A Bitter Family Quarrel… Solving the Arab-Israeli Impasse! : Raymond F. McNair : Church of God-21st Century

Since Israel’s birth in May 1948, world leaders have unsuccessfully searched for a solution to today’s Arab-Israeli deadlock in the Middle East. Regrettably, no proposed solution to this Arab-Israeli impasse has ever been successful! Britain failed to reconcile the differences between the Arabs and Jews when she ruled PALESTINE under a League of Nations mandate from 1922 until she dumped the vexatious Palestinian problem into the lap of the United Nations in mid-May 1948. Thus far, no one—neither America, nor the European Union, nor the United Nations—nor any other organization or nation has been successful in resolving the knotty “Palestinian issue.”

In an interview with CNN-TV news correspondent Wolf Blitzer on May 12, 2002, Yasir Arafat repeatedly declared that the Arabs and the Israelis are “cousins.” When asked if he would be willing to state publicly that he would welcome a “Jewish state” alongside a “Palestinian state,” Mr. Arafat was hesitant, but finally stated that he would welcome a Jewish State of Israel existing side by side with the Palestinians in their own separate state. Are the Jews and Arabs really cousins? This study paper points out that, according to God’s Word, at least six different “families” of “Arab” peoples are Semitic “cousins” of the Jews: Those six ancient Semitic families of “Arab” peoples are as follows: ISHMAELITES, Midianites, Moabites, Ammonites, EDOMITES and Amalekites! The Bible also mentions some of the ancient struggles that arose among these related Semitic peoples.

It is impossible to understand end-time prophecies without having what Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong called the “vital key” to understanding those prophecies—by which he meant a correct understanding of the true identity of the Anglo-Saxon-Celtic peoples as being the descendants of the ancient Patriarch ISRAEL. Likewise, it is impossible to understand certain important end-time prophecies concerning the Middle East without having the “vital key” that unlocks the true identity of the modern-day descendants of the Patriarch ESAU, twin brother of Israel/Jacob. This paper gives biblical and historical proofs showing that today’s “Palestinians” comprise a portion of Esau’s (i.e. Edom’s) modern descendants. Therefore, Israelis and Palestinians are Semitic cousins!

Important Population Statistics

Important population figures for Jews and Arabs living in “Israel.” “People: Population: 6,433,000…. Ethnic groups: Jewish 80%, Arab and other 20% (The World Almanac, 2004 edition, “Israel”). The JEWS of Israel are supported by approximately 10 million Jews (the Diaspora) living outside of Israel. And they are staunchly supported by the U.S. There are only about 15,000,000 Jews in the world. America—and to a lesser extent, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand—is one of the comparatively few nations that support the Israeli cause. In May 2002 both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives voted to express America’s solid support for the beleaguered State of Israel.

Palestinians scattered throughout the world. Palestinians living in various nations outside of “Palestine” are as follows: Jordan (2,405,142), Lebanon (443,088), Syria (481,029), Egypt (49,874), Saudi Arabia & the Persian Gulf States (425,004), Iraq (51,500), miscellaneous other Arab countries (30,600), the United States (206,641), other non-Arab countries (4,692). In addition, Palestinians live in the West Bank (1,873,476), Gaza Strip (1,022,207), and in the Israeli “occupied territories” (953,497). (Source for above population figures: PCBS, Population, Housing and Establishment Census, Dec. 1997; Pop. Statistics,1999.)

The Palestinians (with a worldwide population of about 8.4 million) call themselves “Arabs,” and are supported by 22 Arab nations having a combined population of about 280,000,000, nearly all of whom are ethnic Arabs. They are also supported by most of the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims, and have the moral support of most of the nearly 200 nations of this earth, having a worldwide population of over 6 billion. Most of the Palestinians are Muslims and call themselves “Arabs.” [Note. The Arabs’ religion (most Palestinian are Arabs, and the majority of them are Muslims), their culture, civic and social institutions, their judicial system and their standard of living are drastically different from that of the Jews, whose culture and democratic government is similar to that of the nations of the Western world. This helps to explain the giant chasm between the Palestinians, and their Arab-Muslim supporters in the “Third World,” and the Israelis, whose supporters are mainly the English-speaking, democratic, Christian nations of the Western world.]

Many have asked, “Why is this bitter Arab-Israel dispute so difficult to resolve?” The nations have found it impossible to solve this bitter dispute, partly because they utterly fail to believe God’s Word which tells us precisely what is behind this stubborn Mideast impasse. Furthermore, the Bible tells us that no man, nation, or organization (such as the U.S., U.K., U.N. or the E.U.) will be able to solve this bitter Mideast impasse (Zech. 12:1-3). Only the Prince of Peace (Isa. 2:1-5; 6:6-7) can show the nations the way out of this bitter dispute, which threatens to ignite World War III (Matt. 24:21-22)!

What, then, are the MAJOR ISSUES wrapped up in this intractable dispute? Is the real problem a matter of religious differences between Arabs and Israelis? Are racial tensions between Jews and Arabs the main source of the problem? Or, is the main issue rooted in a bitter dispute over land ownership—concerning whether God promised the “Promised Land” to the people of Israel, or to the Arab peoples? This includes the bitter dispute over who should exercise political control over the city of Jerusalem, which is holy to Jews, Christians and Arabs—who call it El Kuds, meaning “Holy Town.” But, according to the Bible, who are the rightful inheritors of the Holy Land? Do the roots of this Arab-Israeli dispute over Palestine go back over 3,500 years to a number of bitter family quarrels that happened in the 1800s-1700s BC—events that are still remembered, and bitterly resented by some Arabs and Jews?

