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People here might know about a nomadic people from ancient Southwest Asia known as the Habiru, who are reported to have given many civilizations in the region a headache for their frequent raiding and banditry. Some scholars have noted that their name and described culture are awfully evocative of the biblical Hebrews, the people who founded the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Here is one article digging into the question:
quote:Revealingly, Joseph is called a Hebrew (Gen 39:14) who came from the land of the Hebrews (Gen 40:15). In the ancient world, all Israelites were Hebrews, but not all Hebrews were Israelites. All Hebrews were Habiru, but not all Habiru were of the stock of Jacob.
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^ I believe this was discussed several times before. The word 'Hebrew' comes from the Hebew name Ebru (plural- Ebrim) who are those peoples descended from Eber. The word 'eber' means to cross over and is associated with crossing over rivers or other boundaries but may also hold deep spiritual or occult meanings as well. Eber is different from the name Habiru. Though the latter may be slightly phonetically closer to 'hebrew' than ebru.
Ironically, most times I've heard the Habiru theory for Hebrews comes from 'anti-Semitic' sources though not always. Even so the idea of a supposedly chosen holy people arising from brigands is still an intriguing notion.
-------------------- Mahirap gisingin ang nagtutulog-tulugan. Posts: 26249 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005
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quote:Originally posted by osirion: The fact that Habiru has a meaning that is very similar to the meaning of Hebrew is also something we should not ignore.
I don't see any connection in the names 'apirw `ibri when examining the original languages. They only begin to sound alike when rendered in translation. The English word Hebrew is derived from a word pronounced ngeeb*ree in its original tongue.
Apeeroo and ngeeb*ree sound nothing alike to me.
Habiru is an ancient designation for a low class of people. It is not a specific ethnicity. Alternate spellings of the term are 'Apiru and Khapiru.
The use of Habiru pre-dates the existence of the Israelites and appears in text ranging from Mari to Anatolia to Egypt. Out of the vast region this encompasses, no one has yet explained how the term could be narrowed down to only apply to one small group of transhumant pastoralists in Canaan and not anybody else.
If the Egyptian term 'apiru is synonymous with `ibriym then a record of Rameses II who fed 'apiru masons on his building projects supports the Israelite record of Hebrews toiling as brick masons in the construction at the cities of Pithom and Raamses.
The Israelites claim an eponymous ancestor `Eber and their writings show a Canaanite referring to their more immediate ancestor Abraham one time as an `ibri. The root -- `br -- has meanings of "the other side, yonder, yonderer."
It doesn't matter whether there ever was a person named `Eber or if there ever was a person Abraham. All peoples have stories of a founding ancestor from whom they take their tribal name, ethnic appellation, or national designation.
The Habiru were bands of disconnected people of various ethicities who made no claim to having a eponymous ancestor. Nor did the AE's invent the title Habiru meaning "those who make dust," as first noted in Mesopotamian and Levantine writings
-------------------- Mahirap gisingin ang nagtutulog-tulugan. Posts: 26249 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005
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