Physical Appearance

For years, scholars, theologians and archaeologist have debated the answer to the question, "How did the ancient Israelites look physically? Although the scriptures and other historical documents, have left a lot of evidence that confirms the physical appearance of the Israelites. Much of this information is still unknown to the masses. The popular belief today among Christians, Scholars and theologians, is the people known as "Ashkenazi Jews" are the direct descendants of the ancient Israelites. But, can this be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt?

The answer is NO.

The scriptures which will be used as our main source, supported by history and archaeology proves that these Jews are not the physical descendants of the ancient Hebrew Israelite nation. In addition it reveals who the true descendants are. The answer may leave you in shock.

Israel is mentioned in scripture over 2,500 times. The scriptures contain the Hebrews' entire history. In fact, no other people on the face of the earth have such an extensive recorded history, not even the ancient Egyptians. Every thing we need to know about the ancient Hebrews is contained in Scripture. Let's examine these facts, information that to this day remains unknown or hidden to many "bible" readers.

ISRAEL IN THE LAND OF EGYPT

The history of the Israelite nation began in Egypt, the land of Ham. They entered Egypt 70 in number, (including Joseph, his wife and two sons who were already in Egypt), and left numbering over two million people. Ancient Israel spent 430 years in Egypt. For half that time they enjoyed good favor with the Egyptians, but for the remainder of those years they were enslaved and horribly mistreated by them.

One of the facts scripture gives us about Israel (Ysrayl), is in regard to their physical appearance. Throughout scripture Israel is described as physically looking like the sons of Ham (Khawm), in appearance.

Ham was one of Noah's three sons, Shem and Japheth were the other two. Noah's descendants repopulated the earth after the Great Flood. Ham's descendants are traced to the families of Africa. Ham (Khawm) in Hebrew means BLACK, HOT AND BURNT.
Ham had four sons,

1. CUSH (Ethiopians / Cushites & Nubians),
2. MIZRAIM (Egyptians / Khemet),
3. PHUT (Ancient Somalia),
4. CANAAN (Canaanite, the original inhabitants of the land of Israel) genesis 10:6-19.

All four of Ham's sons and their descendants settled in and around the continent of Africa, this includes the so called Middle East which is also a part of the Continent of Africa. Ham sons are the people of the African continent, the Ancient Egyptians, Ethiopians, Somalia's, Canaanites etc etc.

The Israelites are descendants of Noah son SHEM, through Abraham, he is the father of the Hebrew Israelite Nation. Abraham is the father of Isaac, Isaac is the father of Jacob, Jacob had twelve sons and these sons are the progenitors of the Israelite nation. The Twelve tribes of Israel are as follows:

REUBEN                  DAN
SIMEON                 GAD
LEVI                       ASHER
JUDAH                   NAPHTALI
ZEBULON               JOSEPH
ISSACHAR              BENJAMIN

Each one of Jacob's sons became a tribal nation which made up the greater nation of Israel. EXAMPLE: Reuben's descendants became known as the tribe of Reuben. Judah's descendants became known as the tribe of Judah and so on and so forth. The nation of Israel are the descendants of Jacob who's name was changed to Israel by the Most High (Gen 32:28).

We will begin with the story of Jacob's second Youngest son Joseph, and his time in Egypt. Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Jacob (Yaaqob in Hebrew). Jacob sired Joseph in his old age, and he was clearly his favorite son. This caused Joseph's brothers to become jealous of him.

Ultimately, their jealousy resulted in Joseph being sold by Arab merchants as a slave to Egyptians.

Over the course of time Joseph became Viceroy (Governor) of Egypt and was second in command to Pharaoh in authority. There was a famine in Canaan, where Jacob and his sons lived. (Pharaoh had a dream which Joseph interpreted. His dream told of the forthcoming famine and gave Egypt an opportunity to prepare by storing food.) So, Jacob sent his ten sons to Egypt to buy bread. When Joseph's ten brothers came into Egypt they were brought before him. Joseph recognized his brothers, but they didn't recognize him (Genesis 42:1-8).

