Bible Discussion Thread

Were Adam and Eve Jewish or Gentile?

I believe we can use common sense logic to conclude that Adam and Eve were "not Jewish" (Gentile). We, all of humanity, are decendants of Adam and Eve, therefore if they were Jewish/Hebrew then we would all be Jewish/Hebrew and there would have been no need for God to proclaim to Abraham that he would become the "Father of the Hebrew Nation" (first of the Nation of Isreal) because everyone would already be Jewish/Hebrew including those who lived (during this time) in the land of Canaan (the "Promised Land". Abraham was born of Gentile parents in the city of Ur (south of Babylon). God converted Abraham to Jewish/Hebrew and he became the "Father of the Hebrew Nation". I understand there are those who prefer to use the term/lable "not Jewish" rather than "Gentile", which is fine with me, but please understand during this ancient Bible period the lables "Gentile" and "not Jewish" were one and the same.

JRiley,

I agree that Adam and Eve and Abraham were simply people, not Jew or Gentile as there was not yet such a distinction during their life spans. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were not Jewish either, but were considered Hebrews because Eber (Heber) was their ancestor. The nation of Israel began when God gave this name to Jacob in Genesis. He and his sons and daughters were the first Israelites. The Jews descended from Jacob's son Judah. They were not initially called Jews, but Judahites. It was after the Israelites had settled in the land of promise and land was allotted to each tribe, followed by the reigns of David and Solomon, and then the dividing of the Kingdom into Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judah (Southern Kingdom). It was when Judah was taken to Babylonian captivity that they were referred to as Jews, I believe.

I think that they were Jew beacuse they were God's chosen people.

Hi Jriley.

It is clear that there was always a chosen line of ancestry. This is evident from the fact that the Book of Genesis only gives the genealogy of Seth (although Cain's genealogy is mentioned briefly), ignoring all the other descendants of Adam and Eve.

The line of Seth takes us all the way to the birth of Jesus. "There are some Gentiles in the line of Jesus by way of Rahab and Ruth.

There was always a chosen line, but that does not mean there has ALWAYS been a separation of Jews and Gentiles.

It seems, then, that the separation of Jews and Gentiles did not BEGIN to occur until God called Abraham to be the father of His chosen nation, Israel ( Genesis 12). Many view Abraham as the first Jew, even though the precise term Jew did not come into use until after the return from exile when the tribe of Judah was dominant.

Another placement of the division of Jews from Gentiles would be with Jacob, whose name was changed by God to Israel

Genesis 32:28.

(All of the descendants of Jacob, through his 12 sons)

I believe the separation of lineage started with Seth and the ACTUAL separation of Jews and the rest of the world/Gentiles Started in Genesis 17:10-19 and highlighted in vs 17-18.

"And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

Abraham was given a seal if a covenant of circumcision, "A cutting away of sinful flesh" in

Genesis 17:10-14.

This pointed to Christ work on the cross. Colossians 2:10-17.

This has nothing to do with race!

It has everything to do with covenant!

And a Jew inwardly has nothing to do with Israel as a Nation and God's covenant and future promises to the Nation Israel and the Davidic kingdom in the Millennium.

GB.

Hello, Jriley

I would say neither Jew nor Gentile, just humans formed in the image of God.

Gentiles are a delineation of the Israelites of any who are not descended from Jacob. Jews, who were separated out of all humanity of the time for God in a special way that other peoples did not experience God. Since the Jews had this "special status", they saw everyone else as Gentiles (meaning heathens-people who did not know the true God YHWH).

Before the time of Jacob's descendants, there was not a distinction between Jews (Israelites) and Gentiles. All humanity was descended from Adam and Eve through Noah and his wife (since the flood). So, humans were just considered humans before God established the Israelites as His people for the praise of His name. Although all were simply human, there still were nations and ethnicities as people were scattered from the time of the Tower of Babel.

And from the time of Jesus forward, those who believed in Him were neither Jew nor Gentile, but all are one in Christ, ( Gal. 3:28).

The teaching of the Talmud (which is not Scripture, the Torah is) which defines Judaism since the Babylonian exile and especially since the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, is that Jews are a higher race than Gentiles; that Gentiles are a different race than Jews, and that Gentiles are not true human beings. Therefore, Jews can mistreat Gentiles as if they are animals. Even killing Gentiles is not sinful, but is encouraged in the Talmud. The Talmud presents the Jewish race as the superior race and that all Gentiles should serve them. It teaches that Jews were made to dominate the Gentiles, being a Master Race. Interesting how this teaching was turned upside down on them by the Nazis. (Both ideals are wrong and should be rejected.)

So, when we consider this as being the teaching and aim of the Jews, are we to encourage this to come about through Zionism or believe that this will happen in the millennium, as some dispensationalists believe? No.