Clearing Confusion: Not all Hebrews are Israelites

 As I meet people and read many differing topics I always come across people claiming to be Hebrews and by being Hebrew they are thus Israelites. Not only are they Israelites but everyone who shares whatever traits they might have whether it be skin tone, shared history, or world view to be Israelites as well, the problem is that just because you share skin tones, history, or what have you doesn't mean you are the same people. True, you both may be Hebrews but that doesn't mean you are both Israelites or share the same religion. In our modern times most people forget that Hebrew people are a group of Semetic people (not all Semites are Hebrews) usually descending from Western Africa and Eastern Middle East.

 The one thing all Hebrew share is a lineage that is: Noah, Shem, and Eber (Hebrews are named after Eber that could possibly mean those who crossed over because they crossed over from Africa into the Mid East). Not all Hebrews are children of Abraham because Abraham was himself a Hebrew person this is another misnomer that people seem to make.

So then who are the Hebrews? They are as Follows

Israelites- the Children of Jacob, son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham.

Samaratians- are Israelites who broke off with the rest of Israel after Moses died.

Ishmaelites- Children of Ishmael, son of Abraham (through Hagar his slave), Ishmaelites are one of the groups that make up the people of the Middle East, some Arabs are Ishmaelites but not all.

Edomites- children of Esau, named after the oldest son of Isaac.

Moabites- children of Moab, a son of Lot through incest with one of his daughters

Ammorites- Children of Ben-Ammi, a son of Lot through incest with one of his daughters

Midinites- Children of Midian, Son of Abraham (through his wife Keturah)

Qahtanites- Children of Joktan, Son of Eber, the original Arabs before the arrival of the Ishmaelites.

 So these groups are the Hebrews, next time you claim to be Hebrew or you think you are Hebrew, or you want to claim it why not try a different Hebrew group than Israel all the time and refrain from saying statements like "all Hebrews are Israelites" or "All my people are Hebrews" because these people were a dark skinned people that may have shared some ancestors, some cultural baggage, but they were not all the same. We must also remember that the Children of Ham were also a dark skinned people but they were not Hebrews so to make generalizations or to think they were the same is to grossly misunderstand who these people are/were and it does a great injustice when people try to lump them in all together.