Since the ancient Egyptians were a black

people, Joseph had to be black also. If Joseph and the Hebrews look like Donny Osmond (He protrayed Joseph in a Stage Play), his brothers would have recognized him easily among the "black" Egyptians. But Joseph's own flesh and blood brothers thought he was an Egyptian.

The ancient Egyptians of Joseph time were indeed what we know today as "black", this is a fact attested to by many.

Gerald Massey, English writer and author of the book, Egypt the Light of the World, wrote, "The dignity is so ancient that the insignia of the Pharaoh evidently belonged to the time when Egyptians wore nothing but the girdle of the Negro." (p 251)

Sir Richard Francis Burton, a 19th century English explorer, writer and linguist in 1883 wrote to Gerald Massey, "You are quite right about the "AFRICAN" origin of the Egyptians. I have 100 human skulls to prove it."

Scientist, R. T. Prittchett, states in his book The Natural History of Man, "In their complex and many of the complexions and in physical peculiarities the Egyptians were an "AFRICAN" race (p 124-125).

The Ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who visited Egypt in the 5th century B.C.E., saw the Egyptians face to face and described them as black-skinned with woolly hair.

Anthropologist, Count Constatin de Volney (1727-1820),spoke about the race of the Egyptians that produced the Pharaohs. He later paid tribute to Herodotus' discovery when he said:

The ancient Egyptians were true Negroes of the same type as all native born Africans. That being so, we can see how their blood mixed for several centuries with that of the Romans and Greeks, must have lost the intensity of it's original color, while retaining none the less the imprint of it's original mold. We can even state as a general principle that the face (referring to The Sphinx) is a kind of monument able, in many cases, to attest to or shed light on historical evidence on the origins of the people."
The fact that the ancient Egyptians were black-skin prompted Volney to make the following statement:
"What a subject for meditation, just think that the race of black men today our slaves and the object of our scorn, is the very race to which we owe our arts, science and even the use of our speech."

The testimony of the ancients, the scriptures, & many Egyptologists, along with archaeology confirms that the Egyptians during ancient times were a "BLACK" PEOPLE. This is important to know, as we continue, we'll see that the scriptures on multiple occasions describes the ancient Hebrews as looking like the Egyptians in physical appearance.

Next, in Genesis chapter 50 verses 7-11, scripture will describes ALL the Hebrews as looking like the ancient Egyptians.

After Jacob died in the land of Egypt, all the Hebrews and Egyptians went down to the land of Canaan to bury him (He asked his son to bury him in the land of Canaan with his forefathers Genesis 49:29-30).

But, remember this was a mixed multitude of Hebrews and Egyptians going to bury a HEBREW, and the Canaanites identified them both as Egyptians. WHY? Because, the Canaanites saw a great company of black-skinned people who all look like native (black) Egyptians. It's only logic that the Hebrews were mourning the hardest in the "funeral" procession for our father Jacob, and this is who the Canaanites saw. When they describe this great mourning for Jacob the Hebrew, they saw Israelites mourning the greatest, and they thought these Hebrews were Egyptians.

If the Hebrews were a white people, as we have been led to believe. The Canaanites who were familiar with both the Hebrews and Egyptians would have acknowledged them both by saying, "THIS IS A GRIEVOUS MOURNING TO THE EGYPTIANS AND HEBREWS." Without doubt white Hebrews would have stuck out like a sore thump among the black Egyptians. The Canaanites never Identified the Hebrews separately from the Egyptians.

The scripture goes on to say that the Canaanite named the place where they saw this great mourning for a HEBREW. Abel Mizraim, which means the meadow of Egypt/Mizraim or Mourning of the Egyptians.

Now lets go to the greatest and most famous story about the Israelites sojourn in the land of Egypt. This would be the story of Moses (Moshe).

Many years after the death of Joseph, His brothers and all that generation that entered Egypt during the time he was viceroy. The Hebrews population in Egypt grew tremendously. Because of this, they were no longer looked upon as friendly neighbors, the Egyptians now considered them hostile enemies and enslaved them.

