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ARGUMENT 1: IGBO WAS THE FIRST MAN AND IGBO WAS THE FIRST LANGUAGE

One of the main arguments by the Afro-Centric Pseudo Scholars is that Ndi Igbo was the first man (Adam) and that the first language was Igbo which gave birth to Hebrew. This is a classic attempt to re-write history based on bias, secular, western, even colonial if you will; the-victor-writes-the-history educational system, with its faulty and unreliable methods of carbon dating to skew the facts and bend them more in the pseudo scholars favor. If one throws around enough technical and scholarly words and back one lie up with another lie slathered in scholarly babble, one can make anyone believe anything; one can make the ludicrous sound sensible, the implausible, factual. This in fact was the way traveling snake oil salesmen made their living and how they preyed upon the ignorant. Such scholars make a habit of turning established common knowledge upon its ear to say the very opposite of what has been provable and established. This is a classic Orwellian 1984 tactic to re-write history.

In archeological and critical historical religious literature the authors (usually agnostic, atheist or secular) often attempt to make one believe other cultures are older and predate that of Scriptural writ, simply because physical evidence found is often older than the earliest Biblical manuscripts. They claim that the Biblical writers took traditions and stories from these so called older cultures and adopted them as their own creation story and flood account and so on. However, if one believes the inerrancy of Scripture one would easily realize that the entire world was at one time one people, language and culture until the confounding of the languages at the Tower of Babel. Thus, in the post Babel world everyone took the shared traditions and legends from the Creation to the Flood and all the prophecies of redemption and messiah that lies therein and molded into what each people group has become. This is why every people group has a creation and flood story. Just because most every cultures has legends that predate the written

word of Scripture does not mean we ripped stories from them and claimed them as our own holy history, no, they ripped stories from us.

They claim, based on sordid carnival-like tactics mentioned above, that the Igbo and their language was the first and it gave rise to the Jews and Hebrew and its language was we know it today.

I will not hide behind techno-babble nor throw around scholarly words. I will do my best to present the facts in simple laymen terms so all can understand with simplicity.

No reliable or provable evidence has presented itself to say that man originated from other than the Fertile Crescent (Mesopotamia). Nor is there any record that such peoples immediately migrated to West Africa. Rather all reliable sources indicate that the move was first Eastward-Northeastward and later SouthSouthwest and way later, eventually Westward to what we know today as Nigeria.

Okay, let us begin with the first man, but before we do so, let us see how Adam viewed God, which will in turn help us to understand better the first man, Adam.

Genesis 1:1 says, In the beginning God

The most enigmatic statement of all time; fully loaded and brimming with mystery and question.

What does God look like? I dont know, but what does a spirit look like? Because God is a spirit (John 4:24).

What does love look like? Because God is love (I John 4:8, 16).

Could God look like us?

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Gen. 1:26-27

Seeing as God is a spirit and yet mankind is made in His image and likeness; we need to ask ourselves, What did the first man look like?

ADAM

God made Adam out of earth East of Eden (Gen. 2:7-8). So where is Eden and East of it?

Well, the boundaries for Eden are given in Genesis 2:10-15:

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Scholars call this area the Fertile Crescent or Mesopotamia and is known today as an area connecting the Middle East to Africa, divided by the Red Sea. Before the British conquered the world and divided and designated the areas on the map of the world as we know it today, all this area was considered connected and one land mass. The ancients called it Canaan, it later became known as Ophir (Gen. 10:29) after one of the sons of Shem. Eventually O became A, Ph became F and the R was kept. Flavius Josephus, the Jewish Historian wrote, Ophren (Epher) the grandson of Abraham through Keturah, led a military expedition against Libya and captured it. When his grandchild colonized that place, they called it (from his name) Africa.

So now we have the context of where Eden is and what lies to the east of it. We know Adam was created east of Eden, then placed in Eden itself. We know that God created Adam from the soil East of Eden and so, we can ask, What color was the soil of that area and was that the color of Adam? Is the Sunday school flannel-graph pictures us older folks grew up with, with the white, naked, brown and blonde haired Adam and Eve correct?

The soil around that area varies from a rich reddish-black to dark brown color, to a sandy orange color. Adam, by the very name in Hebrew is rooted in the word dam meaning blood and blood is red. So I think it is safe to say Adam was a deep mahogany color; a black man if you will.

Scientifically, for there to be lighter skinned people, you first must start with black skin pigmentation to eventually get what you call white. Light colored people do not have much melanin (skin pigmentation) as black folks do and due to the laws of science, you have to have melanin before you can have a lack of it, you have to have a black man before you can ever have a white man.

GOD AND MESSIAH

So if the first man (Adam) was a man of color, and as mentioned before, we were made in Gods image, did this fact shape how Gods people seen Him in dreams and visions?

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. Daniel 7:9

Hebraically, it implies that the hair on Gods head was of a woolly consistency, like that of what we would expect of a black man.

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. Daniel 7:13

This verse implying, Messiah who came out of God and His Oneness, was like the son of man and we have already established that the first man was a man of color. So this Messianic Son of Man would be a man of color like the first man Adam.