Where did the name “Palestine” originate? What does it mean? “PALESTINA and PALESTINE (land of strangers). These two forms occur in the Authorized Version but four times in all… [as] ‘Philistia’ or ‘Philistines.’ Palestine in the AV really means nothing but Philistia. The Hebrews signified merely the long and broad strip of maritime plain [the ‘Gaza Strip’] inhabited by their encroaching neighbors [the Philistines]…. As lying next [to] the sea, and as being also the high road from Egypt to Phoenicia and the richer regions north of it, the Philistine plain became sooner known to the Western world than the country farther inland, and was called by them Syria Palestina—Philistine Syria. From thence it was gradually extended to the country farther inland, till in the Roman and later Greek authors… it became the usual appellation for the whole country of the Jews, both west [i.e. ‘West Bank’] and east [‘East Bank’] of JORDAN [River].

“The word is not so commonly employed in our more familiar language to designate the whole country of Israel [as] a general description of the HOLY LAND…. 1. During the patriarchal period, the conquest and the age of the judges [it was called] ‘Canaan,’ or more frequently ‘the land of Canaan,’ meaning thereby the country west of the Jordan, as opposed to ‘the land of Gilead,’ on the east. 2. During the monarchy the name usually…employed is ‘land of Israel’… . 3. Between the captivity and the time of our Lord the name ‘JUDEA’ had extended itself from the southern portion to the whole of the country, and even that beyond the Jordan…. 4. The Roman division of the country hardly coincided with the biblical one, and it does not appear that the Romans had any distinct name for that which we understand by PALESTINE. 5. Soon after the Christian era we find the name PALESTINA in possession of the country. 6. The name most frequently used throughout the MIDDLE AGES, and down to our own time, is Terra Sancta—HOLY LAND” (Smith’s Bible Dictionary, pp. 474-475).

[Note. Does the Bible ever refer to the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as “Palestine?” The Bible often calls that land the “land of Israel” (Ezek. 21:2-3; Matt. 2:20—21). Today’s Israelis and Diaspora Jews strongly object to calling their ancient homeland “Palestine.” In ancient times the Philistines (in the Gaza Strip) were one of Israel’s bitterest enemies. Modern Israelis (and also the Jews of the Diaspora) call their country erets Israel, the “land of ISRAEL.” Today’s “Palestinian” Arabs have adopted the name of the ancient “Philistines,” but this does not mean that most of them are descendants of the Philistines, who were closely related to the Egyptians, both being descendants of “Ham” (Gen. 10:13-14). The Philistines are first mentioned in Genesis 10:14. “MIZRAIM begot…Casluhim (from whom came the PHILISTINES…)” (v. 14). The Egyptians have descended from MIZRAIM (v. 13). The Philistines’ homeland always consisted of only a small strip of land on the Southeastern coast of the Mediterranean. That is where they still live—in the land called the “GAZA STRIP.” They were a fierce and warlike people who afflicted Israel from the time of the later Judges until the time of King Saul and King David, who finally subdued them (see Joshua, Judges and 1 Samuel). There is nothing to indicate that the Philistines (either anciently or in modern times) were numerous as a people! As this study paper proves elsewhere, the bulk of modern “Palestinians” are descendants of the EDOMITES who formerly lived on the southern border of Judea, and later moved north into the more fertile lands of Judea and Samaria—subsequent to the captivity of the Jews in 586BC, and more importantly, after the Roman captivity of the Jews during the Roman-Jewish war of 66-70AD.]

The Bible reveals that the real roots of today’s Mideast impasse go back to a number of old family quarrels—some of which reach back over 3,500 years into ancient history! The account of these ancient squabbles is faithfully recorded in the Word of God. Yet many students of the Bible have themselves somehow failed to see that the Bible alone gives us both the historical facts behind the “Palestinian problem,” as well as the real solution to this “running sore,” which no one seems able to heal. When we seek the answers to the prickly Palestinian issue in God’s Word, only then will we discover the true roots of the deep-seated bitterness of this ancient struggle between the descendants of the Patriarch Abraham, whose blood now flows in the veins of both Jews and Arabs.

Who are the “Jews” and the “Arabs”? Historians generally realize that both Jews and Arabs are blood relatives—both being Semites. But who are the “Semites”? Exactly where do they appear in the great “Table of Nations,” given to us by the Prophet Moses in Genesis 10 (see ADDENDA)?

It is not possible to fully understand the real roots to today’s Mideast impasse, without looking at both biblical and secular history. Since biblical history antedates any credible accounts found in our secular history books, we are forced to go back to the world’s perennial “Best Seller”—the Bible—for solid answers to today’s deadlock between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East. The Hebrew Scriptures explain the great family tree of all nations which shows that all of today’s 6 billion humans descended from Noah and his three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth (see Gen. 10:1-32). The “Table of Nations” lists Noah’s three sons (along with all of their grandsons): “Japheth…[and] Ham [and] Shem…. These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations; and from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood” (v. 32, cf. Deut. 32:8-0). Shem is the ancestor of the Semitic peoples: Hebrews/Jews, Arabs, Phoenicians, Akkadians, etc.

Ever since the Palestinian problem thrust itself on the world stage in the late 1940s, that ancient dispute over the world’s most-fought-over land has often been front page news. Hardly a single year went by during the last 55 years when world leaders did not need to concern themselves with this thorny, intractable “Palestinian problem.”