Because of the Hebrews' population growth, the Egyptians decided they would impose upon them their own form of birth control. Pharaoh made a decreed that all Hebrew baby boys are killed at birth.

Exodus 1:22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

This brings us directly to the story of Moses.

Moses was born a Hebrew - Israelite from the tribe of Levi (exodus 2:1-3). He spent 40 years in the house of pharaoh (Acts 7:23) and was raised as the Pharaoh's Grandson

Exodus 2: 10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

Many Scholars say the Pharaoh who was on the throne of Egypt at the time of Moses' birth, was Pharaoh Seti I. He was the father of Rameses II, also known as Rameses the Great.

George Rawlinson, an English author wrote a book entitled History of Egypt. On page 252, he gives a description of Seti I. He states: "SETI'S FACE WAS THOROUGHLY AFRICAN. HE HAD A STORMY FACE WITH A DEPRESSED FLAT NOSE, THICK LIPS AND HEAVY CHIN."

Moses had the same physical characteristics because again, he was raised in the house of Pharaoh, as the grandson of Pharaoh, when Pharaoh ordered all Hebrew males to be killed at birth. If the Israelites were a white-skinned people, how could Moses the Hebrew survive (secretly) in the house of Pharaoh among black-skinned Egyptians for 40 years, and not be noticed.

Furthermore, after giving the decree (himself) to kill all Hebrew males, how could Pharaoh face and rule over his people, if he knowingly had one living in his house with all the rights and privileges of his own family? Moses survived 40 years in the palace of Pharaoh because he was a black man just as the Egyptians were.

This is deep, Pharaoh looked into the eyes of Moses as a baby and thought this was his own flesh and blood. He looked into the eyes of Moses as a teenager and thought this was his own flesh and blood. He looked into the eyes of Moses as a young man in his 20's and 30's and thought this was his own flesh and blood. Pharaoh saw Moses grow into a man of 40 and he thought this was his own flesh and blood grandson.

Just as Joseph's brothers and the Canaanite couldn't tell the Hebrews from the Egyptians. Pharaoh couldn't either, or Moses would have been killed instantly.

Temple Drawing Of Pharaoh Seti I 1306 B.C.E - 1290 B.C.E

This is an actual temple drawing of Pharaoh Seti I, taken from a temple in Egypt. This is the Pharaoh who scholars identify as being on the throne of Egypt at the time of Moses' birth. It is believed that Seti I was Moses' "foster grandfather".

Scripture tells us that Moses killed an Egyptian, after he saw him mistreating a Hebrew. So Moses had to flee from Egypt for his life, because Pharaoh found out and sought to kill him (Exodus 2:12-15). Pharaoh was trying to kill Moses because he found out Moses was a Hebrew and not his flesh and blood grandson.

Moses fled to the land of Midian (located in Saudi Arabia) where he helped seven daughters of the priest of Midian water their flock, after chasing away some bully shepherds. The girls went home to their father, Reuel and told him what happened.

Exodus 2:16-19

16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.

17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?

19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.

Notice they didn't say a Hebrew in Egyptian clothing saved us, they described Moses as a black-skinned descendant of Ham (Egyptian).

AND THEY SAID AN EGYPTIAN DELIVERED US

This is a statue of the boy king (King Tut), this statue was found in his tomb, among many of his treasures in Egypt, during an archaeological excavation in 1922. Scholars say king Tut was on the throne of Egypt, a few years before the Israelites' Exodus.

This is a picture of the Newly Reconstructed image of King Tut. This image comes from the Discovery.com website, it was featured in an Discovery Channel program called the "Assassination of King Tut". The image was put together from the skeleton of the King by using forensic science and sophisticated computer programs. King Tut and the Egyptians of biblical times were a black people. Let the pictures tell the story. The Truth is beginning to come forth, Praise Yah.

This also is a newly reconstructed image of the ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti. She is one of the most famous queens of Egypt. This image was constructed from her skeleton. The same method used to reconstructed King Tut was used to make this image of Queen Nefertit. This Picture comes from an article that was feature in the USA today newspaper. It also is on the Discovery.com website. As you can see Nefertiti was a black skinned woman. She looks like Today's East Africans and "African Americans".

