Genesis 21:1-3 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. (2) For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. (3) And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him--whom Sarah bore to him--Isaac.
In the above-quoted passage of scripture, we have the account of Sarah giving birth to Isaac, the son whom she bore to Abraham in his old age. We have already mentioned that the reason why being a biological descendant of Abraham does not qualify one to be an Israeli is because the Arab nations are also the biological descendants of Abraham. So what about Abraham's son Isaac? Is it possible for the biological descendants of Isaac to be classified as Israelis; for surely the Jews can trace their ancestry back to Abraham's son Isaac through Isaac's son Jacob? The Jews can certainly trace their ancestry back to Isaac, but the problem is that Isaac had two sons, i.e. Esau and Jacob. And so the descendants of both sons can therefore trace their ancestry back to Isaac.
Genesis 25:21-26 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. (22) But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If all is well, why am I like this?" So she went to inquire of the Lord. (23) And the Lord said to her: "Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger." (24) So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. (25) And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. (26) Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
We have seen thus far that the Jews are Abraham's descendants through Isaac and Jacob, and the Arab nations are Abraham's descendants through Ishmael. And so the question is asked, which nation/people are Isaac's descendants through Esau? The answer to that question is that today's Palestinians are Isaac's biological descendants through Esau. Although it is widely understood that the Arab nations are the biological descendants of Ishmael, it is not widely understood that the Palestinians are the biological descendants of Esau. And so in light of that, we will now take a bit of time to establish this particular truth. Biblical records reveal to us that Esau was the founder of the Edomite nation (Genesis 36:9). And so we see that by identifying who the modern-day descendants of the Edomites are, we can therefore identify Esau's biological descendants. Historical records teach us that in the year 587 BC, after the conquest and exile of Judah by the Babylonians, the Edomites migrated to Judea and settled in the region of Hebron. The region of Hebron was vacant at the time because the Babylonians had forcefully expelled the Jews. Biblical records confirm this fact, for the Lord says of the Edomites, "Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession" (Ezekiel 36:5). As an aside, the Lord's comment to the Edomites in this passage is an ominous warning to their descendants that they are trespassing on His land. Nevertheless, the Edomites prospered in their new country for more than four centuries. Over time the geographic region of Judea fell first under Greek control, and then under the control of the Romans. During all this time the Edomites remained in the region around Hebron, and were called by the Greeks and Romans "Idumaea" or "Idumea". Around the time of Jesus, the Idumaeans constituted the majority of the population of Western Judea[1]. Biblical records confirm this because they speak of a great multitude from Galilee, Judea, and Idumea coming to Jesus and following Him (Mark 3:7-8). The Idumaeans remained a significant and separate portion of the population of the Roman province of Judea, during both the first and second Jewish revolts against Rome, which took place in 70 and 136 AD respectively. The second Jewish revolt resulted in the final destruction of the Jewish population still living in Judea. It was at this time that the Roman province of Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina (i.e. Palestine). After the final expulsion of the Jews, a mixed population replaced them, made up of Roman veterans and immigrants from the neighbouring Roman provinces of Syria, Phoenicia, and Arabia[2]. Nevertheless, throughout this period the Idumaeans, who were the majority population, continued to reside in what had now become the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. The Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire, continued to govern the province of Palestine until the year 637 AD. And so over time, all the inhabitants of Palestine (including the Idumaeans) eventually became known as Palestinians. In 637 AD, Palestine fell under Muslim control, and, other than a brief period between 1099 AD and 1291 AD when the Crusaders controlled Palestine, it remained under Muslim control for the next 1,300 years. It was during this period that nearly all Palestinians (including those of Idumaean descent) converted to Islam. That status quo remained in place until the year 1948 when the United Nations authorized the State of Israel to be established in the territory of Palestine. When that happened, a significant migration of Jews from around the world returned to settle in the newly created State of Israel. The local Palestinian population rejected the creation of the State of Israel on "their land" however, and a war broke out between the Jews and the Palestinians. The Palestinians lost the war, resulting in approximately 711,000 Palestinian refugees being displaced to three main locations, i.e. Gaza, the West Bank, and Jordan[3]. At this present time, approximately 5,500,000 Palestinians are living in the Israeli-occupied territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip[4], and a further 3,000,000 Palestinian refugees are living in Jordon[5]. And so we see that historical records show us that the people we know today as Palestinians, are the descendants of the Idumaeans/Edomites, who are the descendants of Esau. There is one further factor that shows that the Palestinians are Esau's descendants. Genetic studies have shown a close genetic relationship between Palestinians and Jews, suggesting a shared ancestral heritage[6]. Their shared ancestral heritage would be Isaac as the father of both Esau (the Palestinians) and Jacob (the Jews). And so when we add all of these factors together, we can very clearly see that the Palestinians are indeed Esau's descendants. As we will see later in this series, this particular truth will play a very significant role in the future of both the Israelis and Palestinians. Nevertheless, in this section, we want to concentrate on why Jewish ancestry must be traced back to Jacob. And so we see why being a biological descendant of Isaac cannot qualify one to be an Israeli; because through Esau, the Palestinian people are also the biological descendants of Isaac and Abraham. This is just another reason why Jewish ancestry traced back to Jacob (Israel) is essential for one to qualify as an Israeli. As an aside, the significance of the Palestinians living in Jordan is the fact that Mount Seir is located in Southern Jordan. So why is that significant? The reason is because scripture teaches us that God has given the territory of Mount Seir to Esau and his descendants (Deuteronomy 2:4-5). Therefore we can see that a significant portion of Esau's descendants (the 3,000,000 Palestinians living in Jordan) have finally returned to the land that the Lord originally gave them.
Michael E.B. Maher
Comments