Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yigal Levin <Yigal-Levin AT utc.edu>]

At 11:29 PM 8/7/2002 -0500, Cyber Vision wrote:
>
>GIVEN <<'ibri is derived from Eber, the name of one of Shem's sons
>(Gen 10:21; 11:14, 16). Abraham is identified as a
>descendant of Shem, of Eber's line (Gen 11:26).">>  it appears that BOTH
>Jews and Muslims (all descended from Abraham) may be called HEBREWS, yes?
>
>

I'm not going to repeat all that has been said, but let's at least get our
termenology right. Muslims are members of a religion, and most Muslims are
not of Arab decsent and as such are not ever theoretically decsended from
Abraham. It is true, that biblical writers included the "Ishmaelites"
(Arabs) among the close relatives of the Israelites, and this was picked up
by early Muslims who looked for a "tie-in" with Jewish and Christian
tradition, but the Hebrew and the Arabic languages belong to different
branches of the Semitic family (Northwest and South). And nowhere in the
Bible is anyone who is not an Israelite (except Abraham himself) ever
called a "Hebrew" (outside the Bible the term is unattested). In the eyes
of the Biblical writers, whether or not the "`Ibrim" are decsended from
`Eber (and this is only impied, not stated), they do not include other
branches of Eber's lineage. 
So even if all Muslims were Arabs, this would not make them Hebrews.


Dr. Yigal Levin
Dept. of Philosophy and Religion
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
615 McCallie Avenue
Chattanooga TN 37403-2598
U.S.A.