In the Hebrew Scriptures, the word "goyim" is frequently translated as "nations". Interestingly, the word "goyim" is also translated as “gentiles” by the same scribes within the same texts. There appears to be no real rhyme or reason for their decision to do this.
The Goyim and Ephraim, the "Doubly Fruitful"
When considering who are the goyim/nations of the world today, there is something, or someone, who must be considered: Ephraim. Ephraim is a tribe of Israel that is particularly more mysterious than all others. He inherited the birthright of nations from Abraham while Jew-dah inherited the sceptre (i.e., kingship) from Abraham. Both promises passed through Isaak and Jacob and then split thereafter. See The Two Sticks of Abraham (pdf).
In the book of Genesis, just before the chapter where Jacob prophecies over all his sons regarding ha-Yom Akhareeth, “the Last Days”, he gives a pre-emptive promise to a couple grand-children. Genesis 48:17-19 reads (bold is mine):
(17) And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.
(18) And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
(19) And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people [Hebrew: “am”], and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become the fullness of the nations [Hebrew: "melo-ha-goyim"].
Darwinists Confirm the Probabilities | Exponential Population Growth
"The exponential growth in the number of our ancestors going back in time connects us tightly to the past. If a historical figure who lived more than 1,600 years ago had children who themselves had children, that person is almost certainly among our ancestors. Everyone in the world today is most likely descended from Nefertiti (through the six daughters she had with Akhenaton), from Confucius (through the son and daughter he is said to have had), and from Julius Caesar (through his illegitimate children, not through Julia, who died in childbirth). One need go back only a couple of millennia to connect everyone alive to a common pool of ancestors." Steve Olson in Mapping Human History: Genes, Race, and Our Common Origins pg 47.
"The forces of genetic mixing are so powerful that everyone in the world has Jewish ancestors, though the amount of DNA from those ancestors in a given individual may be small. In fact, everyone on earth is by now a descendant of Abraham, Moses, and Aaron - if indeed they existed." - Ibid pg 114.
"Going back ten generations, we each have about one thousand ancestors (not considering marriages between cousins), which means we share about a millionth of a random neighbor's DNA by direct descent. Twenty-five generations ago, about the time when Columbus happened on the shores of the Americas, the number of our ancestral cousins swells to an astronomical 30 million, almost all of the world's populations at that time. Almost all of the people living today are distant cousins to a common ancestor who lived some three thousand or so years ago, geneticists estimate." - Jon Entine in Abraham's Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People pg 61.
Human evolution: Pedigrees for all humanity (Nature) - "Simulations based on a model of human population history and geography find that an individual that is the genealogical ancestor of all living humans existed just a few thousand years ago."
Human populations are tightly interwoven (Nature) - "Family tree shows our common ancestor lived just 3,500 years ago."
Statisticians: Common Ancestor of All Humans Lived 5,000 Years Ago (FOXNews) - "You would have to go back in time only 2,000 to 5,000 years — and probably on the low side of that range — to find somebody who could count every person alive today as a descendant."
Most Recent Common Ancestor of All Living Humans Surprisingly Recent (Yale News) - "These more realistic models estimate that the most recent common ancestor of mankind lived as recently as about 3,000 years ago, and the identical ancestors point was as recent as several thousand years ago."
The Growth Curve
For perspective, Ephraim was born about 3,700 years ago. A thousand years later (a long time after all the tribes of Jacob left Egypt and entered the Promise Land), Ephraim's tribe went into Assyrian captivity (with several brother tribes). The dispersed tribe of Ephraim had time to grow even more numerous, eventually re-gained their independence from Assyria, and many (not all) migrated to even further “far off” places throughout Eurasia. Considering the time-frame, it may be more simple now to fathom the great number of Ephraim’s descendants in our modern world (even in spite of the grandiose prophecies).
Using the equation below and given enough time (there has certainly been plenty), Ephraim’s descendants were certainly capable of fulfilling the Genesis 48:19 promise.
The Equation: N = Noert
(No) represents the initial population. (r) represents the natural growth rate, which factors in both birth and death rates. (t) represents the amount of time... using the same units as (r). (e) represents the base of the natural logarithms (approximately 2.71828). (N) represents the final resultant population. Plotted on a graph, the equation would look like the green curve below (assuming a natural growth rate of more than .01 or 1%).
Remember the riddle where a child is offered two choices for a weekly allowance: the first option begins with one penny and doubles each week, while the second option begins at one dollar and increases by one dollar each week thereafter. The second option certainly pays more in the short term (red line), and is very enticing to a child, but the first option grows overwhelmingly larger in the long term (green line). Of course, a prudent child would choose the first option and wait for long-term compounding results.
The Apostle to the Gentiles and the Blindness of Israel
The Scriptures are full of word puns, symbol-isms, and hidden treasures. The Apostle Paul frequently tried to display these treasures to the “Gentiles”, whom he felt divinely sent to. Yet, his writings are difficult for many to understand, especially for those who have no or little understanding of what his brain and heart was rooted in: the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings (TaNaKh).