Now the book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation are both prophetic books, mirrors of one another. How did John the Revelator, knowing the Book of Daniel like the back of his hand, envision the fulfilment of this Messianic Son of Man, the first Adam (I Cor. 15:45) Yeshua the Messiah?

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. Rev. 1:14-15

Now the Greek and Aramaic use similar verbiage to describe the hair of the Ancient of Days in Daniel. Whereas Daniel implies of the texture of the hair, John implies the color and hints about the texture; which again is like that of a black man. When I say black I mean anyone of the Afro-Hammetic and or Semitic ethnicity whose skin colors varies from black to brown to tan and whose hair ranges from tight, woolly, kinky curls to thick and wavy.

Recall also that sheep can have black or white hair and depending upon the species of sheep (who produces wool) can range from curly to wavy. And ironically the Scripture likens us to sheep (Isa. 53:6).

Notice that an additional description, it is that of skin color; burnished bronze, which is a red or orangy brown color, the color if a Semitic Arab or Jew.

NOAH AND HIS SONS

Knowing we (mankind) originated in Adam and came about through Noahs three sons (Shem, Hamm and Japheth), we must ask, What color was Noah and his sons?

You may think Im going to say that Noah was black. Nope. He was white. You may think I am contradicting myself because I just made a solid case for Adam, the first

man, being black. So why do I say he was white? Well, perhaps my verbiage is a bit misleading, to be more specific; I believe Noah was an albino.

And now, my father, hear me; for to my son Lamech a child has been born, who resembles not him; and whose nature is not like the nature of man. His colour is whiter than snow; he is redder than the rose; the hair of his head is whiter than white wool; his eyes are like the rays of the sun; and when he opened them he illuminated the whole house. When also he was taken from the hand of the midwife, His father Lamech feared, and fled to me, believing not that the child belonged to him, but that he resembled the angels of heaven. And behold I am come to you, that you might point out to me the truth. Enoch 105:10-12

The shocked reaction of Noahs father would indicate everyone up to that point was born one color; black. This was strange, not normal.

Albinism is simply an absence of melanin. This would set things up nicely for what we call today, ethnic diversity to come into the world. If Noah, as a white albino man was a new phenomenon, we can assume there was no one else around like him and thus he married a black woman. Who I believe according to the wide range of color and ethnicities in the world today had:

Hamm A Black Man Father of all the African dark skinned, Hammitic Peoples. Shem A Brown Man Father of all the Semitic (Jew/Hebrew) and Arab Peoples. Japheth A White Man Father of what is called Caucasian Peoples.

A tradition according to which both Semites and Hammites were dark skinned and Japhethites being the only fair skinned son of Noah, is found in Rabbinic Hebrew Tradition as well. According to the 8th century Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer 23 said that Shem was black and comely and Hamm was black as a raven.

Onnie Kirk in his book Once We Were Family said on page 19, Each of Noahs sons had a different degree of melanin. Melanin is the chemical factor that determines the color of our skin; Hamm had more than Japheth or Shem.

Ken Ham, Carl Wieland and Don Batten say virtually the same thing in their book, One Blood on pages 68-70.

NIMROD

And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city. And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim. Gen. 10:814

Nimrod who is a son of Cush, which according to Bible dictionaries means black, was a descendant of Hamm (Gen. 10:6), father of the Canaanite nations and was the first world ruler until divine confounding of the languages at Babel (Gen. 11).

ABRAHAM

Abraham and Sarah were Semitic, likely a deep brown mahogany color. Hagar, Sarahs handmaid whom they acquired in Egypt (Gen. 16:1-3) was likely the daughter of Pharaoh possibly through a secondary wife or a concubine. And Pharaoh, being a descendant of Hamm, was black, thus Hagar was likely black also. Egypt in Hebrew is Mitzrayim and Egyptian in Hebrew means burnt or black faced. Egypt being one of the 11 Canaanite nations descended from Hamm through Canaan (Gen. 9:18) and were black people. Hagar and Abraham produced Ishmael who was likely dark like his mother Hagar and Isaac through Sarah was likely a rich dark brown. Keturah, who Rabbis say is really Hagar converted to Abrahams Faith had many more children after the death of Sarah and these children by in large were likely dark like the original Egyptians.

We first knew the original Egyptians were black people because white archeologists knocked off the broad noses and large full lips of the Egyptian statutes and artifacts in order to hide their clearly Hammitic features. Not wanting the world to know that one of the first and most powerful nations upon the ancient earth were black people. Next we have the bones and mummies and CT scans that forensic scientists have taken and have re-created their faces, shows that prior to the Hyksos, Egyptians were black African people. This apparently was common knowledge back when Family Bibles carried the old wood cut pictures which portray Pharaoh as a black man. Egypt was known in Canaan as Kemet which means, Land of the Blacks.

THE PATRIARCHS

Jacob and Esau were descendants of Shem and so we can assume they were brown or darker. Esau apparently was more of a mahogany color like Adam because the Bible says he was red (Gen. 25:25). His name in Hebrew has roots in the name Adam because his descendants were eventually called Edomites and Edom (same consonants as Adam), means red.