Furthermore, many world leaders (both political and religious) look upon the Palestinian problem as the most likely fuse that could ignite World War III, with its accompanying horrific chemical, biological and NUCLEAR weapons, which could wipe out whole populations and usher in a new Dark Age that could make the Dark Ages (from 476AD to about 1000AD) seem tame by comparison. Many people believed Saddam Hussein was working feverishly on the development of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. Israel is reported to have between 100 and 200 NUCLEAR WEAPONS! The Mideast is truly becoming heavily armed, and this volatile area could be the trigger that starts World War III!

The Hebrew prophets were inspired to write down a number of startling prophecies concerning horrific end-time wars between various peoples living in the Mideast. Those prophecies focus on the nation of “ISRAEL” with its capital city of Jerusalem. In fact, when the Bible speaks of north, south, east or west, it gives directions from the central focal point of JERUSALEM. The Middle East, with Jerusalem at the center, is at the convergence of three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa!

The Prophet Zechariah prophesied that all the nations that would get deeply involved in the “Jerusalem problem” would be hurt in the process. In the N.T., both Jesus Christ (in Matt. 24 & Luke 21) and the Apostle John (in Revelation) give us important prophetic details concerning end-time events to occur in the Middle East in the near future. Great Britain was the first great modern nation to find itself embroiled in the Mideast cauldron—trying to solve the difficult problem of how to settle the “Palestinian issue” in a way that would please both Jews and Arabs. When did Britain first become enmeshed in the quagmire of Middle East politics?

The Famous BALFOUR DECLARATION. During WW I British forces, under Field Marshal Sir Edmund Allenby, drove the Muslim Turks out of PALESTINE. Allenby’s army captured Jerusalem in 1917, and before the end of 1918 the British had conquered all of Palestine. On November 2, 1917, the British foreign secretary, Arthur James Balfour, wrote a letter to Lord Rothschild in which he declared that “His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in PALESTINE of a NATIONAL HOME for the JEWISH PEOPLE, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.” Unfortunately, British officials had made certain contradictory promises to both Jews and Arabs. This later led to a serious clash of Israeli-Palestinian interests which came to known as the “Palestine problem.”

Then, following the formation of the League of Nations in 1919, Britain was given a League of Nations mandate to govern “Palestine” (the land now called “Israel” and “Jordan”) in 1922! But the British soon learned that they could please neither Arabs nor Jews. The Arabs were adamant in their opposition to the Jews being granted their own State on Palestine’s West Bank (i.e. in Judea and Samaria); and the Jews were equally determined to build their own nation on the West Bank. What was Palestine’s population when Britain occupied it during the First World War? “The population of Palestine, predominantly agricultural, was about 690,000 in 1914 (535,000 Muslims; 70,000 Christians, most of whom were Arabs; and 85,000 Jews). Population decreased during the war” (Encyc. Brit., 15th ed., vol. 25, “Palestine”). At that time, Muslims outnumbered Jews six to one. Immediately following WW II, a sharp increase in Jewish immigration to Palestine soon enabled the Jews to outnumber the Arabs—thus greatly alarming them.

Since Britain could please neither the Jews nor the Arabs, both the Israelis and the Arabs began attacking British forces in Palestine. Acts of terrorism were committed by both Arabs and Israelis—against the British and against each other. The blowing up of British military and government offices in Jerusalem is just one example of Jewish opposition to British policies by which Britain greatly restricted the number of Jews that were legally allowed to immigrate annually into Palestine. On July 22, 1946, Jewish underground forces in Palestine blew up part of the King David Hotel which contained British government and military offices. In that attack, 91 lives were lost. By 1947, the British had had enough.

In mid-May of 1948 Britain announced that she would turn the vexatious “Palestinian” problem over to the United Nations. After Britain dumped the “Palestinian problem” into the lap of the United Nations, the UN decided to PARTITION Palestine between a Jewish State and a Palestinian State, with JERUSALEM to become an “INTERNATIONAL CITY”—a holy city for Muslims, Jews and Christians. Britain, however, was about to learn an important lesson. As Zechariah 12 reveals, any nation who becomes intricately involved in trying to untangle the “Jerusalem problem” will soon find that it is lifting a very “burdensome stone” which will prove injurious to handle (v. 1-3; cf. Prov. 26:27). Presently, top U.S. officials are trying to deal with this difficult problem. (In fact, some world statesmen are still pushing to have Jerusalem become an international city!)

The Encyclopedia Britannica describes what happened when British forces withdrew from Palestine: “On May 14 [1948] the last British high commissioner, General Sir Alan Cunningham [and the British forces], left Palestine. On the same day the State of Israel was proclaimed and within a few hours won de facto recognition from the U.S. Early on May 15, units of the regular armies of Syria, Transjordan, Iraq, and Egypt crossed the frontiers of Palestine. In a series of campaigns alternating with truces between May and December 1948, the Arab units were routed. In spite of bitter fighting in 1948 and 1949, by the summer of that year Israel had concluded armistices with its neighbors. It had also been recognized by more than 50 governments throughout the world, had joined the United Nations, and had established its sovereignty over about 8,000 square miles of mandated Palestine West of the Jordan River. The remaining 2,000 squares miles were divided between Transjordan and Egypt. Transjordan [ “Jordan”] retained the lands on the WEST BANK of the Jordan River, including East Jerusalem, which were all formally annexed in 1950. The name of the expanded country was changed to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [i..e. “Jordan”]. Egypt retained control of, but did not annex, the GAZA STRIP. ‘Palestine’ ceased to exist” (15th ed., vol. 25, p. 421). During the 1948-49 Arab-Israeli war, Jordan, Egypt and Israel had all occupied various parts of Palestine which the United Nations had assigned to become “Palestine” in 1947.

All U.S. presidents have been compelled to address the “Palestinian issue” since the United Nations decided in 1947 to partition Palestine, thereby creating two states (Israel and Palestine).

