Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):

The Israelites Were White!

by Bert Otten 

Who wants to know what the original Israelites looked like? And what difference does it make? I believe the Israelites were quite white and there is only one reason why it could be of importance. Those who do not want to situate the lost tribes in Northwestern Europe often say that we are white peoples, while Israel of old was colored. However, people at the time of Solomon were white enough to be able to get tanned in the sun. Like most of us.

Laban is the first clue. His name is White, Laban, pronounced as lavan. We come across this word in Lebanon (l’vanon), the snowcapped white Lebanon Mountains (Mount Hermon). The name Laban hints at a white color of skin, whiter than usual. A brown skinned colored people would not call a lighter individual "white", but a white colored people would, if someone is very white (and maybe red haired).

If Laban was white, what about his sister Rebeccah and his two daughters Leah and Rachel? What about his grandfather Terach? If Laban was white, then Rebecca (Jacob’s mother), Leah and Rachel were most likely white too. The Israelites are descendants of Rebecca, Jacob, Laban, Leah and Rachel. 

That the patriarchs were white is confirmed by Esau, Jacob’s twin brother, Laban’s nephew,

"And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau" (Genesis 25:25, KJV throughout, unless mentioned otherwise).

The redness of Esau is explained in two ways, he either had a very red skin at birth or he was covered in red hair. It does not matter for the sake of this article. Especially white people get very red skinned babies or babies with red hair. One way or the other, Red (haired) Esau fits very well with white skinned uncle Laban. Probably both had the red hair gene. Anyway we now have two indicators that the Israelites were white. 

Like the brother of his ancestor Jacob, king David was red too:

"So he sent and made him come in. Now he had red hair and beautiful eyes and pleasing looks. And the Lord said, Come, put the oil on him, for this is he" (1 Samuel 16:12, BBE, Bible in Basic English).

"And when the Philistine, taking note, saw David, he had a poor opinion of him: for he was only a boy, red-haired and good-looking" (1 Samuel 17:42, BBE).

This is a jump of about 900 years, from Esau to David. The same Hebrew word for red is used in either case. As with Esau, there are those who reason that David was red-skinned, rather than red-haired. It does not matter for the purpose of this article. Both red hair and red skin are characteristics of a white people.

Just think of the term "rednecks". Wikipedia: “The term redneck is a derogatory term chiefly used for a rural poor WHITE [stress is mine] person of the Southern United States.”

Red hair or red skin, both hint at a white people. But there is more. Solomon’s sweetheart was ashamed of her suntan (Song of Songs). 

Suntanned against her will 

"Dark am I, and comely, daughters of Jerusalem, As tents of Kedar, as curtains of Solomon. Fear me not, because I am very dark, Because the sun hath scorched me, The sons of my mother were angry with me, They made me keeper of the vineyards, My vineyard -- my own -- I have not kept" (Song of Solomon 1:5-6, YLT, Young’s Literal Translation).

This is one generation after King David. Solomon’s "love" has become very suntanned because of her work in the sunshine. We should not take the tents of Kedar literally, but they were very dark. Solomon’s sweetheart was forced to work in the sun by her brothers and she became very tanned. This is a characteristic of white people. Some white people can become very tanned in summer. 

“Let not your eyes be turned on me, because I am dark [suntanned], because I was looked on by the sun (BBE)”… apparently it was not considered advantageous to be tanned! Many of us think it is cool to have a suntan. Until the 20th century it was not cool to have a suntan. Wikipedia:

“Tanning has gone in and out of fashion. In the United States before about the 1920s, tanned skin was associated with the lower classes, because they worked outdoors and were exposed to the sun. Women went to great lengths to preserve pallid skin, as a sign of their 'refinement'. Women's outdoor clothing styles were tailored to protect against sun exposure, with full-length sleeves, and sunbonnets  and other large hats, headscarves, and parasols shielding the head. Women even went as far as to put lead-based cosmetics on their skin to artificially whiten their skin tone. However, when not strictly monitored, these cosmetics caused lead poisoning. Light-skinned appearance was achieved in other ways, including the use of arsenic to whiten skin, and lightening powders. The preference for fair skin continued until the end of the Victorian era.”

