The Celts called themselves "Hiberi" meaning "Hebrew!"
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Adapted from: What did the Celts call themselves? by Yair Davidiy https://www.quora.com/What-did-the-Celts-call-themselves/answer/Yair-Davidiy
At one stage Celtic Culture was dominant throughout much of Europe. Indications are that the "real" Celts were a minority who succeded in imposing their langauge and culture over a wide area. Over the centuries the core elements of Celtic Civilization moved westward. Eventually they were concentrated within the Isles of Britain. the present article is not concerned so much with the history of the Celts but rather with the Ethnonym (Ethnic name) they applied to themselves.
Evidence exists indicating that if the Celts used any name at all as a generic term for themselves it was 'IBERI.' This name derives from a word meaning Hebrew!
Celts and Hiberi
The term "Celt" is usually applied to peoples who spoke a Celtic language and shared a culture identified as Celtic.
One explanation of the word "Celt" is that it means "Hidden" i.e. 'The Hidden People.' [We were remined of this recently in a communication from Nathan Pround.] Another suggestion is that the name "Celt" is a form of "Galatae" (also known as "Galadi"). The Galatians were later recognized as a branch of the Celts. They were to be found in Northern Gaul and elsewhere. The Caledonians in Scotland may have been a branch of the Galatians.The Romans appear to have used the term "Celt" in a similar way to how we do. On the Continent sometimes the Romans distinguished between Celts and Galatae and on other occasions conflated the two. So too, concerning other peoples such as the Celts and the Belgae.
It has been said that the Romans never applied the term 'Celt' to the inhabitants of Britain. Nevertheless, we find Tribal names in Britain and Ireland identical with those on the Continent, with a similarity in culture, and language.
We do not know if the Celts as a group acknowledged a common denominator with each other or what name (if any) they applied to themselves. We do however find an ethnic term, "IBERI" (sometimes given as "HIBERI"), throughout Celtic areas and often used as an ethnonym. This is the nearest thing we have to a general Ethnic name!
This name in effect is the same as the Hebrew word for "Hebrew!"
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The Name HIBERI and Hebrew
The Commentary of Iben Ezra (1089-1164) says that the term "Hebrew" was applied only to Israelites, see: Your Israelite Brother by Yair Davidiy
Whatever the case from a Biblical and Historical point of view we may take this as correct. The term "Hebrew" was applied to the ancient Israelites in the Bible, e.g. Genesis 14;13, 39:14, 17 40:15, 41:12, 43:32, Exodus 1:15, 16, 19, Exodus 2:6, 7, 11, 13, 3:18, 5:3, 7:16, 9:1, 13, 10:3, 21:2, Deuteronomy 15:12, 1-Samuel 4:6, 9, 13:3, 7, 19, 14:11, 21, 29:3, I-Kings 18:26, 28, 2-Chronicles 32:18, Isaiah 36:11, 13, Jeremiah 34:14, Jonah 1:9.
cf.
Jonah (NKJV) 1: 8 Then they said to him, 'Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?' 9 So he said to them, 'I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.'
Note: It is interesting to notice that in this case Jonah was sailing to Tarshish (Jonah 1:3) which is identified as Tartessos ('Tarsis' in Phoenician) in Spain. This was a source of silver, iron, tin, and lead (see the reference to 'Tarshish' in Ezekiel 27:12) traded by the Phoenicians some of whom were Israelites.
In the Hebrew language the term translated as "Hebrew" is pronounced in our times as "Ivri." The word-root connotes "over," or "beyond." The root is "IBR." This may give rise to forms such as "over, aver, aber, ober, iber, iver," etc.
The English words "over, either, aver, other," and others may also originally come the same Hebrew word-root.
In Hebrew vowels are somewhat elastic. The term for "Hebrew" could be rendered as Hiberi, Eberi, Oberi, Aberi. The "B" sound could also have been pronounced as "V" or as "P." In Hebrew the "Ha-" prefix is the equivalent of the definite article "THE." Because of this the words "Ibri" and "Ha-Ibri" (Hiber) mean the same.
