Posted on 05/24/2025 12:30:09 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
In Esther, Mordechai identifies himself as of the Tribe of Benjamin and a Jewish man - ish Yehudi, presumably to clarify his allegiance to the Kingdom of Judah as opposed to being of earlier Exiles from the Northern Kingdom.
Jer. 34:9 KJV seems true to the Hebrew original:
“That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess [Ivri and Ivriyah] go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew [Yehudi] his brother.”
St. Paul also claimed to be of the tribe of Benjamin, but also referred to himself as a Jew and as a Hebrew.
I knew that "ish" meant "man" because of the name of Saul's son Ishbaal. I once met an Israeli whose surname was Ish-Shalom.
Small in number, but not in influence. Especially in the South, there were several wealthy and powerful Jewish families.
Judah Philip Benjamin served as the Attorney General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State for the Confederacy. The first Jewish-American to serve on an executive cabinet in American history, he has received the title “brains of the Confederacy” by scholars for his apparent position as Jefferson Davis’ right hand.
Visited Newport RI in the 1970s, remember riding by big old cemeteries for different sects and faiths, on the way to tour The Breakers. While in town, also saw the Round Tower. :^)
Anyway:
https://tourosynagogue.org/history/
There is never any question about the influence, wealth, and power.
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