Being born in Tarsus, on the edge of the Greek world, and certainly familiar with his own people's history, Paul knew full well who many of the Gentiles were, and you can occasionally catch a glimpse of this in passages like Romans 11:25-27:
(25) For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in..
(26) And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
(27) For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Note Paul’s use of the word "Fullness" [Greek: Pleroma], and the word “Gentiles’ [Greek: Ethnos]. What on earth is Paul talking about? Was Paul not intimately familiar with the book of Genesis? I dare suggest he had the scroll memorized and verse 48:19 was readily re-callable and deeply meaningful to him.
Look how Paul contrasts the wild branches (Gentiles) with the natural olive branches (Jews) just a few prior verses in Chapter 11. Wickedness and idolatry was always equated with crookedness, wild-assness, and rebelliousness, traits the Northern Kingdom (led by Ephraim) was well known for. Ephraim and/or the House of Israel were often called a rebellious house or a wild ass by the Prophets. In exile, he was no longer a natural olive tree planted and nurtured by the Almighty, but he became a wild olive tree, cut off and re-planted by the Assyrian Empire in foreign lands.
Compare the following verses regarding Ephraim and/or the House of Israel/Joseph:
Hosea 8:8-9
(8) Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.
(9) For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.
Ezekiel 2:5-6
(5) And they – whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are a rebellious house – shall know that a prophet has been in their midst.
(6) And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or discouraged by their looks, for they are a rebellious house.
Hosea 14:6-8
(6) His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
(7) They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
(8) Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.
The verses below emphasis the House of Judah as an Olive Tree, but both the House of Judah and the House of Israel are mentioned.
Jeremiah 11:16-17
(16) יהוה called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
(17) For יהוה of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.
Below, Ephraim is planted in far countries and there he remembers and returns to the Almighty.
Zechariah 10:7-9
(7) “And Ephrayim shall be as a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as if with wine. And their children shall see and rejoice, their heart exulting in יהוה. l.
(8) “I shall whistle for them and gather them, for I shall ransom them. And they shall increase as they once increased.
(9) “Though I sow them among peoples, they shall remember Me in places far away. And they shall live, together with their children, and they shall return.
Sparta and the Jews
Paul was probably more an Apostle to the Greeks than to any other people. Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, Thessalonica, and Galatia were all Greek-dominated cities and/or regions. Well, we do know that at least some of the Greeks were Israelites, or at least, they thought so. Below is a correspondence between the Lacedemonians [Spartan Greeks] and the Jews. And remember, Apostle Paul was well acquainted with the Maccabee Scrolls, a treasured history of his own Jewish people.
I Maccabees 12:5-23:
(5) And this is the copy of the letters which Jonathan wrote to the Lacedemonians:
(6) Jonathan the high priest, and the elders of the nation, and the priests, and the other of the Jews, unto the Lacedemonians their brethren send greeting:
(7) There were letters sent in times past unto Onias the high priest from Darius, who reigned then among you, to signify that ye are our brethren, as the copy here underwritten doth specify.
(8) At which time Onias entreated the ambassador that was sent honourably, and received the letters, wherein declaration was made of the league and friendship.
(9) Therefore we also, albeit we need none of these things, that we have the holy books of scripture in our hands to comfort us,
(10) Have nevertheless attempted to send unto you for the renewing of brotherhood and friendship, lest we should become strangers unto you altogether: for there is a long time passed since ye sent unto us.
(11) We therefore at all times without ceasing, both in our feasts, and other convenient days, do remember you in the sacrifices which we offer, and in our prayers, as reason is, and as it becometh us to think upon our brethren:
(12) And we are right glad of your honour.
(13) As for ourselves, we have had great troubles and wars on every side, forsomuch as the kings that are round about us have fought against us.
(14) Howbeit we would not be troublesome unto you, nor to others of our confederates and friends, in these wars:
(15) For we have help from heaven that succoureth us, so as we are delivered from our enemies, and our enemies are brought under foot.
(16) For this cause we chose Numenius the son of Antiochus, and Antipater he son of Jason, and sent them unto the Romans, to renew the amity that we had with them, and the former league.
(17) We commanded them also to go unto you, and to salute and to deliver you our letters concerning the renewing of our brotherhood.
(18) Wherefore now ye shall do well to give us an answer thereto.
(19) And this is the copy of the letters which Oniares sent.
(20) Areus king of the Lacedemonians to Onias the high priest, greeting:
(21) It is found in writing, that the Lacedemonians and Jews are brethren, and that they are of the stock of Abraham:
(22) Now therefore, since this is come to our knowledge, ye shall do well to write unto us of your prosperity.
(23) We do write back again to you, that your cattle and goods are our's, and our's are your's We do command therefore our ambassadors to make report unto you on this wise.
