"Brit-Am Now"- 479
November 22, 2004
Contents:
1. Does The Name Ireland mean "Hebrew"?
2. Were the Hiberi Hebrews from Israel or from Eber?
3. Rabbi Feld and Yair Davidiy to Give Joint lecture
4. Iron Age Megalithics
1. Does The Name Ireland mean "Hebrew"?
From: J B
ERIN, an ancient name for Ireland. The oldest form of the word is Eriu,
of which Erinn is the dative case. Eriu was itself almost certainly a
contraction from a still more primitive- form Iberiu or Iveriu; for
when the name of the island was written in ancient Greek it appeared as
Iouepvih (Ivernia), and in Latin as Iberio, Hiberio or Hibernia, the first
syllable of the word Eriu being thus represented in the classical languages by
two distinct vowel sounds separated by b or v. Of the Latin variants,
Iberio is the form found in the most ancient Irish MSS., such as the Coilfession
of St Patrick, and the same saints Epistle to Coroticus. Further evidence
to the same effect is found in the fact that the ancient Breton and Welsh
names for Ireland were Ywerddon or Iverdon. In later Gaelic literature
the primitive form Eriu became the dissyllable Eire; hence the Norsemen
called the island the land of Eire, i.e. Ireland, the latter word being
originally pronounced in three syllables. (See IRELAND: Notices of Ireland in Greek
and Roman writers.)
2. Were the Hiberi Hebrews from Israel or from Eber?
Question:
><<The sons of Biblical "Eber" also spelled "Iber" sailed west and the
>country was named H-IBER-LAND...See Ptolemy's Map. Hibernia who
settled
>west of Albion (England).>>
><<Could this be the Origin for the name of Ireland "Eber" which is
>H-IBER-LAND and we have confused it with being associated with the
name or
>discription "HEBREW". Yair what is your opinion on this are the bulk
of
>the Irish children of Eber or Abraham? >>
Answer:
Eber (Genesis 10:21) was a descendant of Shem son of Noah and an
ancestor
of Abraham. Abraham was known as "the Hebrew" (Genesis 14:13)
possibly because he was descended from Eber or from another reason. In
the
Bible Israelites are sometimes referred to as Hebrews
(there are 50 0r so references) and we have no Scriptural evidence that
this name was ever applied to anybody else.
Even if it was its usage in the historical framework we are dealing
with
synonymous with Israelites and it was attached to peoples
that much other evidences also shows to have been Israelite. I have
mentioned this point before. The evidence has to be examined
as one whole. One should beware of taking isolated points out of their
context and playing pseudo-intellectual games with them.
The term "Hiberi" or "Iberi" or "Iberni" was applied to the natives of
Celtic Britain and Ireland. It also occurs in place-names in France,
Switzerland,
and what was once Celtic Germany. Where it occurs in Spain and Portugal
it
is associated with a former Celtic presence. In Spain it is associated
with the same group of "Hebrews" who arrived from Israel as we have
proven
at some length in our writings. They came to the southwest of Spain
moved
to the northwest then kept moving into gaul and the British Isles. They
were also known as Galatae or Galadi which is a form of Gilead of
Israel.
Likewise where the name "Hiberi" occurs elsewhere in the West it is
linked
with Hebrew names traceable to Israelites. We know that the Israelites
were
also known as "Hebrews". Hebrew in the west would have been pronounced
as "Hiberi" or "Iberi" or "Iberni". We have no proof that the name
"Hebrew" was given to any other nations be they descendants of Eber or
not. We can in effect discard any such notion as an unnecessary and
unsubstantiated diversion.
[2-Chronicles 7:14] IF MY PEOPLE, WHICH ARE CALLED BY MY NAME, SHALL
HUMBLE
THEMSELVES, AND PRAY, AND SEEK MY FACE, AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED
WAYS;
THEN WILL I HEAR FROM HEAVEN, AND WILL FORGIVE THEIR SIN, AND WILL HEAL
THEIR LAND.
3. Rabbi Feld and Yair Davidiy to Give Joint lecture
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25TH, 7:00 p.m. "Ten Lost Tribes: Israelite Origins
of
Britain and America -- Key to Solving the Middle East Conflict" by Mr.
Yair
Davidiy and Rabbi Avraham Feld, Brit Am www.britam.org. In English.
Root &
Branch at the Israel Center, Keren HaYesod 22, Thurs, 7:00 p.m.
