The Dispersion of the Early Hebrew

 

       Map produced by Daniel Todd

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The Hebrew were widely dispersed before Abraham's time (c.2000 BC). They were in the region of Lake Chad, the Nile Valley, Arabia, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Eurasia, and the Indus Valley.

Nekhen on the Nile is the oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship. It is marked on the map by a star. Nekhen's sister city, Nekheb, sat on the opposite side to the Nile River. Both were shrine cities with Hebrew priests. A great deal is known about the Horite and Sethite mounds from texts dating to as early as 4200 years ago.

The historical Adam and Eve lived around 5000-4800 BC in a vast well-watered region called Eden. Genesis 2 describes Eden as a lush riverine region that extended from the sources of the Nile in Ethiopia and Uganda to the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia (C on the map). The early Hebrew lived throughout Eden.

The firstborn son of Adam and Eve was Cain (Gen. 4). He was sent away and established a settlement "east of Eden" (Gen. 4:16). He named that settlement for his son Enoch, a royal title. Cain's descendants, the Kenites, are found in the land of Kenan which is the land of Canaan כנען, pronounced kena'an.

Noah was one of the descendants of Adam and Eve. Different accounts of Noah are given in Genesis chapter 6-8. He probably ruled in the region of Lake Chad (A on the map). This is the only place on earth that the natives call Noah's homeland - Bornu (Borno/Benue), meaning "land of Noah." The local Kanuri people call Lake Chad Buhar Nuhu, meaning "Sea of Noah." When Noah lived the Sahara was wet and green. The Lake Chad Basin was prone to flooding. The oldest known canoe, the "Dufuna boat," was found in this region. This is a photograph of that 8000-year mahogany dugout.

One of Noah's descendants was Nimrod (Gen. 10), a son of Kush. Nimrod left Kush (modern day Sudan) and established his territory on the Euphrates River around 3500 BC (Gen. 10). He married a Sumerian princess, the daughter of King Asshur.

The practice of marrying high-status women to form political alliances and to become established in a new territory is illustrated by Nimrod’s marriage to a Sumerian princess. Nimrod was a Kushite kingdom builder and his marriage to Asshur’s daughter is evidence of the close connection between the rulers of the Nile Valley and the rulers of Mesopotamia, two early riverine civilizations.

Another of Noah's descendants was Heth (Gen. 10). The Hittites of Canaan and Anatolia (C on the map) are Heth's Hebrew descendants.

Abraham was one of Nimrod’s descendants. Around 2000 BC, Abraham controlled the water systems at Hebron and Beersheba and the wells that he dug in Gerar. His proper heir was Isaac and Isaac's proper heir was Esau. Jacob was sent to serve his maternal uncle, a common practice among the early Hebrew. The sending away of non-ascendant sons drove the Hebrew dispersion into many regions.

The clans of Joktan and Sheba were also Hebrew. They settled in southern Arabia. This map shows the Joktanite clans of Arabia.

The widely dispersed Hebrew ruler-priests controlled commerce on sections of the major water systems. They traded as far as Pakistan and the Indus River Civilization. By the time Nimrod married a daughter of Asshur, long-distance trade had become a source of wealth for the Mesopotamian lords and ladies. Ships coming from Bahrain (Sumerian "Dilmun") brought wool, gold, copper, lapis lazuli, and carnelian to the Sumerian cities of Ur, Nippur, and Uruk (Erech). Archaeologists discovered a 4,000-year-old boat at Uruk. The boat was constructed of organic materials, probably marsh reeds, and covered in bitumen, a tar-like substance used for waterproofing. This technique was used in the construction of Noah’s ark (Gen. 6:14).

As early as 7000 BC, the island of Bahrain (F on the map) served as a major trade depot with its own commercial seal. Ancient documents speak of Dilmun's trade in gold, silver, ivory, sesame oil, wool, carnelian beads, lapis lazuli, and copper. One document details a cargo of eighteen tons of refined copper purchased in Dilmun. Dilmun was a maritime connection between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley.

Sumerian ships brought cargo to Dilmun and to port cities in the Indus Valley (G on the map). Ships sailed southeast on the Tigris or Euphrates to the Persian Gulf, making stops at the port of Dilmun, passing the Oman Peninsula, and entering the Arabian Sea. From there the ships sailed northeast on the Indus River to Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Trade in lapis lazuli and carnelian beads ran between Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and Afghanistan as early as 4000 B.C. Indus seals with Harappan inscriptions have been found in Mesopotamia. Indus pottery and seals have been found along the maritime routes between the Indian subcontinent and Mesopotamia. Note the close resemblance of Indus Valley and Nilotic inscriptions found on pottery.

The early Hebrew rulers sent their merchants along ancient trade routes that ran from the Nile to Arabia and Canaan, and from Mesopotamia to modern Bahrain. Routes extended into the Indus Valley and as far north as China. There is considerable evidence that the religious beliefs of the early Hebrew influenced the populations among whom they lived. This explains the common religious practices and solar symbolism among the diverse populations of the Fertile Crescent and the Ancient Near East.

The term "Hebrew" is derived from the ancient Akkadian word for priest - abru. They were a ruler-priest caste that married only within their caste (caste endogamy). The caste structure of the early Hebrew meant that wherever they lived they were identifiable as Hebrew. It is possible to speak of Egyptian Hebrew, Canaanite Hebrew, Kushite Hebrew, and Mesopotamian Hebrew. The Hebrew living in the Nile Valley were kin to the Hebrew living in Canaan, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia.

The Hebrew priests were in the service of the early kingdom builder which are described in Genesis as the "mighty men of old" and "heroes of renown." As new territories were established and as older territories expanded, the Hebrew went where they were appointed to serve at royal temples and river shrines. Many Hebrew women ministered to women at the river shrines which were places of healing, purification, and prayer, especially for women struggling with infertility.

All this movement happened long before Judaism emerged as a world religion after about 580 BC. None of the people mentioned above were Jews. They were Hebrew, and there were many Hebrew clans.

Related reading: The Ministry of Hebrew Woman at the Sun Cities; Temple Women; Horite and Sethite Mounds; The Hebrew Rulers of Genesis; The Roots of the Gospel are in Africa