he has identified himself." Hebrew in all ancient
literature was written as "Habiru". This word appears frequently
in the Bible and in Egyptian literature. In the Bible, Habiru is
used interchangeably with "sa-gaz", meaning "cutthroat". In all
of Egyptian literature, wherever the word Habiru appears, it is
written with the word "sa-gaz" written beside it. Thus the Egyptians
always wrote of the Jews as "the cutthroat bandits from
across the river". For five thousand years, the Egyptian scribes
identified the Jews in this manner. Significantly, they are not
referred to except by these two characters. The great Egyptian
scholar, C. J. Gadd, noted in his book, The Fall of Nineveh,
London, 1923,
"Habiru is written with an ideogram. . . sa-gaz. . . signifying
'cut-throats'."
In the Bible, wherever the word Habiru, meaning the Hebrews,
appears, it is used to mean bandit or cutthroat. Thus, in Isaiah
1:23, "Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves,"
the word for thieves here is Habiru. Proverbs XXVIII:24 ,
"Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, 'It is no
transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer," sa-gaz
is used here for destroyer, but the word destroyer also appears
sometimes in the Bible as Habiru. Hosea VI:9 , "And as troops of
robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the
way by consent; for they commit lewdness." The word for robbers
in this verse is Habiru.
”
”