Polemic Dialogue with a Rabbinical Scholar Concerning Isaiah 49 (9 May, 2014, 9 Iyar, 5774)
Contents:
1. Introduction. A Meeting with Tsvi, Both An Academic and a Rabbinical Scholar.
2. Does Sinim mean Chinamen?
3. South Land or Aswan [Syene]?
4. Australian Aborigines and Canaan.
5. Jews from South Africa? or Ten Tribers?
6. The Whole of Isaiah 49 Quoted in order to see the Context of Verses Quoted.
7. Judah will Initially NOT WANT to Accept the Ten Tribes!
8. The Sages Close the Case (for the Time Being).
9. Conclusions Concerning Australia and the Land of Sinim
10. Rabbinical Authority and Brit-Am
11. Isaiah 49 Re-examined.
12. The Importance of Brit-Am/Hebrew Nations.
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1. Introduction. A Meeting with Tsvi, Both An Academic and a Rabbinical Scholar.
The following outline of a recently held discussion should be found of interest.
The information imparted is of value. In addition the manner and format of the conversation illustrates encounters that do take place.
We are relating the matter more or less as it happened. Very little, if any, artistic licence has been allowed for.
The protagonists are Yair from Brit-Am/Hebrew Nations and Israel.
Yair you have already met.
Tsvi (a pseudonym) graduated with a Masters Degree from a European University. He has had some experience in research and business. Tsvi is an academic. For decades he has been engaged in linguistic studies. He is also an almost-full time Rabbinical Scholar with both time and erudition on his side.
Tsvi is a personal friend of Yair.
He is however reserved concerning the teachings of Hebrew Nations.
His own training and prejudices inculcated from European Academic weighs against accepting our teachings.
The attitude of Tsvi however is not entirely negative. He is prepared to consider evidence when presented with it.
There follows the encounter as described by Yair:
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2. Does Sinim mean Chinamen?
Tsvi referred me to Isaiah 49:12
Isaiah 49:
12 Lo, these shall come from far away,
and lo, these from the north and from the west,
and these from the land of Syene.
Syene is another name for Aswan in the south of Egypt.
The word translated as Syene in Hebrew is Sinim, i.e. Land of Sinim.
In Modern Hebrew "Sin" means China and "Sinim" would mean Chinamen in the plural.
Assuming the reference is to the Ten Tribes Israel asked whether or not this could indicate that they would return from somewhere in Asia.
We replied that Land of Sinim means Australia. The verse has Land of Sinim juxtaposed to north and west of the land of Israel. Therefore it represents somewhere to the southeast of the Land of Israel. Land of Sinim is understood to be synonymous with the "South Land". Australia is a Latin word meaning "South". We have proofs that the Ten Tribes were to be the north and west of the Land of Israel so whoever is identified has their identification applicable to their offshoots. The offshoots of the north west islands of the sea are in Australia which happens to be in the southeast where it should be. We have other proofs as well.
Tsvi went to look at the Rabbinical Commentators.
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3. South Land or Aswan [Syene]?
Tsvi reported that all the commentators explain Sinim to mean South Land apart from Iben Ezra.
Rabbi Avraham Iben Ezra (1089-1164) says:
# From the edge of Egypt, maybe from Syene [whose name is] from the same word root. #
[This suggestion of Iben Ezra accounts for the rendition of Syene for Sinim in the English translation quoted above. Iben Ezra himself says "maybe" i.e. he is not certain and is only making a suggestion. He is not relying on tradition.]
Iben Ezra is know for his maverick opinions and for not being consistent with the general run of Commentators. Some of these would be considered more acceptable than he is, e.g. Targum Yehonatan, Rashi. Besides which, he is outnumbered. Tsvi too, conbsidered Iben Ezra mistaken in this case.
Tsvi accepted that Land of Sinim meant to the South of the Land of Israel.
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4. Australian Aborigines and Canaan.
Yair said again that the name Australia means Land of the South.
Tsvi argued that Sinim referred to the Canaanite Nation of that name as mentioned by Radak quoting Saadia Gaon.
The Sinites were mentioned amongst the families of Canaan.
Genesis 10:
15 Canaan became the father of Sidon his firstborn, and Heth, 16 and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.
What connection asked Tsvi could Australia have with these?
Yair said that perhaps the native people of Australia, the Aborigines, could be intended. Australia would be the Land of Sinim i.e. that the Canaaanite Nation of Sinim originally settled but afterwards became the place of a portion of the Ten Tribes and they would return from there.
Some say the Australian Aborigines originally came from Egypt.
If so, the opinion of Iben Ezra concerning Syene in the south of Egypt together with the other explanations could be incorporated.
[Tsvi had spent much time in his youth traveling overseas. Often he would journey by hitchhiking. Always he preferred to live amongst the people. He would take note of their racial appearances according to the old European school of thought. Yair disagrees with this but accepts that it may sometimes have some limited validity.]