President Harry S. Truman, acting on behalf of the U.S., was quick to take the initiative in May 1948, when he directed the U.S. Government to recognize the State of Israel—only hours after the Jews had declared the State of Israel to be a new nation. The United Nations, Russia, Britain, France and about 50 other nations followed the U.S. lead by recognizing the State of Israel. Unfortunately, at that time, none of the Arab nations was willing to recognize Israel. Instead, they immediately sent their armies across the UN-designated borders of Israel, forcing that nation into an unwanted war. After months of bitter fighting the Israelis won that war, and signed an armistice with the Arab nations who had attacked her. It was during the war of 1948-1949 that many Palestinians fled into Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and other Arab nations as Palestinian refugees. In October 1973, President Richard M. Nixon had to authorize a massive U.S. airlift of planes, tanks, guns, and other war materiel to re-supply the Israeli forces which were in danger of being overrun by the combined forces of Egypt and Syria in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. After being re-supplied by the U.S., Israeli forces pushed the Egyptians back across the Suez Canal and drove the Syrians back well into Syrian territory adjacent to Israel’s northern border. Again, Israel won that war—her fourth war with the Arabs in modern time, and has retained control over the Gaza Strip and Syria’s Golan Heights ever since the Six-day War of 1967!

And President Jimmy Carter grimly stated, “The Middle East is perhaps the most volatile and coveted region in the world, one whose instability is almost certainly the greatest threat to world peace” (The Blood of Abraham, 1993, p. 4). President Carter also stated that “the basic cause of continuing bloodshed in the region is the struggle for land” (p. 10). He also explained that “the Arab-Israeli conflict is a struggle between two national identities for control of territory” (p. 106)! Which “two national identities” did he refer to? He was speaking of “the brotherhood of Arab and Jew and how they are both the sons of Abraham”—both sharing “the blood of Abraham” (pp. 4-5). Mr. Carter then said, “The Palestinians are convinced that all the Arab-Israeli wars have boiled up out of the PALESTINIAN PROBLEM—in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973 and the Lebanese invasions of 1978 and 1982—and…the civil wars of 1970 in Jordan and 1975 in Lebanon….. [They] see the restoration of Palestinian rights as the key to regional tranquility and, under some circumstances, even of world peace” (p. 120).

More recently, President Ronald Reagan, while wrestling with the thorny Arab-Israeli problem, said: “Tragic turmoil in the Middle East runs back to the dawn of history. In our modern day, conflict after conflict has taken its brutal toll there. In an age of nuclear challenge and economic interdependence, such conflicts are a threat to all people of the world, not just the Middle East itself. It is time for us all…to call a halt to conflict, hatred and prejudice” (President Reagan address, Sept. 2, 1982). President Bill Clinton spent a great deal of time, especially during the last few years of his presidency, wrestling with what President Carter called “the Palestinian problem.” Israel’s Prime Minister Barak, Yasir Arafat and President Clinton spent many days closeted at the presidential retreat at Camp David—in a futile attempt to find a solution to this problem. In fact, the last president to fail in his attempt to untie the Mideast’s “Gordian knot” was President Bill Clinton. He spent much time, energy and “political capital” in a vain attempt to bring the Palestinians and Israelis together, so they could conclude an amicable peace agreement to end their decades-long impasse. After many days at Camp David in an attempt to reach a settlement, all parties called off the talks, declaring that they had reached a stalemate.

When George W. Bush became President in January 2001, he fully realized that President Clinton had spent much “political capital” in a vain attempt to help the Israelis and Arabs reach a satisfactory agreement on this difficult Palestinian issue. Mr. Bush was determined not to have a repeat of his predecessor’s failed attempt to settle the Arab-Israeli dispute. He believed he could put the boiling Mideast pot on the back burner. Unfortunately, subsequent continued violence in the Middle East forced President Bush and his Cabinet to divert much of their attention from the war-on-terrorism effort to the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. Mr. Bush has repeatedly stated that the United States will not allow Israel’s neighbors to “crush” that tiny state! Thus far, President Bush and his Cabinet, like many before them, have been very frustrated in their futile attempts to bring the warring parties to the peace table. Bible prophecy reveals that this Arab-Israeli impasse will continue until the entire Middle East eventually explodes in a horrific conflict that will eventually terminate in what some mistakenly call the “Battle of Armageddon” (Rev. 16), but which will be the final “Battle of Jerusalem” in which God Almighty will Himself step in and determine its outcome (Zech. 14; Rev. 19:11-21; Joel 3:9-21).

It is generally recognized that Abraham is the ancestor of the Jews. However, millions are not aware that he is also the father of the ethnic Arabs. The Patriarch Abraham had a son, Ishmael, by his wife’s handmaid, Hagar, an Egyptian. When friction later arose between Hagar and Abraham’s wife Sarah (Gen. 15), God told Abraham to do as his wife Sarah advised and send Hagar and her son away (Gen. 21:9-21). A clear grasp of the Arabs’ important role in world history is vital, if we are to understand how the ancient peoples mentioned in the Bible became submerged under the name of the “Arabs,” after the Arab conquests in the 7th century, and we cannot really understand the Mideast impasse unless and until we first consider the racial roots of Israel’s Arab neighbors, including today’s Arabs and “Palestinians.” And we can only understand the ethnic roots of the various Arab peoples if we look to the rich historical information contained in the Hebrew Scriptures. God called Abraham out of the “land of the Chaldeans” (Acts 7:4), and told him to migrate to the “land of Canaan” (Gen. 12:1-5), and swore that Abraham’s descendants would possess it some 400 years later: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates” (Gen. 15:18)

Let us now diligently search the biblical record to see how Abraham’s descendants came into being. Then we will see how the ancient families that descended from Abraham (now known as Arabs) became totally buried under the process of ARABIZATION, which began in the 7th century, and has continued to this very day. Abraham’s nephew LOT, and his sons MOAB and AMMON, and their descendants, the MOABITES and AMMONITES, were distant cousins of the Israelites. Unfortunately, the origins of the descendants of those ancient peoples have also been obscured under the general name of “ARABS.” After the Arab conquest of the entire Middle East in the 7th century, the following ancient biblical peoples (Ishmaelites, Midianites, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Amalekites), lost their national identities. Note. “Arabia [means ] ‘Arid’” (T. A. Bryant, Today’s Dict. of the Bible, 1982 ed., p. 45).