566-7787,
[rb@rb.org.il], [www.rb.org.il].
4. Iron Age Megalithics
http://www.consciousevolution.com/Rennes/arthurchapter1.htm
The following extracts are significant in so far as they provide
additional
evidence to the Brit-Am claim
that many of the so-called megalithic monuments were raised after the
Ten
Tribes went into Exile and
are to be attributed to them.
The Round Temples of Britain
[Selected Extracts Only]
Stonehenge is only one of literally hundreds of standing-stone
monuments
that dot the British Isles and the western parts of the European
continent.
At an early stage scholars discovered that these structures were
contemporary with the great burial mounds, or barrow graves, that also
dotted the continent. These megalithic (“great stone”) monuments were
part
of a genre that stretched even beyond the lands of the Celts. Vast
quantities of stone implements and weapons, usually axe-heads,
arrowheads
and spearheads, were found in association with the megaliths.
It was in the early part of the 19th century, just as Europeans began
to
take an active interest in the ancient monuments which surrounded them,
that a new method of historical classification, based loosely on the
Greek
concept of Bronze and Iron Ages, began to be adopted. A Stone Age, it
was
surmised, was followed by an Age of Bronze, which was followed in turn
by
an Age of Iron. Since the Celts of classical antiquity clearly belonged
to
the Iron Age, it was presumed that, notwithstanding ancient tradition,
the
megaliths could not possibly have been raised by them. Thus the
megaliths
were assigned to an unknown race of the Stone Age, and were placed in
the
second, or even third millennium BC.
This idea quickly became the new orthodoxy, and any attempts
subsequently
made to “reclaim” the megaliths for the Druids were doomed to failure.
Before going one step further however it should be stated that the
concept
of a Stone Age, followed neatly by a Bronze Age, followed by an Iron
Age,
is a complete and utter fallacy. There was no point at which the Stone
Age
became the Bronze Age, and the Bronze Age was transformed into the Iron
Age. Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages overlap. As a matter of fact, stone
implements were regularly employed by the poorer classes well into the
Iron
Age. For centuries iron was an extremely expensive commodity, and the
knowledge of how to forge it a closely guarded secret. Iron ore, as
well as
finished products of iron, had to be laboriously carted over vast
distances
through the primeval forest and bog-lands of ancient Europe. Stone of
various kinds, from which peasant farmers could fashion axes,
arrowheads,
and tools of every kind, was readily available locally. Iron Age forts
throughout the British Isles and Europe regularly reveal caches of
polished
stone axe-heads and arrowheads - much to the (unjustified) puzzlement
of
archaeologists. Heinrich Schliemann discovered large numbers of stone
arrowheads and axe-heads in Late Bronze Age burials at Mycenae and
Tiryns,[6] [6] Heinrich Schliemann Tiryns (London,1886) p.173
whilst George Rawlinson remarked on the occurrence of flint arrowheads
in
the 8th and 7th century (Iron Age) settlements of Assyria.[7] [7]
George
Rawlinson Ancient Monarchies Vol.1 (London, 1879) p.454n “A few stone
arrow-heads have been found in the Assyrian ruins. They are pear-shaped
and
of fine flint, chipped into form.”
Herodotus noted that a detachment of the Persian army which invaded
Greece
in the early 5th century BC. was armed with stone-tipped arrows.[8]
[8] Herodotus vii,69
Tacitus records that the Germanic warriors of his time (first century
AD.)
mostly could not afford iron swords and spears, and that many were
armed
simply with pointed sticks.[9] [9] Tacitus The Annals of Imperial Rome
ii,13
the discovery of stone implements in the vicinity of the megaliths
cannot
be regarded as proof that they predate the Celts
.In Ireland, the great tombs of New Grange (Brugh na Boinne), which
archaeology now dates around 3,000 BC., were said to be the burial
places
of the island’s Gaelic High Kings, who sat at nearby Tara. That this
tradition was based upon some amount of genuine knowledge is confirmed
by
the discovery of recognisably Celtic artefacts at the site. The
medieval
Irish, who preserved a written history of forty generations of
pre-Christian High Kings, identified virtually every megalithic
monument in
the country with a specific ruler or warrior-hero. The standing-stone
circles, they said, were temples where the god Beal or Balor was
worshipped, and to this day stone circles in Ireland are named
Beltanies
(ie. Bealtaine - “Fire of Beal”), whilst the Irish word for temple -
timpeall - is the same as the word for circle.