Jacob as we know married into his mothers Semitic side of the family. He married the daughters of Rebeccas brother Laban. Laban, a name which means, white. So it is possible Laban was an albino, like Noah was.

JACOB AND THE 12 TRIBES: SONS OF THE HANDMAIDS

Jacob married Rachel and Leah, Semites, likely dark brown like himself and the handmaids, Bilhah and Zilpah, whose ancestry we cannot definitely determine, but according to Targam Jonathan were daughters of Laban, likely from concubines (other wives) hinted at in Jasher 30:13, which may have been Semitic or Hammitic women, seeing as Laban was living among Canaanites.

And Laban had no sons but only daughters, and his other wives and handmaids were still barren in those days; and these are the names of Laban's daughters which his wife Adinah had borne unto him; the name of the elder was Leah and the name of the younger was Rachel; and Leah was tender-eyed, but Rachel was beautiful and well favored, and Jacob loved her. Jasher 30:13

This being the case, it is likely the sons of Jacob from Bilhah and Zilpah were darker than the rest of their brothers. Gad and Asher were sons of Zilpah and a portion of Gad we know is black, for we can trace Gads sons Eri, Areli and Arodi to the Igbo people of Nigeria. Dan and Naphtali were sons of Bilhah and because of the description of Samson who was a Danite (Judges 13:5, 16: 13,19) could have

looked like a Rastafarian man today with a long beard and dreadlocks because no razor was to touch his head.

For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. Judges 13:5, 16:13,19

Beta Israel of Ethiopia claim to be descendants of Dan and they are black people.

Simeon Simeon whose mother was Leah; some of Simeons descendants were black because he had children by a Canaanite (black) wife (Exd. 6:15). And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon. Judah Whose mother was Leah married a Cannanite woman (Gen. 38:111) So many of his sons would be black men. Levi Also a son of Leah produced Moses who married Zipporah (who at first confused him with being a black Egyptian man) a daughter of Midian, which would be a son of Abraham through Keturah/Hagar as well as took an Ethiopian (black) woman to wife (Num. 12:1). Also note that the Lemba tribe in Ethiopia have been proven by a DNA test to be Levites and they are black people.

MOSES

As mentioned above, Moses married a black women and he himself must have been quite dark for we all know how he was raised by Pharaohs daughter and when he had to flee Egypt for his life Jasher says (Ch. 71-76) that Moses first flees to Cush, a land of black people, and becomes commander of an army, obviously under the guise of passing himself off to be a dark Egyptian, because when he leaves Cush and meets Zipporah he is taken by her to be an Egyptian, not by way he dressed, but by the way he looked; his complexion.

Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day? And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread. And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land. Exd. 2:15-22

And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. Exd. 2:19

Also, with leprosy being white (Num. 12:1, 9-10, Deut. 18:18) Moses had to be dark for leprosy to show up so noticeably and dramatically upon his hand as one of the miraculous signs he was to use to convince the Children of Israel of his mission.

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. 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. Exd. 4:6-7

When Moses sister Miriam spoke against Moses decision to take on a second wife by marry an Ethiopian (black) women, she didnt protest due to the color of his

new wifes skin, but against Moses taking on a second wife seemed to her to smack with pride. Due to her unfounded criticism the LORD struck Moses sister Miriam (who was a black like her brother) with white leprosy.

And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. Exd. 12:1-10

JOSEPH: EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH

Joseph, though his mother was the Semite Rachel, nonetheless was dark and became darker by being exposed to the harsh Egyptian sun as a slave and then eventually being appointed by Pharaoh as viceroy of Egypt, to the point that his very own brothers failed to recognize him and took him for a black Egyptian. It wasnt until he revealed himself to his brothers, likely by removing his Egyptian headgear to reveal his wavy Semitic hair, instead of tightly curly Hammitic/Egyptian hair, did they know it was really Joseph. Joseph had Ephraim and Manasseh by a black Egyptian woman (Gen. 41:45), thus Ephraim and Manasseh were black men.

DAVID AND SOLOMON

David David being from the Tribe of Judah, was said to be fair and ruddy (I Sam. 17:42) and those ignorant of the Hebrew has said that this means David was a white boy with red hair, rosy cheeks and freckles. Not so. Fair just means handsome and ruddy means that his dark skin had a reddish hue to it. This means that David was likely a mahogany color.

David had many wives, but Bathsheba was a black woman. Bath-Sheba = Daughter of Sheba. Sheba was the son of Cush (Gen. 10:7). Thus a son of Hamm, who settled in what is now the Sudan and Ethiopia.

Also note that David was a product of Boaz, a Semite and Ruth a Moabite, a dark Canaanite woman (Ruth 1:4, 22). Moab, originally a son of Lot and his daughter (Gen. 19) was likely Semitic brown, but living in Canaan and eventually becoming enemies of Israel, married into the surrounding black Canaanite peoples, thus making the Moabites as the generations went on, black people.