Tsvi opined that Aborigines do not look much like Egyptians.
Yair replied that different ethnic groups once lived in Egypt. These included Vedoid types who are similar to the Aborigines.
We then looked at a map of Vedoids indicating a possible concentration in the Middle East area.
The use of searches on Web Page Pictures enabled a comparison between Vedoids and Aborigines. A similarity exists.
[The Aborigines are actually a mixture of different peoples. The Vedoids are one of these. All the various ethnic groups amongst the Aborigines seem to have intermixed with each other and they all share a common culture.
Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1835) has been quoted as saying that all primitive peoples in effect did not start out that way. They degenerated from higher states.
The Aborigines may be an example of this.]
Yair said that the boomerang was known amongst primitive tribes that once existed in Ancient Egypt. The wild dingo dog of Australia may be related to the so-called "Canaanite" dog found amongst the Arabs in a feral state.
Tsvi remained skeptical on this matter. The pictures we saw of the Australian Aborigines to his mind indicated African admixture. The Egyptians, he said, do not look like Africans.
Yair saw no contradiction between Aborigines having come from the Land of Canaan and the Middle East and moving to Australia possibly via Egypt while absorbing some African influence on the way. They may even have been a little similar to Africans from the beginning.
Tsvi remained unconvinced but did not dismiss the possibility altogether.
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5. Jews from South Africa? or Ten Tribers?
Yair said again that the name Australia means Land of the South.
Tsvi then said that he now thinks the reference is to Jews.
The Jews of South Africa are to the south of Israel.
They shall return as many are already doing.
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6. The Whole of Isaiah 49 Quoted in order to see the Context of Verses Quoted.
Yair replied:
Scripture has to be taken in context. The passages before and after need to be read through.
Isaiah 49:
1 Listen to me, O Islands [translated as coastlands],
pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The Lord called me before I was born,
while I was in my mother's womb he named me.
....
3 And he said to me, You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
....
5 And now the LORD says,
who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honoured in the sight of the LORD,
and my God has become my strength
6 he says,
It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
7 Thus says the LORD,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations,
the slave of rulers,
Kings shall see and stand up,
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.
8 Thus says the LORD:
In a time of favour I have answered you,
on a day of salvation I have helped you;
I have kept you and given you
as a covenant to the people [in Hebrew: Brit-Am],
to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages;
9 saying to the prisoners, Come out,
to those who are in darkness, Show yourselves.
They shall feed along the ways,
on all the bare heights shall be their pasture;
10 they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
11 And I will turn all my mountains into a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
12 Lo, these shall come from far away,
and lo, these from the north and from the west,
and these from the Land of Syene [Sinim].
13 Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the LORD has comforted his people,
and will have compassion on his suffering ones.
14 But Zion said, The Lord has forsaken me,
  my Lord has forgotten me.
15 Can a woman forget her nursing-child,
or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
17 Your builders outdo your destroyers,
and those who laid you waste go away from you.
18 Lift up your eyes all around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
As I live, says the Lord,
you shall put all of them on like an ornament,
and like a bride you shall bind them on.
19 Surely your waste and your desolate places
and your devastated land,
surely now you will be too crowded for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 The children born in the time of your bereavement
will yet say in your hearing:
The place is too crowded for me;
make room for me to settle.
21 Then you will say in your heart,
Who has borne me these?
I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and put away
so who has reared these?
I was left all alone
where then have these come from?
22 Thus says the LORD God:
I will soon lift up my hand to the nations,
and raise my signal to the peoples;
and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
23 Kings shall be your foster-fathers,
and their queens your nursing-mothers.
With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
those who wait for me shall not be put to shame. ...
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7. Judah will Initially NOT WANT to Accept the Ten Tribes!
Yair pointed out that Isaiah 49:21 refers to Judah when he sees the Lost Ten Tribes returning. At first he will not want to accept them. The Jews were persecuted. These people were not with them, did not help them, why should they be considered Israelites? Where were they all the while. After Isaiah 49:21 the prophet is referring to Judah. Before then the Ten Tribes are the subject being spoken of, apart possibly from Isaiah 49:7 which refers to Judah.
Isaiah 49:21 articulates the immediate reaction of Judah when he sees the Ten Tribes returning.
This explanation coincides with the simple literal meaning.
It is also indicated by a Midrash Tanchuma and by the Zohar (VaYechi).
Another Midrash (Pesikta Rabati 32;10) along with addtional sources (see: Torah shel baal Peh on Yeshayahu by Menachem Zeev Shtern) expressly says as much. These sources link Isaiah 49:21 to Isaiah 49:8-9 and say that 49:8-9 is referring to the Ten Tribes whereas 49:21 is giving expresion to the reaction of Judah. See entry (8) below.
See the Brit-Am Biblical Commentary to:
Isaiah 49:21
http://www.britam.org/isaiah/Isaiah46to50.html
Tsvi admitted that Isaiah 49:21 shows the Jews not willing to accept the Ten Tribes and that perhaps the Ten Tribes had been spoken of previously.