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"Iberi" as an Ethnonym among the Celts
The name "Iberi" used by the Celts is another form of the word "HEBREW!"
This word root may derive from the Hebrew word for Hebrew i.e. "Ivri." We ARE NOT SAYING that all Celtic Peoples were Hebrew but that Hebrew groups may have settled among them as indicated by numerous sources.
The names the Celts used for themselves or that served as components in place-names etc., also show the same permutation as in the Hebrew language.
In Irish Mythology, for example, an eponymous ancestor gave his name to Ireland which was known as "Hibernia." His name is variously rendered as Iber, or Heber, or Eber.
Dionysius of Alexandria in Egypt (ca. 190-264 CE) described the inhabitants of Britain as "Iberi." Ptolemy reported that the inhabitants of Britain were merchants and called themselves Iberi. Geoffrey of Monmouth (1100-1155 CE), mentions an early king of Britain named Ebraucus who founded the city of York which was also called "Ebraucus" by the Celts.
Scottish and Irish traditions as translated into English say that, "The SCOTS ARE THE MILITARY CLASS; THEY ARE THE NOBLES....The latter [the Hiberni] are spoken of as the COMMONALITY, the sons of the soil." (Dr. Wylie, "History of the Scottish Nation," Vol. i., p. 281, cf. Joseph Ritson, in the 'Annals of the Caledonians/Picts/Scots', Edinburgh 1828).
The Irish in Medieval Latin documents (such as those of the English) are referred to as "Hibernae." We find the "Iberni" in southwest Ireland (mentioend by Ptolemy) and the "Eborone" people (recorded by Julius Caesar) in what is now Belgium as well as the "Hiberi" soldiers from Dacia.
The root "Iber" therefore had definite ethnic implications.
"Eburos" was also a Celtic personal name given as Ebouros , Eburus and Eburius.
See York - Wikipedia
Map of EBER Place Names Superimposed on Map of Celtic Place-Names. Geographical Locations are not exact but approximate and show only the relative placements compared to each other.
Source: Hebrews or Yew Trees??
In Germany
Most Celtic Peoples moved out of Germany prior to the invasion of German-speaking peoples. There was a word-root 'ibor' meaning "boar" (male pig) in German. In some cases an originally Celtic "Eber" name may have been altered to give it an "IBOR" (boar) connotation. This also happened in York (northern England) where the original "Eboracum" was changed by Anglian speakers of Germanic languages. The name was altered at first to "Eoforwic" (possibly to suit an IBOR-boar connotation) and after that to "Yorvik" (due to Danish influence) finally giving us the present-day "York." Today we have the city of New York named after York in England. Quite a few rightwing Americans who are critical of the Jews and reserved concerning the metropolis of New York might get a kick out of the knowledge that "York" originally meant "Place of the Hebrews" i.e. "Hebbies!"
Anyway, places in the later Germanic-language sphere (Germany, Alsace, and Austria) with the "eber" element were all once Celtic areas. Any association with the "Ibor meaning boar" root would therefore be a later development.
Such localities include:
Eboreshemium (Strasbourg, Alsace, east France)
Eberacum (Bamberg, Bavaria)
Ebertinus (Bavaria)
Ebersberg (Bavaria)
Eberogomum (Munich, Bavaria, Germany)
Eborodunum (southeast Germany)
Eboresheim, Eporestal, Eburingen: all Celtic place names in Germany.
Ebersberga (Austria)
Ebersdorf (Chemnitz, south-east Germany)
Eburodunon (Brnno, Brunn) in Czechia
Some of these names (e.g. Eborodunum) are similar to those found also in Gaul.
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What Did others Think the Name Meant?