Solomon Whose mother was black Bathsheba, had many wives due to political marriages to keep peace in the land. But one of his many wives we know was a black woman, all one has to do is read the Song of Solomon and see that his lover was a black.

I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Song of Solomon 1:5-6

Solomon was describes to look like his father.

My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. Song of Solomon 5:10-11

The word white is misleading; it means in the Hebrew, dazzling and it comes from a word meaning, glare. Whit in this verse is used in conjunction with the word ruddy, like in the description of David (I Sam. 17:42).

I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. Song of Solomon 5:2

So we can say because dew is mentioned in the verses prior that this lover of Solomon describes him as a dark, ruddy, brown man glistening with dew. White, straight haired peoples hair does not collect glistening beaded drops of dew like a black man. Furthermore, in v. 11 it tells us Solomon had bushy, some translations says curly hair that was black as ravens hair. So this could mean Solomon had somewhat of an Afro hair doo. Tradition states he has a son with the Queen of Sheba a black woman from Ethiopia and produced the Menelick dynasty of Ethiopian Kings. Menelick an aberration derived from the Hebrew meaning From the Kings.

YESHUA (JESUS)

The color of Messiah has been mentioned before at the beginning of this article, to further drive the point home, let us consider that God told Joseph to take Miriam (Mary) and Yeshua and flee to Egypt (Matt. 2:13-15). Now by this time, due to the Hyksos and other factors Egyptians were not as dark as they were in Moses time, not to mention the Egypt of Yeshuas day had become a cosmopolitan melting pot of peoples, students, traders, soldiers and immigrants

of every color, and diverse and large place an olive skinned, burnished bronzed colored Yeshua could easily hide and blend in with the Egyptians.

RAV SHAUL (PAUL THE APOSTLE)

Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers? But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people. Acts 21:38-39

Rav Shaul (Apostle Paul) was dark enough to be confused for an Egyptian.

SO ARE ALL JEWS AND HEBREWS BLACK?

Though we see the first man (Adam) was a man of color, (Reddish-Black) not all Jews and Hebrews are black. Its just that after Babel, Hamm and Shem stayed close together and spread South and East whereas Japheth migrated North then East and West. So for a long time the families of Shem and Hamm intermarried with each other and it wasnt until the Babylonian and Assyrian captivities that Jews and Hebrews then began to meet white Japhethites and then mix with them.

The color wheel of a son of Israel has become diverse, spanning one end of the melanin color scale to the other. Because of early intermarriages with Canaanites, and intermarriage within the Babylonian and Assyrian captivities, the color of a Jew, Hebrew and Israelite varies.

Also recall the Torah law of taking a captive as a wife (Deut. 21) the marrying of converts, the influx of Gentile converts in the 1st century, the rapes during pogroms, holocausts and wars as well as the various migrations of Jewish communities all must be factored in for us to correctly conclude that Israel is black and white and every color in between. So does it matter? No, after all it is just melanin and nothing more.

So let us all refuse to argue and abandon the tug of war some of us have been caught in and have been cornered and forced to choose sides between Black Hebraism and British Israelitism and admit, confess, acknowledge and proclaim the evidences that has been presented, that Jews, Hebrews and Israelites, sons of Abraham, whatever you want to label it, is and spans the color of the human rainbow.

So how then, if the Igbo are Hebrews, did they end up in Nigeria?

In Genesis 46:16 we read that three of the sons of Gad are named Eri, Areli and Arodi.

As stated earlier

Num. 26:1-4, 15-18 And it came to pass after the plague, that the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, throughout their fathers' house, all that are able to go to war in Israel. And Moses and Eleazar the priest spake with them in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, Take the sum of the people, from twenty years old and upward; as the LORD commanded Moses and the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt The children of Gad after their families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites: of Haggi, the family of the Haggites: of Shuni, the family of the Shunites: Of Ozni (Ezbon), the family of the Oznites (Ezbonites): of Eri, the family of the Erites: Of Arod, the family of the Arodites: of Areli, the family of the Arelites.

These are the families of the children of Gad according to those that were numbered of them, forty thousand and five hundred.

These verses tells us that at least a portion of all of Gads sons left with Moses and the rest of the children of Israel during the Exodus, despite the legend of a preexodus-exodus from Egypt by Gads son Eri, Areli and Arodi.

The legend and oral tradition goes that while in Egypt living among many other nations who also resided there to escape the famine that a portion of Gads son Eri, his younger brothers Areli and Arodi, along with Eris wife, Ishamal and other relatives Ijaw (believed possibly to be an offspring of Zebulun), Edo, Igala, Idoma (Possibly and likely descendants of Esau/Edom) saw the coming persecution of the future Egyptian bondage prophesied by God to Abraham in his dream during the covenant between the parts (Gen. 15) and left with an Arab man named Oduduwa (a Babylonian and said father of the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria) and his relatives and journeyed further down into Africa crossing the Nile River into Sudan (Old Ethiopia) to Chad and eventually Lokojia which is now the present day Nigeria by way of River Benue and then through the River Niger where they eventually landed in Aguleri in what is known today as Nigeria around 1305 BCE (Igbo History by Victor M.C. Eyisi pg. 2-3, 49)

This man, Oduduwa who is the Father of the Yoruba people, it should be noted here that one of his clans, the Ijebu (sounds like Igbo) indeed have Igbo traits in regards to their business saavy. It is believed that this clan is related to the Igbo in some way. Also, in Yorubaland is a town called Oke-eri, notice; Eri is in the name. So could have one of Eris descendants settled there and married into the Yoruba people?