Nevertheless, he stuck by his opinion that by the expression Land of Sinim in Isaiah 49:12 Scripture was referring to the Jews of South Africa when they return.
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8. The Sages Close the Case (for the Time Being).
Yair repeated that each verse need to be considered in context.
In the Hebrew Bible (as seen for example in the Keter Aram Tzova reproduced by Mossad HaRav Kook and in every other Hebrew Bible available) Isaiah 49:8,9,10,11,12 ALL make one paragraph.
They therefore should be concerned with the same subject. The simple literal meaning of the texts show that they are.
Isaiah 49:
8 Thus says the LORD:
In a time of favour I have answered you,
on a day of salvation I have helped you;
I have kept you and given you
as a covenant to the people [Hebrew: "Brit-Am"],*
to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages;
9 saying to the prisoners, Come out,
to those who are in darkness, Show yourselves.
They shall feed along the ways,
on all the bare heights* shall be their pasture;
10 they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
11 And I will turn all my mountains into a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
12 Lo, these shall come from far away,
and lo, these from the north and from the west,
and these from the Land of Syene [Sinim].
The Talmud (Yerusalemi Sanhedrin ch.17, L.6,29) and the Midrash (Numbers Rabah 1;6, Eichah Rabah 2;9, ) quotes from Isaiah 49:9 as referring to the Three Different regions to which the Ten Tribes were exiled and their Return in the End Times.
The simple literal sense of the Biblical verses in the light of the above would therefore mean that by Israelites returning from the Land of Sinim (and the other regions) the Ten Tribes are intended.
See the Brit-Am Biblical Commentary to:
Isaiah 49:12
http://www.britam.org/isaiah/Isaiah46to50.html
cf. Also:
Isaiah 49:12
Lo, these shall come from far away,
and lo, these from the north and from the west,
and these from the Land of Sinim.
Quote:
Lo, these shall come from far away, and lo, these from the north and from the west, from the Land of Sinim Isaiah 49:12). Those Tribes [i.e. the Ten Tribes] that were beyond the Sambation and the Mountains of Darkness shall gather together and come up to Jerusalem. As Isaiah says (Isaiah 49:9) saying to the prisoners, Come out, These are those beyond the Sambatian River.
to those who are in darkness, Show yourselves. These are those who are beyond the cloud of Darkness.
They shall feed along the ways, on all the bare heights shall be their pasture; These are those taken to Daphne of Antiochia.Midrash BaMidbar 17;16
End Quote.
All the three areas mentioned (Sambatian, Clouds and Mountains of Darkness, and Daphneh of Antiochia) are areas of Exile of the Ten Tribes, i.e. They are places the Ten Tribes were first taken to according to Rabbinical Literature as quoted here and along with other sources quoted by Menachem Zeev Shtern, Torah shel baal Peh on Yishayahu p.780.
Tsvi said that he has nothing to reply but would ask the opinion of a prominent Rabbinical Authority known to us both.
Yair agreed and said he would welcome it.
Based however on past experience this Rabbi, even if he agreed to relate to the matter, would at the most be mildly supportive but would not commit himself.
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9. Conclusions Concerning Australia and the Land of Sinim
Isaiah 49:12 according to Rabbinical Sources is referring to the Ten Tribes. The verse places the Ten Tribes to the north and west of the Land of Israel. It juxtaposes these with the Land of Sinim which therefore is to the south and east (i.e. southeast) of the land of Israel. Elsewhere we identify the Lost Ten Tribes with peoples who settled in Western Europe and especially in the British Isles and their offshoots. If this is correct then what applies to those peoples must also be pertinent to Australia and New Zealand whose inhabitants are mostly of recent British and West European origin. The Land of Sinim is identified with the Land of the South which is a translation of the name Australia. The identification of Australia and New Zealand with the Land of Sinim is confirmed by Bible Codes. Once the identification of the Land of Sinim with Australia and New Zealand is accepted then this in turn strengthens the identification of their kinfolk in the North and West (i.e. in the British Isles etc) as also being descended from Israel.
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10. Rabbinical Authority and Brit-Am
Brit-Am/Hebrew Nations would never go against Rabbinical Opinion. Paradoxically we may, in a de facto sense, have more claim to Rabbinical Authority than other groups who are headed by personages bearing the title Rabbi. This may be explained in a future article.
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A re-examining of Isaiah chapter 49 in the light of the Hebrew text and accepted commentaries gives us an even stronger source of evidence than we had at first been aware of. A separate article will show this.
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12. The Importance of Brit-Am/Hebrew Nations.
The above articles hints at a few of the difficulties in proving the case Brit-Am/Hebrew nations is faced with. In addition there is the aspect of physical continuation. This requires moral and financial support. Consider this favorably and bear us in mind.