The aristocracy was white, the workers were tanned. Apparently the same fashion was prevalent in Solomon’s time. The well-off did not work in the sun and could remain white during the summer. The "sweetheart" of Song of Songs says “Do not look at my suntanned skin”, only a white society can produce such a prejudice. 

The maiden of Song of Songs is called the Shulamite, "Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies" (Song Songs 6:13).

The Issacharite town of Sunem still exists as the Arab village Sulam near Afula. The "s" in Arabic becomes the "sh" in Hebrew (salam, shalom). The "l" and "n" are interchangeable as well in Semitic languages. NIV Study Bible, page 993, “In ancient Semitic languages the letters ‘l’  and ‘n’ were sometimes interchanged”.

It is therefore most likely that the fair, but darkly tanned, maiden of Songs of Songs is an Issacharite girl from Shunem. For the identity of Issachar see my article Ten Prophetic Clues Concerning Issachar & Frisians.

Just to digress, let us look at the American Standard Version: "Why will ye look upon the Shulammite, As upon the dance of Mahanaim?" (Song of Solomon 6:13b). And I like the BBE translation of 6:13b, "What will you see in the Shulammite? A sword-dance."

This makes me think of Mata Hari. Who was Mata Hari? Wikipedia, “Margaretha Geertruida "Margreet" MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 1876 -- 15 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari, was a Dutch Frisian exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy and executed by firing squad in France under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I.”

It is evident that the suntanned beauty of Song of Solomon was from the tribe of Issachar. And she was quite suntanned. 

Lamentations 

Lamentations describes white people of Jerusalem getting black skins as well:

"Her holy ones were cleaner than SNOW, they were WHITER than milk, their bodies were redder than corals, their form was as the sapphire: Their face is BLACKER than night; in the streets no one has knowledge of them: their skin is hanging on their bones, they are dry, they have become like wood" (Lamentations 4:7-8, BBE).

Muhammad was white. There are several mentions. In Part 2 of the Hadith, No. 122, Muhammad is described as a white person.

Is Muhammad’s skin color of any concern to us? Not at all, except that it is an indicator. "White" Muhammad (as white as the moon) is supposedly a descendant of Abraham through Ishmael. If so, another indicator of the white skin of the patriarchs. 

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2Timothy 3:16).

From Wikipedia:

“Red hair occurs naturally in 1–2% of the human population. It occurs more frequently (2–6%) in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations.… 

"North and West Europe 

"Today, red hair is most commonly found at the northern and western fringes of Europe; it is associated particularly with people in the British Isles. Redheads are common among Celtic and Germanic peoples.

"In Scotland, 10% of the population have red hair and approximately 35% carry the recessive redhead gene. In Ireland, as many as 10% of the population have red, auburn, or strawberry blond hair. It is thought that up to 46% of the Irish population carry the recessive redhead gene. A 1956 study of hair color amongst British army recruits found high levels of red hair in Wales and the English Border counties...

"Americas, Oceania and South Africa 

"Emigration from Eurasia and North Africa added to the population of red haired humans in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Southern Africa. In the United States, it is estimated that 2–6% of the population has red hair. This would give the U.S. the largest population of redheads in the world, at 6 to 18 million, compared to approximately 650,000 in Scotland and 420,000 in Ireland...

"In various times and cultures, red hair has been prized, feared, and ridiculed. 

"Beliefs about temperament 

"A common belief about redheads is that they have fiery tempers and sharp tongues…” [1]

The conclusion of all the above is that the original Israelites were a people white enough to have red-heads and that they could get a suntan (Song of Songs 1:5, note NIV Study Bible). Just like the peoples (lost tribes) of Northwestern Europe today. 

[1] Bert Otten: About 10% of the Irish have red hair. Those who study the tribes are quite unanimous about the "Dan identity" of the Irish. In the light of the above it is interesting to see what is said about the "fiery temper" of the Danites:

"And the children of Dan said unto him [to Micha of the ephod], Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household" (Judges 18:25).

 

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