It is a well-recognised fact that the burial-mound, or barrow-grave,
was
characteristic of the Bronze Age/Iron Age Celts and Germans. The
megaliths
throughout western Europe are heavily decorated with spiral designs, a
motif that would later, in a slightly more developed and sophisticated
form, come to be regarded as typically Celtic. In Scandinavia
menhir-style
standing-stones occur with great frequency, and are virtually identical
to
those found throughout France - particularly Brittany. Yet the menhirs
of
Scandinavia are decorated with runic inscriptions - usually bearing the
names of those responsible for raising the stone - and Viking Age
artistic
motifs. Again, Scandinavian chiefs of the Viking Age were buried, often
along with a ship, in barrow-graves. Sometimes these boat-burials took
the
shape of the vessel they entombed, and were often surrounded by
standing-stones.
Yet, contrary to what is stated in textbook after textbook, it is not
just
in Scandinavia that megaliths are linked to Late Iron Age cultures.
Thus
for example the megalithic monuments of Brittany are frequently
associated
with Gallo-Roman remains, in spite of being separated from these
remains in
conventional chronology by up to 2,000 years.[10] [10] Heribert Illig
“The
Past Comes Down” Society for Interdisciplinary Studies: Chronology and
Catastrophism Workshop No.1 (1991) p.10
Again, the menhir stones of southern France, which are dated to the
third
millennium BC. “have their counterparts in Corsica (where they are
dated to
the 1st millennium BC.), and in the stelae of Luni, which on account of
their inscriptions are unanimously dated to early Etruscan times.”[11]
[10]
Heribert Illig “The Past Comes Down” Society for Interdisciplinary
Studies:
Chronology and Catastrophism Workshop No.1 (1991) p.10
[11] Ibid. p.11
Possibly some of the most spectacular evidence of all has come from one
of
the megalithic mounds at New Grange in Ireland, Carn H. Here
archaeologists
found a whole series of artefacts of clearly Iron Age date. These
included
amber and glass beads, various iron objects, and bone plaques. It was
the
latter which caused most disquiet.
“The ornament on these bone plaques is by very general consent agreed
to
belong to La Tene art and probably date to the first two centuries AD.
The
problem presented by these objects of La Tene art together with iron
objects was to explain their presence in a Passage Grave the walls of
which
were decorated with typical megalithic art and which was assumed by
most
people to have been constructed in or around 2,000 BC. It was argued by
most archaeologists before Dr. Raftery’s re-excavations that Carn H at
Loughcrew had been used as a workshop in the Early Iron Age - perhaps
the
atelier of a Celtic artist. Professor MacAlister, for example, believed
the
metal-workers of the Early Iron Age produced these plaques as samples
for
the ornamentation of luxury items of bronze. Dr. Raftery disagreed with
this view and in 1943 re-excavated Carn H.
“The 1943 Raftery excavations found no objects characteristic of the
normal
megalithic assemblage: what was found, however, were blue, green and
yellow
glass beads, small bronze rings, pieces of iron and 2,000 bone plaques
of
which 200 were ornamented in the late LaTene style. Raftery argued that
all
these finds dated to the Early Iron Age; he found some of them in what
he
described as an undisturbed foundation layer, while some bone plaques
were
actually in the stone-hole of one of the orthostats in the passage. In
describing his excavations to the International Congress of Prehistoric
and
Posthistoric Sciences in Zurich in 1954, he thought the evidence in his
excavations susceptible of only two solutions: first, that the site was
a
normal Passage Grave constructed , say in 2,000 BC. but entirely
destroyed,
removed and rebuilt in the Early Iron Age; or secondly, that it was an
old
style tomb or tomb still being used in the Early Iron Age. Having found
no
evidence for the first solution, he has put on record that Carn H was
constructed in the Early Iron Age and that therefore megaliths in
Ireland
survived not only to the end of the second millennium BC. but to the
beginning of the first millennium AD.” (Daniel’s and O’Riordain’s
italics)[12] [12] Glyn Daniel and Sean P. O’Riordain New Grange (1964)
pp.123-4
But as we have said, the excavators should not have been surprised by
this
discovery, in view of the fact that native Irish tradition has always
insisted that the megalithic tombs of New Grange were the resting
places of
Ireland’s Gaelic High Kings. Further proof that megalith-building
continued
into the post-Roman period is seen in a well-known cromlech at Ballina
in
the west of Ireland. This structure is reliably recorded as the burial
site
of four Connaught princes who had been implicated in and executed for
the
murder of bishop Ceallach, another royal prince of the region, who had
eskewed worldly affairs and trained for the priesthood under St.