Another theory in Igbo origins states that the Igbos originated in Schechenigbo between Bethlehem and Hebron on the road that runs through Cairo in Egypt. This also reiterated in the book The History of the Igbos as Revealed to Innocent Okorie, A Stigmatist who, while in a trance like state during the Holy Week reported that Rabbi Yeshua (Jesus) came to him and told him that the Igbos and the Efiks first arrived in Nigeria in 638 BCE after the exile of the Israelites in 718 BCE. And that the original town of the Igbos was Schechenigbo in Judea.

Ogbuefi Madubueze Enemmou said on Radio Nigeria Enugu National Station on July 13, 1996 that in Nri, there is a long standing tradition of a man called Eri who fell from heaven, and this Eri was a contemporary of Moses and lived during the reign of the 5th Pharaoh but left with an entourage before the Exodus and went across the Nile into the Sudan and eventually made their way south and settled where the Anambra and Niger rivers meet.

The Igbo Jews are said to have migrated from Syrian, Portuguese and Libyan Israelites into West Africa. Historical records shows that this migration started around 740 C.E. According to UCLA trained amateur Jewish Historian and Rio Hondo Police Academy trained Forensic investigator Chinedu Nwabunwanne of Aguleri, who resides in Los Angeles and has researched this subject for more than 15 years at the UCLA libraries in Los Angeles, "the migration started when the forces of Caliph Mohammed -the last leader of the Umayyads- and his Qaysi-Arab supportes defeated the Yamani-Arab Umayyads of Syria in 744 C.E; sacked the Yamanis and their Jewish supporters from Syria. The SyrianJewish migrant tribes Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher resettled in Nigeria where they became known as Sambatyon Jews. In 1484 and 1667 Judeans and Zebulonians from Portugal and Libya respectively joined Sambatyon Jews of Nigeria. Thus, Nigerian Jews originated from the following six Israelite tribes: Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher and Zebulon. It is interesting to note that these six tribes are the same tribes Moses repeated their names twice when he blessed the Children of Israel. These six tribes mentioned above are The House of Judah and the children of Israel his companions (Ezekiel 37:16. Those remaining six tribes not mentioned above are The House of Ephraim and the children of Israel his companion (Ezekiel 37:16)."-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_Jews

It should also be noted that the oldest Igbo elders have passed down the story of the Igbo coming to Nigeria from a desert place with no rain. How could this be

seeing as Nigeria is a rainforest? Unless the Igbo people truly did come from a more desert region as found in North Africa and Egypt as the elders have passed down since time immemorial!

The Igbo also have always believed that they came to Nigeria from someplace else and are not indigenous to Nigeria. They have been often seen by other tribes in Nigeria as strangers in the land and outsiders because though they looked like them, their customs and cultural practices were strange and foreign to the ways of people that were indigenous to Nigeria and thus they have a history of being persecuted by those around them due to these facts.

As we have discussed earlier, there appears to be a pre-exodus, exodus excursion to Nigeria by Gads son Eri and his traveling companions. The Eri who came to Igboland may have not been the same Eri mentioned in Scripture. The Eri name was passed down from father to son. (Luke 1:59). There is evidence to suggest that there were many waves of Hebrew and Gadites to Nigeria.

The Pre-Exodus-Exodus The Jeroboam Exodus

It is believed that the ancestors of the Igbo left Israel around 718 B.C. and trekked for 70 years before they came to Nigeria. These were the tribes said to have followed Jeroboam into Samaria when the 12 tribes split into two kingdoms. Those of Jeroboams Kingdom who did not like his move into gross idolatry left and headed for Nigeria. This according to the book, Igbo Jews by Evangelist David A. Iheanacho pg. 55

The Assyrian Captivity The Destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D.

After the destruction of the First Temple many Israelites and Gadites went to join the first Gadites of Eri, Arodi and Areli that were already there. As it says in the Brit Chadasha (New Testament) letter of Yaakov (James):

James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

Again, this means that during the first century, prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE (AD) it was generally known where the 10 tribes taken into Assyrian Captivity were. So it is reasonable to believe that Gadites in the Jerusalem and surrounding areas knew where their brother Gadites were in Africa and stayed in contact with them and decided to join their brothers after the Temple was destroyed.

Prof. O. Alazei in his book Ibo Exodus page 74-75 that this second wave of Gadite and possibly other Hebrew and Jews first passed through Egypt, Libya and Sudan and eventually camped at Chad Basin in North Eastern Nigeria. From there some settled around Zaria, Benue, Ingala, Idoma, Uburu and the Delta regions. Some went as far as Cameroon to settle. But what is consistent in every account is that many made it to Aguleri, where the first wave settled and fanned out from there.

