Are they Hebrews? so am I
The nation of the Jews were called Hebrews, not from Abraham, as
some have F23 thought, through ignorance of the
Hebrew language, which will by no means admit of such a
derivation and etymology of the name; wherefore the Jewish
writers never make mention of this opinion as among any of them;
had they took their name from Abram or Abraham, they would rather
have been called Abramires or Abrahamites, and not Hebrews;
besides, Abraham himself is called an Hebrew, ( Genesis
14:13 ) and to be so called from himself, and not denominated
from some other person or thing, can never be imagined, it would
be most absurd and ridiculous; to which may be added, that the
apostle in this verse makes mention of being the seed of Abraham,
as a distinct character from that of Hebrews: others have been of
opinion that the name is derived from (rbe) , "Habar", which signifies, "to pass over";
and was occasioned by one or other of the following events;
either from Abraham's passing over the river Euphrates, when he
came out of Mesopotamia into the land of Canaan, and so was
called Abram, (yrbeh)
"Hahibri, the passer over", or the Hebrew F24, and
so his posterity were called after him; or from the posterity of
Canaan, who, after the confusion at Babel, settled in that part
of Asia which lies between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean
sea, and from them called the land of Canaan; and who were called
by the Chaldeans, from whom they separated, and by the
neighbouring nations, Hebrews, or passers over, because they
passed over the river Jordan; and so Abraham passing over the
river Euphrates to them, and learning their language, and
continuing there, he was called an Hebrew also, and his posterity
after him F25; or from Arphaxad, or Heber,
passing over the river Tigris or Euphrates, and settling in the
land of Canaan F26; but it is not likely that a nation
should take its name from such an event: others think it a more
probable opinion that Abraham was so called, and hence his
posterity after him, from the name which the Canaanites gave to
Mesopotamia, from whence he came; calling it Heber Hannahar, or
the country beyond the river: just as we call foreigners
Transmarines, or people beyond sea; and of this opinion were some
of the Jewish writers F1; but not Mesopotamia, but Canaan, is
called the land of the Hebrews, ( Genesis
40:15 ) . The more commonly received opinion with the
F2 Jews is, and which is most likely,
that they are so called from Heber, the father of Peleg, in whose
days the confusion of languages was made, and what is now called
the Hebrew language being the first and original one, was
retained in him and in his family; hence Shem is said to be the
father of all the children of Heber, ( Genesis
10:21 ) that is, the Hebrews, as the same people are called
the children of Israel from Israel, and the children of Judah
from Judah, and sometimes they go by the name of Heber, as in (
Numbers
24:24 ) when as the Assyrians are called Ashur, from whom
they have their name, so the Hebrews are called Heber, from whom
they take their denomination: and it should be observed, that
this is not only a national but a religious name, and those
people were called so, because they were of the faith as well as
the descendants of Heber; so Shem was the father of others, but
in a peculiar manner the father of the children of Heber, because
the religion he professed was continued with them; and so Abraham
is particularly called the Hebrew, not only because he descended
from Heber, but was of the same, religion; and so his posterity,
not in the line of Ishmael, but of Isaac, are so called; and not
as descending from Isaac in the line of Esau, but of Jacob; and
hence it was not lawful for the Egyptians to eat bread with the
Hebrews, not because they were of another nation, but because of
another religion, ( Genesis
43:32 ) . It seems that these false apostles were Jews, since
it is not denied by the apostle, but granted; they were some such
like false brethren as those who came from Judea to Antioch, and
disturbed the church there, ( Acts 15:1 ) and whereas
they boasted of their being Hebrews, the descendants of the
ancient patriarch Heber in the line of Abraham; the apostle was
able to match them in this, and asserts himself to be an Hebrew
too, which he could do with the strictest truth, for he was an
Hebrew of the Hebrews, he was an Hebrew by father and mother's
side:
are they Israelites? so am I.
The Jews were called Israelites from Israel, a name which was
given to Jacob their ancestor, upon his wrestling with an angel,
and prevailing over him; and was accounted an honourable one, or
title of honour; for the people of Israel were they whom God
chose for a peculiar people to himself above all others, brought
them out of Egypt, fed them in the wilderness, and led them
through it, and settled them in the land of Canaan, and bestowed
upon them special and peculiar privileges; see ( Romans 9:4 Romans 9:5 ) . The Jews
are very extravagant in the praise of Israelites; they not only
make them the favourites of God, beloved of him, because called
children, and had the law given them F3, and extol them above
all mankind; (See Gill on Romans
3:9) but they even make them equal to the ministering
angels, and say they are pure from sin as they, especially on the
day of atonement F4, yea, more excellent than they
F5: in this also the apostle could
answer them, for he was of the stock of Israel, and of the tribe
of Benjamin, a son of Jacob, or Israel; and was an Israelite
indeed, as Nathanael, for all are not Israel that are of Israel:
are they the seed of Abraham? so am I:
of this the Jews mightily boasted; see ( John 8:33 ) they reckon
themselves, even the poorest among them, as the nobles and
princes of the earth F6; and even other people have been
fond of being reckoned of the stock of Abraham, as particularly
the Lacedemonians,
``Areus king of the Lacedemonians to Onias the high priest, greeting: It is found in writing, that the Lacedemonians and Jews are brethren, and that they are of the stock of Abraham:'' (1 Maccabees 12:20,21)The Jews make a merciful disposition to men to be a sign and evidence of being of the seed of Abraham F7; but in a spiritual sense, an interest in Christ, and faith in him, denominate men to be truly Abraham's seed, and heirs of the promise: this is to be understood here in a natural sense, and of being of Abraham's seed in the line of Jacob, for otherwise the Ishmaelites and Idumeans were of the seed of Abraham; but they were his seed in that line in which the promised seed, the Messiah, was to come; though this was of no avail, without having the same faith Abraham had, and believing truly in Christ, as his spiritual seed do, whether they be Jews or Gentiles; however, the apostle was equal to them in this respect; he was of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, and above them in another, in that he was of Abraham's spiritual seed by faith in Christ Jesus.
F23 Artapanus apud Euseb. praepar. l. 9. c. 18. p. 420. Ambrosius sive Hilarius in Phil. iii. 5. & alii.
F24 Hicronymus in Ezek. c. 7. fol. 183. B. Theodoret. in Gen. Qu. 60.
F25 Erpeuius.
F26 Ar. Montan. Canaan, c. 9. Vid. Sigonium de Repub. Heb. l. 1. c. 1. p. 16.
F1 Bereshit Rabba, sect. 42. fol. 37. 3. Vid. Jarchium in Gen. x. 21. & xiv. 13. & Aben Ezram in Exod. xxi. 2.
F2 Joseph. Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 4. Targ. Jon. in Gen. x. 21. Sepher Cosri, par. 1. sect. 49. fol. 24. 2. R. Nehemiah in Bereshit Rabba, ut supra, Aben Ezra in Gen. x. 21. & xxxix. 14. & in Exod. i. 16. Kimchi in rad. (rbe) .
F3 Pirke Abot, c. 3. sect. 14.
F4 Pirke Eliezer, c. 48.
F5 lb. c. 47.
F6 Misn. Bava Kama, c. 8. sect. 6.
F7 T. Bab. Betza, fol. 32. 2.