Ciaran.
The Irish annals record that the dolmen was raised for his killers and
they
were interred therein around the year 650 AD
Clearly then the European megaliths were being erected well into the
late
Iron Age, and those located in the Celtic regions must indeed have been
the
work of the Druid priestly order. Caesar’s remark that trainee Druids
from
Gaul went to Britain to complete their studies is perhaps a reflection
of
the power and prestige of the priesthood linked to Stonehenge. The
Roman
conquest of Dacia was followed by the destruction of a great
standing-stone
circle at Sarmizegetusa, which was “superficially” similar to
Stonehenge,
another stone circle ruined at this time.
5. The Israelite Megalithic Trail to the West
[Jeremiah 31:20] IS EPHRAIM MY DEAR SON? IS HE A PLEASANT CHILD? FOR
SINCE I SPAKE AGAINST HIM, I DO EARNESTLY REMEMBER HIM STILL: THEREFORE MY
BOWELS ARE TROUBLED FOR HIM; I WILL SURELY HAVE MERCY UPON HIM, SAITH THE LORD.
The following verse (31;21) in Jeremiah refers to dolmens
which are large stones set table fashion over others and often covered
by large piles of rocks and stone. The dolmens and other related stone
monuments form a connecting link between Israel, Britain, West France,
and Scandinavia. More dolmens (over 5000!) have been found in Denmark than
in any other country. On the other hand the oldest dolmens are believed to
be those of Israel. More than 20,000 megalithic monuments of all types
(including dolmens) have been found in the Land of Israel especially on
the eastern "Jordanian" side since for various reasons those on the west
were destroyed by local inhabitants. The verse in effects links “dolmens”
with “Ephraim”.
[Jeremiah 31:21] SET THEE UP WAYMARKS, MAKE THEE HIGH HEAPS: SET THINE
HEART TOWARD THE HIGHWAY, EVEN THE WAY WHICH THOU WENTEST: TURN AGAIN,
O VIRGIN OF ISRAEL, TURN AGAIN TO THESE THY CITIES.
Hofman (“Olam HaTanach”): <<The Prophet calls upon the
Exiles to indicate with special signs their pathway into Exile, in order that
they may quickly return to the land by the path they went in. This method of
marking a pathway is practiced unto this day…How would they know to
find the way in Biblical Times? How would they describe the way of journey
or the border line? It appears that in Biblical times it was accepted
practice to make note of prominent features…>>
Abarbanel: <<The prophet therefore spoke concerning the Kingdom of
Israel [of the Ten Tribes] SET THEE UP WAYMARKS saying that when you go into
Exile make signs by the routes and waymarks like piles of rocks [i.e. cairns]
or stone monuments [Hebrew: Matzavah, i.e. dolmen] so that you may set
your heart to the route and remember in order that you may return in the way
you went in, return to your city.>>
The “WAYMARKS” the Prophet is referring to were megalithic monuments.
These monuments were set up by Israelites.
The word translated above as "WAYMARKS" in the original
Hebrew is "Tzionim" which strictly speaking means "signs" but in spoken Hebrew
is usually used to denote a stone erection marking a grave or event.
The most literal explanation of this verse amongst the
Classical Authoritative Rabbinical Commentators is that given by the
"Radak" (Rabbi David Kimchi, 1157-1236) of Narbonne, France. The Radak says:
"SET YOURSELF UP WAYMARKS" (Jeremiah 31): This was
directed to the Community of Israel, that in the generation when they would be
exiled they should set up waymarks [i.e. "tsionim"] such as PILED-UP STONES OR
STONE MONUMENTS. The purpose of these monuments was to mark the paths
[of migration for the sake of future recognition]. The meaning was to say
that even though you will be exiled, hope is not lost and you are still
destined
to return to these your cities. "MAKE YOURSELF HIGH HEAPS" [Hebrew:
"tamrurim"]. The same message is repeated though the wording is changed
since both "tamrurim" [i.e. "high heaps"] and "tsionim" (i.e.
"waymarks") connote elevated-height [from the root "tamar"]...