The Masada Revolt

Josephus tells that not all committed suicide at Masada, but some escaped and some of these are believed to have made it to Nigeria.

The Modern Diaspora

Some Black Hebrews in the Americas and worldwide who have discovered their Hebrew roots as Igbo descendants from the slave trade are returning home to Igboland.

Does the DNA back this up?

The E3b haplogroup is found in all Jewish groups all over the world. It is the second most prevalent haplogroup in Jewish populations.

Genetic studies agree that E-M35 is the second highest in prevalence next to J, when establishing Jewish linages. This is found in moderate amounts among all Jewish populations that are from the Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Kurdish, Yemenite, Samaritan and Djerba Jewish groups.

Most Geneticist say that the haplogroup E3b (M35) seems to have come from East Africa but from there was carried to the Near East, then to North Africa and Europe. Today it is commonly found in such places as East and North Africa, and the Near East around the areas of the Mediterranean.

The haplogroup J also known as HG9 or Eu9/Eu10 is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. It is subdivided into two subclades: J2, defined by the M172 marker and J1 defined by the M267 marker.

Genetic mapping shows that the J haplogroup 1 and 2 are both common in Southern and Central Europe as well as in the Mediterranean and Africa. The J haplogroup is thought to be the telltale sign of Jewish ancestry, as well as what is known as the Cohen gene which the Lemba tribe of Ethiopia has which make them Levites and permitted to make Aliyah (return) to Israel as Children of Levi.

J1 (M267) has the higher concentration in the Middle East, North Africa and Ethiopia. J2 is found in parts of Africa among Semitic speaking peoples of Tigriniya, Amhara and Oromiya.

The Nri clan among the Igbo function as the Levitical priests among Israel and plans are in the works to examine the DNA from the Igbo in an attempt to find the Genetic markers that would point to Jewish or Levitical origins, thus further solidifying the Igbos place among Israel.

In the article Population Genetics Reveal Shared Ancestry: DNA Links Modern Europeans, Middle Easterners to Sun Saharan Africans on Science Daily May 14, 2011. This article springs from HMS Associate Professor of Genetics, David Reich and his paper entitled, The History of African Gene Flow Into Southern European, Levantines and Jews, published by PLoS Genetics. Genetic data from 40 populations across Africa, Asia and the Middle East assisted by doctoral student Prya Moorjani and Assistant Professor Alkes Prices used the genetic roll off method to find Sun-Saharan African ancestry with West Eurasian DNA

approximately 1,600 years ago. In this online article it says, A diverse array of Jewish populations can date their Sub-Saharan African ancestry back roughly 72 generations, on average, accounting for 3 to 5 percent of their genetic makeup today. Also stated was that African and Jewish populations mixed during the Jewish diaspora in the 6th to 8th century B.C.

Regarding the Igbo Language

Paleo-Hebrew (sometimes called Phoenician or Sumerian) which gave birth to todays Modern Hebrew which in script and spoken word is a language well established ancient language with traceable origins in the area of the Fertile Crescent (Mesopotamia). It then becomes evident after close analysis of the Igbo language that Igbo clearly has its origins in Hebrew, with a definitive corruption of that language to make it a unique language all its own.

Gen. 10:21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were [children] born.

Igbo, Egbo, Ibu, Ibo, Ebo (and its various renderings) is said to be derived from Shems descendant Eber, where we get the word Hebrew from. Interestingly enough The Igbos were once known as, and called by white slave traders as, Heeboos. Now with linguistics and the evolution language we know that things tend to get shortened over time, rather than lengthened, it is sort of like the 2nd law of thermodynamics as it applies to the spoken word. Just like Whats up, has become, Whadup or Wassup, in American English, so too Eber or Heber became known as Hebrew and from there in Nigeria it became Heeboo which was eventually was shortened to Igbo (the g is at times silent).

Igbos were said to have first called themselves Ivrite or Ifite which is actually the Hebrew word for Hebrew language which is Ivrit or Ibrit.

Others say The Igbo were named after Eris son Igbo who was said to be ruthless and stubborn and thus Igbo was meant to be a derogatory name and is why some insist on rendering it Ibo instead.

Some say Igbo comes from the word used to describe people of black skin, Ebonite from the word Ebony meaning Black.

Further Linguistic Evidence

Jud. 12:6 Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.

Speech can betray a person. When I travel I like to listen to travelers speech and try and determine where they come from, what part of the world, or what part of North America they come from just by listening to their accent and pronunciation of words.

(The following is not meant to be derogatory nor offensive in any way)

Hey Yall! Kentucky, Tennessee or most Southern U.S. States.

Lets drive around Bahston in ourah Cah. - New England States.

Ill take dis, not Id druther have dat. - The Carolinas.

She was runnin abowt, the houwse, eh. - Canada.

Hey buddy, whdo I look like tyous, Rand McNalley!? - New York.

I seem to have spilt a bit of tea on my trousers. - England.

