Modern Connections to Ancient Israel

 It has long been recognized that cultural legends very often have some type of real-life historical backgrounds no matter how distorted, exaggerated, embellished, or poorly-remembered they are. There may very well have been a man, or several men, named Hercules/Herakles or he may have originated as an amalgamation of the exploits of several strong-man rulers.

One tradition which was long thought to be merely or mostly legendary is the claim by the African Lemba tribe to have its origins from ancient Israel. The oral tradition of the tribe says that their distant ancestors were seven Jewish men who left Judea about 2,500 years ago and travelled through Yemen. These seven men settled in a place called Senna (possibly Sana/Sanaw, Yemen) before migrating into Africa where they married African women.

The Lemba have always been recognized as different by the local Bantu tribes.

According to modern-day historical theories, the Lemba began as Muslim/Jewish traders who assimilated into the local African Shona culture. It turns out that the story may be a little more complicated than that.

The Lemba tribe consists of about 70,000 to 80,000 persons who are concentrated in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Malawi, and Mozambique. Traditionalist Lembe wear yarmulke skull caps, abide by kosher food restrictions, practice ritual animal sacrifices, observe a weekly holy day, practice male circumcision, and their gravestones feature the Star of David. In modern times, many Lembe have become Muslims or Christians. 

A South-African Protestant missionary named Henri-Alexandre Junod (1863-1934) recorded in 1908 what some Lemba elders told him:

“[We] have come from a very remote place, on the other side of the sea. We were on a big boat. A terrible storm nearly destroyed us all. The boat was broken into two pieces. One half of us reached the shores of this country; the others were taken away with the second half of the boat, and we do not know where they are now. We climbed the mountains and arrived among the Banyai. There we settled, and after a time we moved southwards to the Transvaal; but we are not the Banyai.”

The BaNyai (aka the Nyai) are a Shona-related people who live on or near the Zambezi River. Shona is one of the Bantu languages.

Where the Lemba story deepens: Y-chromosome DNA studies show that parts of the male Lemba gene pool are of Middle Eastern origin. The Buba, a Lemba priestly clan, test positive for the "Cohen modal haplotype," (CHM) a specific genetic signature found in Jewish priestly lineages (the Kohanim). Read about the CHM in a detailed and highly technical article here https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2771134/

The World Jewish Congress has an interesting article about this subject: https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/lemba-tribe-in-southern-africa-has-jewish-roots-genetic-tests-reveal

 

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Mary of Clopas: This woman is possibly the same as Mary Salome, who was either the wife or daughter of Clopas.  She is mentioned in John 19:25.

Julia Anne Sweeney: (b. 1959, Washington, USA) Film, stage, and theater actress. She left the Catholic Church to become an atheist and is associated with the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

William Todd Aikin: (b. 1947, New York, USA) Engineer, United States Representative from Missouri, elected 2001.  He is an opponent of abortion and embryonic stem cell research.  Presbyterian.

Jeremiah Horrocks: (b. 1618, England –d. 1641) Astronomer, mathematician, mechanic. Considered to be the Father of British Astronomy.  He was the first person to demonstrate that the moon orbits the Earth in an elliptical pattern and was the only astronomer to predict the Transit of Venus which occurred in 1639.  Puritan.

Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba: (b. 1935, South Africa) President of Namibia, elected in 2004 and 2009. Anglican. 

An American Rabbi Speaks Out On the War on Judeo-Christian Values

Liberals regularly dismiss, sometimes derisively, the notion that there is a "War on Christianity."  Some  on the left openly admit that the war exists.  Have you ever personally felt it?  Are you comfortable in this present world?

Daniel Lapin (b. 1947, South Africa) is an American Orthodox rabbi and is co-chair of the American Alliance of Jews and Christians.  He declares Pope Pius XII to have been a righteous gentile.  He says that the United States is the most “Jewish-friendly” nation in history.  Along with conservative Christians he sees secular liberalism as a threat to Christianity and Judaism.  He rejects the claims of the Jewish left to represent Judaism.

“How could I possibly ally myself with those who would make God’s commandments irrelevant to society?  Worse, how could I stand by and say nothing while those Americans who venerate the Ten Commandments are under attack?”

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Ugur Yuksel: (b. Turkey) 32 year old Turkish convert who was murdered along with two others by a gang of Muslim men on 18 April 2007 in Malatya, Turkey.   The martyrs were tortured with knives before their throats were slit.

Solly Moholo: South African talent scout, music producer, and gospel music singer.

Winnie Mashabo: South African gospel music singer and songwriter. She was nominated for a Kora music award in 2005.

Epaphroditus (aka: Epaphras) A gentile mentioned in Colossians 1:4-8 and 4:12-13.  He was a fellow prisoner with Paul and possibly was the founder of the church at Colossae (the site is near modern Honaz, Turkey).

Justin Drew Bieber: (b. 1994, Canada) Singer, songwriter, musician, actor.