God called Abraham and his clan out of ancient land of Chaldea, and told Abraham that he was to go to a new land—the “land of Canaan” (Gen. 12). But not long after Abraham’s clan arrived in “Canaan,” discord reared its ugly head. The first account of strife arising in Abraham’s “clan” occurred when Lot’s herdsmen (Lot was his nephew) and Abraham’s herdsmen began to quarrel: “And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock…. So Abram said to Lot, ‘Please let there be no strife between you and me…for we are brethren…’” (13:7-18). Abraham immediately took charge, and insisted that he and his nephew Lot and their households separate peaceably. Abraham asked Lot to choose which part of the land he would live in (vv. 8-12).

MOAB and AMMON–sons of the Ancient Patriarch LOT’: Some few years after Abraham’s and his nephew Lot’s families had separated, Abraham learned that a confederacy of kings had taken his nephew Lot captive: “Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit…and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus [in present day Syria]. So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother [nephew] Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people” (14:14-16). [Note. Not long after Lot had been rescued by Abraham, Lot fathered two sons, MOAB and AMMON (19:20-38), whose descendants became known as Moabites and Ammonites. Hundreds of years later, numerous instances occurred in which the Moabites and Ammonites (although cousins of the Israelites) aggressively attacked the people of Israel. Furthermore various scriptures reveal that modern-day Moabites and Ammonites will display great hostility toward the Israelis at the close of this age (see Psa. 83:1-9).]

Furthermore, Bible prophecy reveals that descendants of Moab and Ammon still live in the Mideast—on the “East Bank” of the Jordan River—in the modern State of Jordan. Interestingly, the capital of Jordan is called “Amman,” after their ancestor “Ammon.” Clearly, some of today’s Jordanians (and other “Arabs” in the Mideast) are descendants of Lot’s two sons, Moab and Ammon (see Dan. 11:41). The 83rd Psalm reveals that some of these descendants of Lot will join in an unholy coalition (a Jihad) against the people of Israel in the last days! Also take note of the fact that about 60 percent of today’s 5,153,378 Jordanians are Palestinians—who are descendants of Israel’s brother Esau (also known as Edom), father of the O.T. Edomites (Gen. 36:9; 43), and Amalakites, but by N.T. times they were known as IDUMAEANS (Mark 3:8; cf. Isa 34:5-6; Ezek. 35:15). The N.T. Herodian kings were also of Idumaean descent. “The father of Herod the Great was named Antipater. He was of Idumaean blood. The IDUMAEANS were of the Edomite stock, the descendants from Esau” (Unger’s Bib. Dict, 3rd ed., “Herod”). Herod tried to kill Christ, and his son, Herod Antipas, beheaded John the Baptist (Matt. 14:3-121). Further, another of the Herods “killed James the brother of John with the sword” (Acts. 12:1-2).

Ethnic Arabs are Arabs by blood, all of them being the descendants of the Patriarch Abraham. Non-ethnic Arabs are those “Arabs” who have become Arabs through the process of ARABIZATION. They have become Arabs by adopting the language, culture and religion (Islam) of their Arab masters, following the Arab conquests of the centuries immediately following Mohammed’s death in 632AD. Ethnic Arabs include the following ancient peoples, all of whom can trace their descent in the Bible all the way back to ABRAHAM: Ishmaelites-Hagarites, Midianites, Edomites-Amalekites, Moabites-Ammonites. After the Arab conquest these ancient related peoples’ identities all became submerged and hidden under the general name of “ARABS”!

Today it is generally recognized that Abraham is the father of the “Jews.” However, many, even among Bible students, fail to recognize that Abraham is also the father of numerous other peoples now living in the Middle East. In fact, most of the Middle Eastern peoples known as “Arabs” are related to the Jews through their common father ABRAHAM. The majority of these ethnic Arabs have descended from Abraham through his firstborn son, ISHMAEL, whose mother was Sarah’s handmaid, Hagar (Gen. 16:16). Several other branches of these ethnic Arabs (such as the MIDIANITES) are also descendants of Abraham’s and his second wife Keturah (Gen. 25:1-4). Still other “Arabs” have descended from various unnamed “sons of the concubines” which Abraham had (vv. 5-6). Let us examine certain interesting details of Abraham’s extended family, so we can get a clearer picture of why, for thousands of years, there has been so much strife between the people of Israel and the Arabs. All of these peoples (Ishmaelites, Edomites, Moabites, Midianites, etc.) were known by their own ancestral names until after the Arab conquest in the 7th century A.D. Once they had all become “Arabized,” they eventually lost their own identity, and thereafter were called “Arabs.”