The Spartan Greek civilization appears to have sprung up most noticably in the 10th century BC. Spartan history in particular is difficult to trace prior to that time... although they certainly existed in around Laconia and the Peloponnese peninsula before then. Flavius Josephus and the modern Christian view is that the Greeks came from Javan, the fourth son of Japheth. This may be true in part, but the Greeks as a whole had many sub-clans... who sometimes fought together and sometimes fought against each other... and they all had legends of origin... ranging from the probable to the bizarre. Some thought they came from the mountainous regions in the north, some from Phoencia, and some from Egypt... all of which indicates they were likely not a pure race of people. Furthermore, there is much evidence that the islands of Greece were a haven for freed non-Greek slaves, some of which were likely forcibly brought to Greece originally, while others may have volunteered after escaping or being freed else where.
Clues from the Two Censuses of Numbers
When comparing the two Census accounts in the Book of Numbers (depicted below), there appears to have been a considerable exodus shortly AFTER the great exodus, where large numbers of Simeonites, Gadites, Ephraimites, Naphtalites, and Levites disappear. It is speculated some of them (minus those who died during Korah's rebellion and a later plague) left the encampment of Israel while still in "the Wilderness". It is a mystery where these assumedly rebellious Israelites disappeared to.
Compare the 1st census of Numbers 1:1-54 and the 2nd census of Numbers 26:1-65 below.
| Tribe | Census1 | Census2 | Difference | Losses |
| Reuben | 46,500 | 43,730 | -2,770 | -2,770 |
| Simeon | 59,300 | 22,200 | -37,100 | -37,100 |
| Levi | ? | N/A (*) | ? | ? |
| Gad | 45,650 | 40,500 | -5,150 | -5,150 |
| Judah | 74,600 | 76,500 | 1,900 | |
| Issachar | 54,400 | 64,300 | 9,900 | |
| Zebulun | 57,400 | 60,500 | 3,100 | |
| Ephraim | 40,500 | 32,500 | -8,000 | -8,000 |
| Manasseh | 32,200 | 52,700 | 20,500 | |
| Benjamin | 35,400 | 45,600 | 10,200 | |
| Dan | 62,700 | 64,400 | 1,700 | |
| Asher | 41,500 | 53,400 | 11,900 | |
| Naphtali | 53,400 | 45,400 | -8,000 | -8,000 |
| Totals: | 603,550 | 601,730 | -1,820 | -61,020 |
| Total known census loss: | -61,020 | |||
| Total known deaths: | -38,950 | |||
| Total known missing Israelites: | -22,070 | |||
We know 14,700 + 250 Israelites died (Numbers 16:35,49) during Korah's rebellion, and then 24,000 more died in the plague of Numbers 25:9, making a total of 38,950 who died after the first census but before the second census. Subtracting that number (38,950) from the total known census decrease (61,020) shown above, we get at least 22,000 missing Israelites of fighting age who are still unaccounted for, not including their wives and children, nor does it include the change of Levi's tribal population (Numbers 26:62) because they were unnumbered in the first census. Where did they all go, and particularly, where did Simeon go? Why was he NOT included at all in the tribal blessings in Deuteronomy 33?
At this point, we can truly only speculate where they might have gone. Yet, there simply are not many previously "unknown peoples" who suddenly become "known" relatively near Egypt and relatively near the time after the Great Israelite Exodus from Egypt. Mycenaean Greece (c. 1600 - 1100 BC), followed by the Dorian Invasion/Migration, and Lacedomonia Sparta (c. 1100 BC) are some of the most prominent possibilities. Although we cannot absolutely prove it, their correspondence with the Kingdom of Judah in later centuries (seen earlier) does seem to reinforce the probability that they were indeed Israelites, brethren to the Jews, or at least cousins, descendants of Shem via Abraham, NOT Japheth... at least not entirely! Even if the original Greek population was of Japheth, there is a mysterious prophetic reference to Japheth dwelling in the tents of Shem (Genesis 9:27).
Furthermore, at the beginning of the Common Era (before the Roman Diaspora of the Jews), it would appear that even the Jews in the Land of Israel thought some of their brothers were in Greece. Look at the question asked among themselves in response to a comment made by Yeshua, the Messiah:
John 7:35 The Yehudim, therefore, said to themselves, “Where is He about to go that we shall not find Him? Is He about to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks (Hellene), and to teach the Greeks?"
If the Greeks were a branch of dispersed Israelites or at least had a mixture of Israelites in their midst, that reality should tremendously re-define the Christian notion of what it meant for Paul to be "the Apostle to the Greeks", yes? And what about the many other so-called Gentile peoples of Europe, Northern Africa, and Asia? Could they also have Israelite ancestry?
Probabilistically? Statistically? YES!
Related Links:
- Genesis 48:19 "Fullness of the Nations"
- The 10 Lost Tribes of Israel
- Two-House Theology (Reality) defined and defended
- Genesis 48:19 “fullness of the nations”: the Mathematic / Scientific HOW it became a Reality
- Can DNA testing confirm Jewish or 10-Israel Ancestry?
- May Japheth live in the Tents of Shem (Genesis 9:27)