Bearing in mind that according to the previous verse (31;20)
Jeremiah is addressing himself to Ephraim, the verse in Jeremiah 31;21
may therefore be understood to say:
"Set yourself up stone monuments [menhirs, dolmens] and
high heaps of stones [cairns] [i.e. “Megalithic” monuments!]. Set your heart
towards the prepared way: The way in which you went. Turn back o virgin
of Israel, return unto these cities of yours.
The ancient Israelites were always familiar with bronze
and iron utensils but it should be noted that in some cases the use of
stone only was enforced. An altar had to be erected of whole unhewn stones
(Exodus 20;22); "An altar of whole stones over which no man hath lift
up any iron" (Joshua 8;31). Joshua was commanded to circumcise Israelites
born in the wilderness with "knives of flint" (Joshua 5;2-3). The Hebrew has
"Charvoth Tsurim" which the KJ imprecisely translates as "sharp
knives". "Tsur" means flint or sharp stone.
Dolmens and related monuments are found in the Land of Israel,
in Jordan, in the Caucasus, in Spain, Brittany (France), Britain, and
Scandinavia.
There are several types of dolmens and examples have also
been reported from Ethiopia, Japan and India. Eastern dolmens are somewhat
different from those of Israel and the west. Even so in India the
dolmens are linked with legends of green-eyed Vikings and/or with the Lost Ten
Tribes. The type of dolmen found in the area of ancient Israel (on both
sides of the Jordan River) is the same as that found in Western Europe:
"The megalithic dolmens found in the Golan and Galilee are
table like structures composed of two vertical basalt blocks roofed by
large rock slabs. A heap of stones usually covered the dolmens,
creating a tumulus. Such structures are known in Transjordan from the Chalcolithic
period, but in the Golan and Galilee they definitely date to EB [i.e.
Early Bronze] IV /MB [Middle Bronze] I...These dolmens recall similar
megalithic burial structures known throughout Europe in the Bronze Age, but the
significance of this resemblance is unclear". A. MAZAR, Archaeology of
the Land of the Bible, U.S.A. 1990. p.160.
The conventional dating applied in Europe to dolmens and
the like is too early. Most Megaltihic monuments in Western Europe were
erected in the Late Bronze or Early Iron Age after the Israelites had been
exiled. People of Israelite origin erected them! In archaeological and
historical studies of Western Europe dolmens are associated with the Celtic Druids.
Wherever Celts and Druids were found together, so too, were there
dolmens.
Iron age artifacts are frequently found together with or
in the vicinity of dolmens. Iron was largely introduced to Europe after
700 BCE with the coming of the Celts.
Through Dolmens a good case may be made for tracing the
migrations of the Lost Ten Tribes to Western Europe. The quoted verse
of Jeremiah may well be understood in this sense.
The verse (Jeremiah 31;12) in the Hebrew be understood
further as saying:
"Establish waymarks [i.e. "Tsionim" =dolmens] for
yourself, set up for yourself high-heaps [i.e. cairns, "Tamrurim" = wayfare
markers]: put your heart [i.e. pay attention] to the pathways you went by and
return, O virgin of Israel, come back to these cities of yours.
Some understand the above verse in a partly figurative
sense but taken literally, as the Radak (Kimchi) does, it means that a trail
of megalithic monuments should be traceable along the paths of migration
as indeed it is. Megalithic Monuments begin in the land of Israel on both
sides of the Jordan. They have offshoots of uncertain nature into Asia
but exact reproductions are fund in the Caucasus, in Bulgaria, in Spain,
West France, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Britain, and Ireland. They
describe two main migratory paths from Israel to Western Europe. These paths
show us how the Lost Ten Tribes left their land and where they went to.
Jeremiah the Prophet transmits the command of God telling us to take heed of the
paths we went in, the monuments we set up, and the way leading back to
the cities of our forefathers in the Land of Israel.
[Jeremiah 31:22] HOW LONG WILT THOU GO ABOUT, O THOU BACKSLIDING
DAUGHTER? FOR THE LORD HATH CREATED A NEW THING IN THE EARTH, A WOMAN SHALL
COMPASS A MAN.
Abarbanel on this verse says it refers to the Ten Tribes who at first
would be weak like a woman but later would gain strength like a man and overcome the Gentiles.
Radak: <<A WOMAN SHALL COMPASS A MAN: It is the way of the world that a
man goes after and hangs around a woman, as the sages said: “Someone who
has lost something seeks after what he is lacking”. Here the female goes
after and around the man, that is the Children of Israel will repent and
return to their God who will redeem them>>.
More information about dolmens is to be found in our book "Ephraim".
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