Modern Arabs readily admit that they are Abraham’s descendants. Today there are 22 “Arab” nations, consisting primarily of numerous relatives of Abraham’s firstborn son Ishmael. In fact most of the true ethnic Arabs (Arabs by blood, not merely “Arabs” by language or culture), look to Abraham as their ancestor. Abraham’s wife Sarah was barren, so Sarah persuaded her husband to have a child by her handmaid Hagar (Gen. 16:1-16). After Abraham and Sarah agreed to send Hagar away, before she gave birth to her child Ishmael, an angel told Hagar, “Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name ISHMAEL…. He shall be A WILD MAN; His hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him” (16:11-12). “Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram” (v. 16). [Note. It is interesting to note that, until recent times, the Arabs have been known as Bedouin (Arabic desert dwellers), who lived off the harsh lands in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. For thousands of years many of these Bedouin continued to live as tent-dwelling nomads. It was only after rich oil reserves were discovered and marketed (mostly by the U.S. and British help) that the Arab nations really began to experience a certain amount of prosperity. Only then have they been able to enjoy many of the luxuries of the Western style of life.] Not long after Ishmael’s birth, the LORD granted Abraham and Sarah a child named ISAAC, whom God said would become Abraham’s heir—rather than Ishmael, who had been born of Sarah’s handmaid (17:16-21). But God assured Abraham, “And as for ISHMAEL [Heb. God hears] I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and I will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a GREAT NATION. But My covenant I will establish with ISAAC, whom Sarah shall bear unto you…” (17:20-21).

Note. After bitter contention had arisen between Hagar and Sarah, Abraham reluctantly sent Hagar and Ishmael (Heb. God hears) away, and they “wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba” until they ran out of water, whereupon Hagar (and apparently, Ishmael) began weeping. But “an angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, ‘What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is…for I will make him A GREAT NATION.’ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water….So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer…and his mother took a WIFE for him from the land of EGYPT” (21:14-21). Note. This means that ethnic Arabs are descendants of Abraham and Hagar (who was an Egyptian). Furthermore since Ishmael married an Egyptian wife, this would mean his twelve sons (i.e. “twelve princes,” Gen. 25:16) were three-fourths Egyptian. Therefore, ethnic Arabs are closely related to the Egyptians! This explains why Arabs and Egyptians have gotten along fairly well down through the centuries, except for the past 100 years!

It would appear that ever since the lifetime of ISHMAEL, he, and later, his descendants, resented the fact that their father Abraham had sent their ancestors (Hagar and her son Ishmael) away, thereby excluding Ishmael from receiving the inheritance that normally went to a firstborn son. The Bible and secular history both reveal that there have been numerous occasions when the descendants of Abraham’s sons (Isaac and Ishmael) fought tragic wars. Strife still continues between modern Israelis and Arabs some of whom, to this very day, believe their ancestor Ishmael should have been the true inheritor of Abraham’s blessings. Even though a few Ishmaelites now live in Palestine, most of them live either in the Arabian Peninsula (in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Yemen), or in the Arab States in the Persian Gulf: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. We shall later see that the “core” peoples who comprise modern PALESTINIANS have not descended from Abraham’s son ISHMAEL, but have, in fact, descended from Abraham’s grandson ESAU (or EDOM), father of the EDOMITES!

And God promised Hagar: “Arise, lift up the lad [Ishmael]…for I will make him a GREAT NATION” (Gen. 21:18). God had previously given Abraham a similar promise, “Behold I have blessed him [Ishmael], and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget TWELVE PRINCES, and I will make him a great nation” (17:20). It is a well-known fact that, like the Jews, many of today’s Arabs acknowledge that they are also the descendants of Abraham, and that their mother was HAGAR, whose son was ISHMAEL, while ISAAC’S mother was SARAH. History reveals that, between 622 and 732AD, the Arab armies of Mohammed and his successors (comprised primarily of Ishmaelites) conquered Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Palestine, Egypt and all of North Africa, Spain and Portugal—and subdued all of the land from Iran eastward through Afghanistan and Northwest India (now known as Pakistan).

Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary makes these interesting comments concerning the Arabs: “The people who lived in ARABIA included…the sons of Abraham and Keturah (Gen. 25:1-6), and Esau (Gen. 36). The ‘country of the east’ (Gen. 25:6) is probably a reference to ARABIA [i.e. the ISHMAELITES]” (p. 81). “After Hagar learned that she was pregnant, she grew proud and began to despise Sarah. Sarah complained to Abraham, who allowed her to discipline Hagar” (ibid. p. 517). “When Abraham died, Ishmael returned from exile to help Isaac with the burial (Gen. 25:9). As God promised, Ishmael became the father of 12 princes (Gen. 25:16), as well as a daughter, Mahalath, who later married ESAU, son of Isaac (Gen. 28:9)…. ISHMAEL was the father of the ISHMAELITES, a nomadic nation which lived in northern ARABIA. Modern-day Arabs claim descent from ISHMAEL” (ibid. p. 518).

“ISHMAELITES—descendants of ISHMAEL, Abraham’s first son. His mother was Sarah’s Egyptian servant, Hagar…. The Ishmaelites like the Israelites… were divided into 12 tribes (Gen. 25:16). Out of respect for Abraham, God made a great nation of the Ishmaelites…(Gen. 21:12-13). Ishmael’s 12 sons had many descendants who lived as nomads in the deserts of NORTHERN ARABIA. The O.T. eventually used the term Ishmaelite in a broader sense, referring to all the Arabian merchants (Is. 13:20; Ezek. 27:20-21).… This wider use of Ishmaelites is illustrated by an event in the life of Joseph. His older brothers sold him to some caravan traders who were called ‘a company of Ishmaelites’ (Gen. 37:25) as well as ‘Midianite’ traders (37:28). They were probably a minor clan of the larger Ishmaelite tribe. MOHAMMED claimed ISHMAEL as his ancestor, as do most ARABS” (Illustr. Bib. Dict., 1986 ed., p. 518)!