Further proof that Moses was "black" can be found in Exodus 4:6-7, In this passage, Yah / YHWH, (The Creator's name in Hebrew) is showing Moses miracles so that he can prove to the children of Israel who sent him. YAH tells Moses to put his hand into his bosom, which he does. When he takes his hand out, it is LEPROUS (White) as snow.

Exodus 4:6 And YAH said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.

Verse 7 says, Yah told Moses to put his hand back into his bosom, and it turned as his other flesh. Meaning that the rest of his body (skin) was other than white or the opposite of white, which is black.

7 And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.

If Moses was already white-skinned, what would have been the miracle in turning the skin of his hand white?

But, since Moses and the rest of the Hebrews were a black skinned people, this would have been a very powerful sign, to turn his hand (skin) the opposite color of the rest of his flesh.

Yah goes on to say in Verse 8 that if they (the Israelites) don't believe in the first sign (turning Moses rod into a serpent) then they will believe in the second sign which was changing his skin white. Yah is stating how powerful the second sign is, it will make a believer out of the stiff neck Israelites.

Exodus 4: 8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

HOLLYWOOD VERSION OF MOSES AND THE
PHARAOH RAMESES II

From what history has taught us concerning the Hebrews Physical appearance, it is apparent that the Hollywood depiction of Moses is at the very least inaccurate, and at the most could be viewed as a racist misrepresentation.

According to scripture, history and archaeology Moses did not or could not look like Charleston Heston.

In the book of Numbers, chapter 12 verse 1, Moses' sister and brother, Miriam and Aaron spoke out against him because he married an Ethiopian woman, (not because she was black skinned, but because she was of another culture / Nation, read Acts 10:28:) their behavior angered Yah. Verse 10 says, He TURNED MIRIAM LEPROUS, WHITE AS SNOW. Once again if Miriam, who was a Hebrew, was white to begin with, what would have been the curse of turning a white skinned person white? Yah was angry with her, he showed his anger by turning her white with leprosy. If she was already white, why not turn her Jet Black?

Miriaim was a black women, and Yah showed his displeasure with her, by changing her skin color from black to white. This was so Powerful that it shocked her brother Aaron.

Numbers 12:9 And the anger of Yah was kindled against them; and he departed.

10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous (white).

11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my Master, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.

12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.

From Scripture, History & Archaeology, we should understand that the images below are a more accurate description of the Hebrew Israelite Miriam.

It is an established fact that The Bible always mentioned leprosy in the context of the skin turning white because of a disease or in relationship to some specific wrong doing.

Leviticus 13:2 states:

"When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy. Then he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest, or to one of the sons of the priest".

verse 4: If the bright spot be WHITE in the skin of his flesh, the priest shall shut up him that has the plague seven days.

Verse 6: And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day: and behold, if the plague be somewhat DARK, and the plague spread not in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is but a scab; and he shall wash his clothes and be clean".

In the 2nd and 4th verse a bright or white spot in the skin is mentioned. A bright spot means a spot that is lighter than the regular dark brown / black skin. Moses said in the sixth verse: "And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day, and behold if the plague be somewhat dark, and the plague spread not in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean..."

This is because the skin is getting darker like his original skin tone. A black skinned man or

woman with these spots covering some part of their body is a partial leper. However, once the plague of the whiteness has covered his entire body from his head to his feet, the leper is clean. He has completely changed his color like the albino. The people who had this form of leprosy in the scriptures CAN BE classified as albino, and these albinos are the only white skinned Hebrews that existed in ancient times, they were the minority.

If Israel was a white skinned people in ancient times, why does The scriptures only speak of them as TURNING WHITE OR BECOMING WHITE WITH LEPROSY (in reference to their skin color).

2nd Kings 5:27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

VITILIGO
Here are a couple pictures of two people with a disease called Vitiligo, which is somewhat similar to the above mentioned form of scriptural leprosy. The top picture is that of a white-skin person with vitiligo. A white skinned person with this disease may start to notice the spots in their skin after they have gotten a tan, otherwise the white spots from vitiligo can go unnoticed.