Roman explanations of the name "Iberia" often use such expressions, "Other side of" or "this side of " the river Iberos, etc. This is similar to the Hebrew connotation of the name, e.g. the Midrash says that Abraham the Hebrew stood on one side while the rest of the world stood on the other.
So too, in Scotland and Wales the root was rendered as ABER and here too it could connote an area of passing or crossing over.
# The most common place-name element in Scotland, and one prevalent in Wales and Monmouthshire, is Aber, as in Aberdeen. The generic meaning of Aber is a 'crossing', particularly of a river as in the name Hebrew, and other forms such as the name Ober, Uber, and the word 'over', are found in hundreds of place-names on the continent, extending into Russia , the Balkans, and as far as Mongolia. # Source: The Key by John Philip Cohane, USA, 1975, p.158
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Hebrews in Ireland?
Tracing the term 'Eberi' to the Hebrew word for Hebrew suggests the presence of Hebrew elements in the areas concerned. This is the case as is confirmed by other evidence. An example of relevant traditions includes the following:
# It is stated in very old copies of The Book of Invasions and other ancient documents that it was the Mosaic law that the Milesians brought into Errin [i.e. Ireland] at their coming; that it had been learned and received from Moses in Egypt by Cae Cain Beathach, who was himself an Israelite, who had been sent into Egypt to learn the language of that country by the great master Fenius Farsaith, from whom the Milesian brothers, who conquered Errin, are recorded to have been the twenty second generation in descent; and it is stated in the preface to Seanchas Mord that this was the law of Errin at the time of the coming of St.Patrick.# LOUIS HYMAN, "The Jews of Ireland", Jerusalem, Israel, 1972, p. 1.
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Modern Theories
Numerous alternate explanations have been given for the word-root among the Celts. Examples include a name for the Yew-Tree, other names meaning valley, river, etc.
Nevertheless, the Celts themselves used the name both as an ethnonym after one of their ancestors, an ethnic designation, a personal name, and in verbal form connoting 'over' and the like, all this is similar to Hebrew Usage for the word.
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EXAMPLES of the NAME
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Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal)
Note: In Spain it became common to refer to the "Iberians" as natives different from the Celts. Roman sources however say that the Greeks gave them that name after the Iberos (modern: 'Tagus') River. The original application of the term "Iberi" was Celtic and apparently used for Celts by the Celts themselves. The word-root "Iber" found in place and ethnic names in the Iberian Peninsula was associated with the Celts. A similar name was also applied to the Iberos River in the southwest. [Iberos and Ebro are two forms of the same name.]
Ebora (Evora) Portugal.
Ebora Edcatanum (by Ebro River, Spain).
Eborobrittium (Obidos, Portugal). A similar name was also found in Gaul.
Ebora Baetica (southeast Spain).
Ebora Gallaecia (northwest Spain).
Source: The Celts as Israelites
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Central and Eastern Europe
Eberacum (Bamberg, Bavaria)
Ebertinus (Bavaria)
Ebersberg (Bavaria)
Eberogomum (Munich, Bavaria, Germany)
Eborodunum (southeast Germany)
Eboresheim, Eporestal, Eburingen: all Celtic place names in Germany.
Ebersberga (Austria)
Ebersdorf (Chemnitz, south-east Germany)
Eburodunon (Brnno, Brunn) in Czechia
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Italy
Eburini (Lucania in southern Italy)
Eborica (North Italy)
Eporedia (Ivrea in Turin, North Italy).
Ebora (Etruria, central west Italy).
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Gaul (France, Belgium, Switzerland)
Eborica (Navarre, southeast France)
Eborones (Belgium)
Ebronium (Evre, Mayenne, northwest France.)
Eborovices (Veneti, Gaul)
Eburodunum: also known as Embrun in the French Alps of ancient Gaul.
Evorolocum: in Auvergne, Gaul.
Eborobritum: Beira, Gaul.
Eborobriga: Yonne, in Gaul.
Eboromagus: (in the region of Aude, in Gaul) also known as
"Hebromagus" and close to Narbonne.