History Clearly Identifies the Modern “ISHMAELITES”!

Let us consider a number of “Arab” peoples who, according to the Bible, are blood brothers of the ISRAELIS: Ishmaelite/Hagarenes, Edomites/Amalekites, Moabites/Ammonites and Midianites. We shall first consider the ISHMAELITE “Arabs.” The World Book Encyclopedia says, “ISHMAEL was the elder son of Abraham in the Bible. Ishmael’s mother was HAGAR, an Egyptian serving-maid…. He [Ishmael] is honored by the Arabs, along with Abraham, as their ancestor” (1972 ed., vol. 10). Further, Collier’s Encyclopedia states, “Ishmael was banished from Abraham’s house together with his mother [Hagar]…. Ishmael is the traditional ancestor of the Arab peoples” (1959 ed, vol. 11).

The World’s Religions says this regarding Muslim’s pilgrimage visit (haijj) to the black Ka’aba stone in Mecca, Arabia: “The pilgrimage begins on the first day at Mecca when the pilgrim walks seven times around the Ka’aba (1). Next, the pilgrim runs seven times between two small hills…now enclosed and joined by a walkway (2) it was close to here that Abraham was ordered by God to leave his wife Hagar and his son ISHMAEL and where, in her desperate search for water, Hagar ran furiously up and down the hills until she discovered the well of Zamzam nearby…. The haijj ends with the festival of the sacrifice…when a sheep, goat, cow, or camel is sacrificed in remembrance of Abaham’s faith and obedience when he was told by God first to sacrifice his son—who, according to Muslims, was ISHMAEL, not ISAAC…” (Dr. Peter B. Clarke, 1993 ed., p. 89). [Note. The Bible reveals that God commanded Abraham to go to Mt. Moriah [at Jerusalem] to offer up Isaac (not Ishmael!), some time after Hagar had been sent away into the “Wilderness of Beersheba,” in what was later called Palestine (Gen. 22:1-18). That event did not take place at Mecca in Saudi Arabia, as the Arabs believe. Today’s Arabs don’t like to consider their ancestor Ishmael as being inferior to Abraham’s son Isaac, ancestor of the Israelis. In the above quote, mention was made of Arabs/Muslims sacrificing a “camel” in connection with their religious devotions at Mecca. But God’s people, Israel, were expressly forbidden to eat or sacrifice camels because they were considered “unclean” (Lev. 11:14; Deut. 14:7). Thus it clear that though the Muslims believe in one God, as do the Jews, they have many different customs and laws that they follow. One big difference is their observance is the 6th day (Friday) as their Sabbath, whereas the Jews observe the 7th day.]

Time Inc. published The World’s Great Religions in 1957, in which we read: “Starting at the Black Stone [the Kaaba in Mecca], the pilgrims run around the building three times quickly and four times slowly, pausing on each circuit to kiss the meteorite…. Next comes the Lesser Pilgrimage, in which the pilgrims must trot seven times across the valley between the low hills, Safa and Marwa, in commemoration of Hagar’s frantic search for water for her infant son ISHMAEL” (p. 105). This book of “Great Religions” then gives the facts concerning Abraham sending Hagar and Ishmael away (Gen. 21:1-21). We are told that Ishmael’s “mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt” (v. 21). This explains why the Arabs have been rather close to the Egyptians during certain periods of Arab history. Modern Arabs, including the Egyptians, have been very supportive of the Palestinians’ claim that they are the rightful possessors of the West Bank (formerly called “Palestine”). Many Arabs want to deny that the people of Israel (the Jews in particular) have lived continuously in “Palestine” for over 3000 years!

The NABATEANS, as well as the prophet Mohammed, were ethnic Arabs: “ISHMAELITE…. A descendant of ISHMAEL, the son of Abraham and Hagar, whom Abraham sent away into the desert after the birth of Isaac (Gen. 21:14-21). The twelve sons of Ishmael and his Egyptian wife became princes and progenitors of [twelve] tribes. They lived in camps in the desert of NORTHERN ARABIA, though occasionally some of them, such as the NABATEANS, settled down. Mostly, however, they lived like Ishmael, ‘a wild man’ of the desert (16:12);… All Arabs, following Muhammad’s example, claim descent from ISHMAEL” (The New Intern. Dict. of the Bible, 1987 ed., p. 475).

The Erdman’s Bible Dictionary says this concerning the Nabateans: “NABATEANS…. An originally nomadic South Semitic people who settled in southwestern Transjordan in the fourth century B.C…. Archaeological evidence from the region some 460 km. (285 mi.) southeast of PETRA suggests that the Nabateans were originally from northwest Arabia. Which is the exact sequence of events remains a mystery, by the second century the Nabateans apparently had made the transition to sedentary life. They controlled Edomite and Moabite territories and the important international trade routes to Arabia, Egypt, Damascus…. Their capital Petra (“the rock”) is situated in the Wadi Musa (valley of Moses”) some 80 km. (50 mi.) south of the Dead Sea…. The Herodian dynasty was of Nabatean origin…. In A.D. 106 [the Roman Emperor] Trajan seized Nabatean territory and incorporated it into the province of Arabia” (1987 ed.).

The descendants of Abraham’s sons—whom he “sent…eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east”—into the Arabian Peninsula, east of Palestine—must have heard their ancestors tell sad stories of Abraham sending all of Isaac’s half-brothers away eastward into Arabia shortly before his death, after having given “all that he had unto Isaac” (Gen. 25:5-6).