This picture is a black skinned person with vitiligo. The white spots can b

e seen on black skin as soon as they appear. Notice how "white" the hands of the black-skinned person are compared to their original skin tone, which can still be seen. The hands of this black skinned person are now white as snow. This is how Moses "probably" would have seen his hands after removing it from his bosom. Singer, Michael Jackson says this is the same disease that turned his skin from dark brown to white.

"Black" MAN turns "WHITE".
This picture is a black skinned man who took a pill for his liver condition, and the pill turned his skin from black to white. Although most of his skin has turned white you can still see the dark patches on his face. Notice how Dramatic that is, this is how the people who had biblical leprosy would have looked.

The name of the article is "Liver Pill turns black man white". Here is a very profound quote from the article: " In Mr. Kahsay's homeland, he is shunned as a leper, as white pigment is considered a sign of the disease". He is considered a leper or a person with leprosy in his homeland of Eritrea, because his skin has turned white.

Acts 21:37-38, states that Paul, (Shaul in Hebrew) the apostle, was being led into a castle by a chief captain. Paul spoke to the chief in Greek, asking permission to speak with him. The chief captain was surprised that Paul could speak Greek and in verse 38, asks Paul, "Are not you that EGYPTIAN?" Paul responded, (Verse 39) "I am a man of Israel (Hebrew)."

37 And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek?

38 Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?

39 But Paul said, I am a man of Israel (Hebrew) of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.

In order for this chief captain to mistake Paul (the Hebrew) for a black-skinned Egyptian, Paul had to look like an Egyptian, as scripture tells us the whole nation of Israel did. Paul had to tell the chief captain he was an Israelite. Once again we see from scripture that it is hard to physically identify a Hebrew from an Egyptian.

Aren't you that Egyptian?

In the book of Matthew 2:13, the angel of Yah told Joseph to arise and take the young child Yahshuah, (The Messiah’s true Hebrew name is Yahshuah) and his mother Mary (Miriam) and FLEE INTO EGYPT. He was told to stay there until he received further instructions, because Herod would seek the young child to destroy him.

13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of Yah appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

Joseph, Miriam and Yahshuah were told to flee into Egypt, not for military protection, because during this time, Egypt was a Roman province under Roman control. They fled into Egypt because Egypt was still a "black" country, populated by a majority of black-skinned people (Egyptians). Joseph, Miriam and Yahshuah would have been just another black-skinned family among many. Remember, they fled into Egypt to HIDE from Herod who was seeking to kill Yahshuah.

If Yahshuah and the rest of the Hebrews looked like these pictures of the "Christian Christ". It would have been hard for him to hide in Egypt (among the black Egyptians) and not be noticed.

NOTE: the above fact about Yahshuah hiding in Egypt was attested to by a biblical scholar (DR. MARK GOODACRE) on a BBC produced program in 2001.

The Program was called 'THE COMPLETE JESUS'. Dr. Mark Goodacre (pictured) stated, it would have been hard for Yahshuah to hide among the Egyptians, if he didn’t look like the Egyptians. He was making the point that Yahshuah could not have been a man of white hue. He admitted in the program that Yahshuah was a dark /black skinned man.

HERE IS HIS EXACT QUOTE FROM THE PROGRAM ENTITLED THE COMPLETE JESUS.
“Now it’s very unlikely that Jesus would have been able to be HIDDEN in Egypt, if he had a very different color of SKIN from the people in Egypt.”

He also made mention that the Israelites of the first to third centuries wore their hair in Afro's, and wore short crop black beards. This is only the tip of the iceberg, you can't hold down the truth.

Herod was put on the throne of Israel by the Romans. Egypt was under Roman dominion. All Herod had to do was check with the Roman officials in Egypt to find out if there were any Hebrews with baby boys around. But, since the Hebrews and the Egyptians looked the same physically, it would have been hard to single out a Hebrew family among the native "black" ancient Egyptians.