Ah, tank you verdy much-ah. - Asia

I dooont knoow where day went. - India or Mid East

Gday Mate! - Australia

Vistch vay did day go? - Russia or Ukraine

A good investigative researcher will take note of the written and verbal language of a victim and or suspect, paying close attention to enunciation, dialect and slang in order to determine their origins in an attempt to better trace and tract such persons of interest. For instance, In the Northern U.S., people call a carbonated

beverage pop, in the Southern U.S. all carbonated beverages, no matter what brand is called coke. In the some parts of the Eastern U.S. a carbonated beverage is called a soda. Knowing the slang may help give away a where a person comes from.

As stated earlier in the above, we explored where the word Igbo came from and how it is related to the word Hebrew. Even Jewish historian Josephus a contemporary of the Rav Shaul (Apostle Paul) wrote in Antiquities of the Jews that, from Eber (Gen. 11:16-22, 14:13, I Chron. 1:25-27) came the word Hebrew which what Jews were first called.

It is said that when the warrior clan of the Igbo, the Ohafia warriors came to Nigeria, the locals asked them who they were and they responded, We are Hebrews. According to Eze Chukwuemeka-Eri (the present King who rules over all the Igbo), his Cabinet member Chief Ikenga, said the Ohafia warriors has a war song they sing prior to going to war which tells there they came from. The song basically says that they are Ibrou (An obvious corruption of Hebrew) who strikes fear into the enemy and scatters them. It tells how they journeyed over water and desert and reached Benien, Andoni, Ebeku and finally Aguleri and as a people branched out from there.

We know that regardless if Gads sons left before or after the Exodus or both, and regardless of how Paleo-Hebrew differs from Biblical and Modern Hebrew, you would think if these people really are connected to Israel that some linguistic remnants would remain in the Igbo language.

It has been noted that the name Igbo in the Igbo Language also may have its origins in the word, Ipugbo and the phrase, I pulu Gboo tupu ndi ozo, meaning, Those who left earlier. Hinting that Gads son Eri, the father of the

Igbo people and his companions left Egypt prior to the enslavement of the Hebrew People and the Exodus.

Eri, one of the sons of Gad is said to have built an altar in honor of the G-d of his father and that night Eri had a dream in which he was given a new name, Igbo. He adopted this new name and also named his fourth son Igbo in honor of this event and new name.

Igbo, in English had been give an interpretation; I-GO-Before-Others.

The etymological root of the name Igbo was rediscovered by an Anglican missionary and Archdeacon who worked among the Igbo in the 1900s; Rev. G.T. Basden who also was a respected historian and ethnographer. He too asserted and agreed that the word Igbo was a corruption of the word Hebrew.

It is clear from Hebrew to Igbo there is degradation, a corruption, a second law of thermo-dynamics at work, if you will, in the language and so the language becomes simpler and abbreviated at times and not a more complex as one would expect if Igbo gave rise to Hebrew.

Examples of Hebrew words surviving in the Igbo Language

Adapted from: Biblical Evidence Confirming the Hebrew Origin of Igbo People, pg. 33-38, by Uchechukwu Ikeanyibe, Peculiar Heritage Publishing 1999, 2005

The author noted that this is not an exhaustive list, that some words have more than one meaning and that some words have changed so much in meaning and pronunciation that this is the reason some words have not Biblical reference.

Hebrew

Igbo

Scripture Reference

Abia

Abia, a state in Igboland I Sam. 8:2, Luke 1:5

Abah

Also written Aba, a town in Igboland

Abraham

Abiama, written in such Ex. 3:6 Igbo phrases as Chukwu Abiama (God of Abraham) Abada, wrapa (for titled men)

Abda

Neh. 11:7

Abijah

Abije, an Igbo personal name

I Kings 14:1

Acho, Achan

Akor, Ako, meaning shrewed, Ako bu ije

Josh. 7:24, 26

Achishi Achu Adah, the title of an Igbo first daughter Adah Gen. 4:9 Name of the first woman in the Bible after Eve/Chavah

Adam

Adam, my (first) daughter

Gen. 1:26

Adammah

Adammah, beautiful daughter Josh. 19:35-36 Adiele, an Igbo personal name

Adiel

I Chron. 4:36

Adina

Adina, Somadina, an Igbo personal name

I Chron. 11:42

Agur

Agu, lion, also a desert, ikpa agu

Prov. 30:1

Ahiara, a famous town in Biafra history Ahara or Ahiram I Chron. 8:1

Ahi, Ahiam

Ahia, Ahiam, market, my good, ngwahiam

I Chron. 5:15, II Sam. 23:33, Neh. 11:31

Aija

Aja, sand, dust of the earth

Akkub

Akubuo

Amad

Amadi, an Igbo personal name

Amaraya, His (G-ds)