What political situation in the Mideast allowed the children of EDOM to move up from the south (called ARABAH) into the more “lush” lands of southern Judah? The Reader’s Digest Atlas of the Bible explains how this came about: “To the east, in what had been Edom, people from Northwest Arabia were establishing themselves. Later known as NABATAEANS, they would become one of the great commercial peoples of antiquity…. The Babylonian invasions of the 6th century [c. 586BC] had destroyed effective government in Edom and Moab and allowed these desert nomads to infiltrate and eventually rule an area from southern Syria to Edom as well as much of the Negeb and even western Sinai. From Petra the NABATAEANS eventually controlled the King’s Highway as well as the east-west caravan routes from Arabia through Ezion-Geber to Gaza and Egypt. The heyday of these people would come later, but already they were driving the Edomites (later known as IDUMEANS) into the Negeb and what had been SOUTHERN JUDAH. Settling in the desert south of Beer-sheba, the Edomites established themselves in the relatively lush tableland and hills around HEBRON, which became one of their chief cities” (Atlas of the Bible,1981 ed., p. 150). The Nabataeans were a branch of Ishmaelites, later known as “Arabs.” (Ishmael was Abraham’s eldest son, Gen. 16:11-16)

Who are the ancestors of today’s “Arabs”? God had promised that Ishmael’s descendants would become “a great nation” (Gen. 16:9; 17:20 21:18). What peoples or nations comprise Ishmael’s descendants today? “ARAB… a: a member of the Semitic peoples of the Arabian Peninsula [or] b: a member of an Arabic-speaking people” (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed.). Some of the “Arabs” living in the 22 Arab nations of the modern world are “Arab” by blood, while others are “Arabs” by language, culture and religion (Islam). Ethnic Arabs live primarily in the countries of the Mideast, whereas some of the “Arabs” of Egypt and North Africa have little or no Arab blood. Today’s Arabs (approx. 280 million) only comprise about 23.4 percent of the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims. Although there are 22 modern Arab nations, most of today’s Arabs live in the following 17 Arab countries (listed alphabetically):

[Note. Most, but not all of, the 281,107,280 million inhabitants living in the 17 Arab nations listed above are true ethnic “Arabs.” It is also true that millions of Arabs live in many other non-Arab nations of the world—countries that are not included in the above list of Arab nations.]

But where did the “Arabs” originate? Who are they? “According to ancient tradition, the Arabs are originally descended from two stocks. Of these the first were believed to have originated in the uplands of the southwest corner [i.e. YEMEN] of the Arabian Peninsula, while the second or northern group were those located in northern central ARABIA and often alleged to be the descendents of ISHMAEL, the son of Abraham. To this day almost every Arab tribe claims to be descended from one or other of these two stocks” (Encyc. Brit. 1970 ed., vol. 2, p. 170-172).

If the northern Arabians are, as they claim, descendents of Ishmael, son of Abraham—who, then, is the ancestor of the southern Arabians, who originated in the “southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula” (modern Yemen). In fact, these people are relatives of Ishmael. As we shall later observe in this study paper, one of Abraham’s grandsons was named Esau/Edom. Further, we are told that one of Esau’s wives was a daughter of Ishmael. “Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. So ESAU went to Ishmael and took Mahalath…to be his wife in addition to the [Canaanite] wives he had (Gen. 28:8-9). Esau had grieved his parents (Isaac and Rebecca) by taking Canaanite wives (27:46; 28:1-9). One of Esau’s sons was called TEMAN whom some believe to be the father of the people of “Yemen.” Esau’s twelve sons included Reuel (ancestor of Moses’ father-in-law), Teman, Omar, Amalek, Bozrah, Hadad—all of which names figure prominently in “Arab” history of the Middle East.]

Today, about 280 million ethnic Arabs now wield a power disproportionate to their numbers, because of their immense oil wealth. The U.S. gets about half of its oil from Arab states; but Western Europe is even more heavily dependent on Arab oil. That, at least in part, explains why the countries of the European Union have strongly supported the Palestinians and opposed the Israelis in the “Palestinian dispute.” During the recent Israeli destruction of the terrorist nests in the city of Jenin, a delegation was sent by the European Union to journey to Ramallah in order to speak with Yasir Arafat. But the Israelis refused to allow them to go to Ramallah to hold Arafat’s hand and give encouragement to the man whom they sincerely believe to be a notorious terrorist with much Jewish blood on his hands. [It is also interesting to note that the United Nations nearly always votes in support of the Palestinians and the Arabs, in those matters that come before that international organization. Will the U.N. still be a viable, functioning organization at the time when God says He will “gather ALL THE NATIONS to battle against JERUSALEM” (Zech. 14:1-2)?]

One branch of “Arabs,” that was known not to have descended from Abraham’s son Ishmael, was the ancient people known as MIDIANITES. Is it true that the people known in O.T. times as Midianites were in fact descendants of Abraham and his second wife, Keturah? Here is a brief description of these ancient Midianite neighbors of Israel: “MIDIANITES. They consisted of five families, linked to Abraham through MIDIAN, son of the concubine Keturah. Abraham sent them away, with all the other sons by [his] concubines into the E. [East]. Thus the Midianites were found inhabiting desert borders in TRANSJORDAN from Moab down past Edom [in N.W. Arabia]” (The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, vol. 2, art. “Midianites”).

A Bitter Family Quarrel…

For over 50 years world leaders have encountered many roadblocks in their search for a solution to the Arab-Israeli problem. Why have they been unable to untangle this very knotty “Palestinian issue”? Does the Bible tell us what is really behind this bitter, yet very ancient, family quarrel?