What Race Was Moses?

Of course before even considering this question we have to ask ourselves, why does Moses’ race even matter? Well, then we can ask, does Barack Obama’s race matter? We know it doesn’t. But we also know it does. Now imagine if 200 years from now it was said that Obama was Jewish. Determining his race would really matter then, because he’s not Jewish; neither was Moses. (Left and below: Frescoes from Dura Europos, Syria - oldest known representations of Moses, 244C.E.)

Let’s start by sorting out some distinct terms that for years have been used interchangeably thereby adding to the confusion. These terms are Jew, Judaism, Hebrew, Israelite and Israeli. Jew is a term that was used during the period of the Roman occupation of Palestine. It referred to the majority of the people the Romans encountered living in Judea (Palestine) at that time. The word Jew doesn’t show up at all in any of the Five books of Moses. Moses didn’t refer to himself or any of his people as Jews. Judaism – the religion or cultural identity formed ca. 100B.C. – 70A.D distinct from the Hellenic culture prevalent in the Mediterranean region of the time.
Israelites- direct descendants of the twelve sons of Isaac’s son Jacob whose name was later changed to Israel. Hebrew (ibri)– first appears in Genesis 14:13 referring to Abram (Abraham) and means one who crossed over. In this case referring to the fact that Abram came from the other side of the Jordan river into Canaan. Abraham’s descendants were later referred to as Hebrews. And finally, an Israeli refers to a citizen or inhabitant of the modern state of Israel.

Last week Congressman Alan Grayson benignly made the following statement on CNN referring to Dr. Laura Schlesinger’s inference that a black woman should not have married a white man. “I married outside of my race. So by the way did Moses. Moses married an Ethiopian woman.”
Why does Moses’ race matter? It matters in the same sense history matters; because we would like to paint an accurate picture of the past. To say he was Jewish is inaccurate. It (we’ll leave motive out of it for now) leaves us with a misleading image that he resembled contemporary European Ashkenazi Jews who currently comprise close to 90% of the Jewish population. (See: https://www.livescience.com/40247-ashkenazi-jews-have-european-genes.html) We can assume for now that was the image Grayson had in his head.

Let’s look at what we do know. Abraham came out of the Ur of Chaldees region in ancient times. His relatives the Elamites from that area were depicted on the wall in Susa (above). Abraham’s descendants had a tradition of marrying from within their own tribe, beginning here at Genesis 24:3

“And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.”
This tradition is continued here at 28:1

“And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother."
We also know that when Jacob’s (or Israel’s) son Joseph was made governor of Egypt his brothers couldn’t distinguish him from the other Egyptians (who we know were brown).

Genesis 42:8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
Years later, Moses, who was born and raised in Kemet (Modern day Africa), in the house of the Pharoah, was asked to perform a miracle that wasn’t included in Charlton Heston’s cinematic portrayal of Moses. Exodus 4: 6 – “And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
[7] And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.”

So we know from this quote that Moses couldn’t have been white because it says his hand turned white or leprous as snow. Then it says his hand later turned again as his other flesh – which of course couldn’t have been white.

So if Moses wasn’t white, why would his sister Miriam be upset that he married an Ethiopian woman? What other race is there? At one time, we were told there were only three categories of races; Caucasian, Negroid and Mongolian. But progressive scholars, scientists and historians no longer think in those terms, which is more accurate because it is more in line with the way most of the world during ancient times thought - not in terms of race but in terms of tribe, family, language and region.

Numbers 12:1 “And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.”

So why was Miriam upset with Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman? Not because she felt he married outside of his race but because he married outside of his tribe, those who shared his beliefs – as referred to in Gen. 24:3.

Now with regard to motive. We have to wonder why when we begin any inquiry into the race or heritage of our ancsetors the prophets, philosophical questions arise (often in our own minds) as to why race is important. Is it important that Einstein is Jewish? Of course not, when considering the importance of the theories of the relativity of time and space, energy and light. But would anyone think it were proper if we scoldingly asked Jews why it was important whether he was Jewish? Is there something wrong with their right to be proud of their own?

So why do things become philosophical when we bring up the race of a Jesus or a Moses, people who so profoundly shaped human history? If we are intimidated from investigating and popularizing the history and background of our own ancestors, we are left with the silent status quo of implied lies, deliberate distortions, privilege, and white supremacy, all of which, we know, are very dangerous.