Eboreshemium (Strasbourg, Alsace, east France)
Eborodunum: Yverdon, in Switzerland, once dominated by the Celtic Tribe of Helveti.
Source: The Celts as Israelites
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Eastern Europe
Ybora: mouth of Halys River in Anatolia (Turkey), place of a Galatian colony.
Hebros River: in Thrace, scene of Celtic presence.
Iberia: in the Caucasus, north of Assyria, legendary area of exiled Israelite Ten Tribes re settlement, cultural connections with the proto-Celts.
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The Dacians were also called Hiberi!
What appear to be Dacian soldiers in the service of the Emperor Aurelian (215-275 CE) on the Danube are referred to as 'Hiberi.' Dacia was a border area opposite the Celtic and Scythian spheres. A portion of the Dacians migrated to Denmark so this may have implications for Denmark today.
see: http://www.freefictionbooks.org/...h/11088-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empir?start=265 [Footnote 88: Hist. August. p. 222. Aurelian calls these soldiers 'Hiberi Riporiences Castriani, and Dacisci.']
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British Isles
Eboracensis Comitatus (northeast of Durham in Yorkshire).
Eboracum (York, England).
Hibernia: name for Ireland.
Heber - an ancestral figure in Irish Mythology.
Iberni in southwest Ireland.
Iberni Ocean east of Ireland.
Hebrides: islands off the northwest coast of Scotland, a Celtic region.
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In Scotland and Wales the root "Iber" takes the form "ABER" or "Ober."
Scotland:
Aberdeen - Obar Dheathain
Arbroath - Obar Bhrothaig
Aberdour - Obar Dobhair
Aberfeldy - Obar Pheallaidh
Aberfoyle - Obar Phuill
There are numerous other names with this word root.
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In Wales
Aberaeron, Aberaman, Aberangell, Aberarth, Aberon, Aberbanc, Aberbargoed, Aberbeeg, Abercanaid, Abercarn, Abercastle, Abercegir, Abercraf, Abercregan, Abercych, Abercynon, Aberdare, Aberdaron, Aberdaugleddau (Milford Haven), Aberdulais, Aberdyfi, Aberedw, Abereiddy, Abererch, Aberfan, Aberffraw, Aberffrwd, Ceredigion, Aberffrwd, Monmouthshire, Abergavenny, Abergele, Abergorlech, Abergwaun (Fishguard), Aberkenfig, Abergwesyn, Abergwili, Abergwynfi, Abergwyngregyn, Abergynolwyn, Aberhafesp, Aberhonddu (Brecon), Aberllefenni, Abermaw (Barmouth), Abermorddu, Abermule, Abernant, Carmarthenshire, Abernant, Powys, Abernant, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Aberpennar (Mountain Ash), Aberporth, Aberriw (Berriew), Abersoch, Abersychan, Abertawe (Swansea), Aberteifi (Cardigan - town), Abertillery, Aberthin, Abertillery, Abertridwr, Caerphilly, Abertridwr, Powys, Aberystwyth, Llanaber
For some reason in both Scotland and Ireland the "Aber" form became "Inber." All names with the "Inber" root were probably originally "Aber" ones, e.g. Inbhear (Inver, Co. Donegal), Inbhear nOllarbha (Larne Lough, Co. Antrim), Inbhear Scone the traditional name for Kenmare Bay, Co. Kerry
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Some Sources that discuss the linkage of the ethnonym "Iber" with the Celts:
HUBERT, HENRI. "The Greatness And Decline of the Celts". London 1934.
HUBERT, HENRI. "The Rise of the Celt", trans. By M. R. Dodrie, London 1934.
MARKALE, J. "Celtic Civilisation", Paris, 1970, trans.1978.
DE ROUGEMONT, FREDERIC. "L'Age de Bronze, ou Les Semites en Occident," Paris, 1866.
See Also:
Hebrews or Yew Trees??