-----------------------Who is a Jew------------------------
By going back to Jewish Scriptures, which are the source of Jewishness, we have an objective standard. Once this is done, the definition of Jewishness becomes easy. The biblical basis of defining Jewishness lies in the Abrahamic covenant found in Genesis 12:1-3
1: Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
In relation to Abraham, it is further described in two other passages.
15: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
16: And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
Gen 15 4-5: And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5: And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Later the Abrahamic Covenant was confirmed through Isaac;
Gen:26:2: And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
3: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
4: And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
5: Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
After Isaac, the Abrahamic Covenant is re-confirmed through Jacob;
Gen:28:13: And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
14: And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15: And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
In the Abrahamic Covenant, a simple definition of Jewishness can be found in the repeated statements that a nation will come through the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jewishness would then be defined as a nationality. But unlike the view of many Zionists, this nationality is not confined to the state of Israel alone; it includes all Jewish people no matter where they are. It is a nationality based on descendancy, not on history or Zionism.
Biblically speaking, the Jewish people are a nation. Today we are a
scattered nation, but we are, nevertheless, a nation because we are
descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. By this definition, no matter what the individual Jewish person may believe or disbelieve , he remains a Jew. The implication here is that no matter what a Jew does, he can never become a non-Jew. A Chinese man who becomes a Christian remains Chinese. A Chinese man who becomes a Buddhist remains Chinese. The same is true of the Jewish person. He is a two because he is a descendant of Abraham,Isaac, and Jacob. Whether Orthodox, reform atheist, or communists, he remains a Jew.
If a Jew chooses to believe that Jesus is his Messiah, he remains a Jew.
Nothing absolutely nothing, can change the fact that he is a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Also SEED as you try to define as singular is not it is tied to DUST, and STARS more of you sick twisting of Scripture.
Alan |