Amarih

Favor

I Chron. 6:7

Amasa

Ama-asaa, seven broad ways

I Sam. 17:25

Amam

Amam, my inroad

Neh. 12:7

Ammah

Ammah, inroads to family houses

Josh. 15:26

Amok

Amoka, a town near Onitsha

Anam

Anam, the abbreviation for Anambra, the name of a state and town in Nigeria

Anammelech

Anammelechi, I am looking unto G-d

II Kings 17:31

Anah, ala, earth, land Anah Anachina, land of a town called Achina

Anachina

Anachu

Anachu

Anani

Anani, Obianai, an Igbo personal name meaning Endurance

I Chron. 3:34

Ani

Ani, earth, land, specifically that of the Delta Igbo area

Ara, breast, madness Ara Aram, my breast Aram Ala-eli Areli Gen. 46:16, Num. 26:17 I Chron. 7:38

Aroer

Aror, Aro, Arochukwu, a Levitical town

Num. 32:33

Asa

Asa, a town between Aba and Port Harcourt in Nigeria

I Kings 15:8

Attah

Attah, a town located in Imo State of Nigeria

Ayya, Anya, meaning eye Ayya I Chron. 7:28

Aziza, broom Aziza Azuka Azekah Azubuika. Azubuogu Azuba Berechiya, lament unto his G-d. Neh. 3:16 Ezra 10:27

Berechiah

Neh. 3:16

Chima, G-d knows Chema Chinnam, G-d of my father

Chinnam

Choma

Chioma, G-d knows

Chizzayon

Chizzayon, G-d of Zion

Chenani

Chinnani, G-d endures

Neh. 9:4

Eber

Ebere, Mercy, household name Igbo, Ibu, name of a tribal people of Nigeria who stake claim to be descendants of Gad through his son Eri

Neh. 12:20

Edar, Eder

Edar, a town in Abia Nigeria

Gen. 10:21, 24-25, 11:14-17

Ezer

Eze, King, Chief

Gen. 35:21

Ezem

Ezem, My King I Chron. 7:21

Geba

Geba, move on I Chron. 4:29

Genesis

Ge-na-isi-isi, go to the beginning

Neh. 7:48

Ha-ga-ba, Let them go Hagaba Heebos, ebos, Ibos, Igbos

Gen. 1:1

Hebrews

Neh. 7:48

Iri

Iri, ten I Sam. 13:19

Iru

Iru, face I Chron. 7:7

Illem

Illem, my tongue

I Chron. 4:15

Lechi

Lechi, Behold G-d

Mara

Mara, get to know

Jud. 15:9, 15

Naba

Naba. go, return

Ruth 1:20

Naarah

Naara, take, receive

Naamah

Na-amah, in the Broadway

I Chron. 4:5

Naga

Naga, keep moving

Gen. 4:22

Naka

Naka, at hand

Nasa Nasa, Chin-nasa, G-d replies

Nazar

Naze, a town near Owerri in Nigeria

Nehi

Neni, behold the cow I Chron. 4:23

Netaim

Netaim, netan, visit me Neh. 7:56

Neziah

Neziah, verily, truly Jer. 32:12

Neriah

Neri-ya, keep eating it

Obi

Obi, titles for elders and kings

Ochim

O, Chim, Oh, my G-d Gen. 46:10

Ohad

Ohadi

Ono

Ono, Onoh, an Igbo personal name

Ezra 2:33

Onycha

Onicha, Onitsha, a town Ex. 30:34 in Igboland

Raphu Raphu, rapu, leave it, let it Salu

I Chron. 8:37

Dalu, Well done, Thank you

Sobe

Sobe, Sobechukwu, follow G-d

Sodi

Sodi, solodi, follow husband

Ubal

Uba, wealth and an Igbo personal name

Ugah Ugah, Uga, a town in Anambra State in

Nigeria Josh. 19:30 Ummah Ummah, an Igbo personal name

Uri Uli, a town near Onitsha, well known in Biafra

Ex. 31:2

Uzzia, Uzziah Uzoya, His (G-ds) way Uzzi Uzzi, a town near Abakaliki Zaam Zaam, (G-d) please answer me Zoba

I Chron. 11:44

I Chron. 6:5

Zoba, Chi-Zoba, G-d saves

II Sam. 8:3

I Chron. 8:9 Zibia Dibia, traditional doctor

Ziha Ziha, show them

Neh. 11:21

Other Linguistic evidence of the Israel/Gad/Eri-Igbo connection is the suffix of the names of places in Igboland: Nnri, Aguleri, Umuleri, Oraeri, etc.

Over 85% of the names of Igbo towns and villages are Hebrew, this according to Prof. O. Alaezi.

A Linguistic/Cultural evidence of the Israel/Gad/Eri-Igbo connection is the names which people bear which honors G-d.

Hebrew:

Igbo:

Names/Titles of G-d: YHWH, Yah, El, Elohim Names/Titles of G-d: Chi, Chukwu, Chineke

ELiYAHhu (Elijah) = Yah is my G-d YEHoshua (Joshua) = Yehovah Saves ShmuEL (Samuel) = G-d Hears. AriEL = Lion of G-d

Chidi/Chuwudi = There is a Gd, G-d Exists. Chizoba = G-d Saves Chidinma = G-d is Good Chibueze = G-d is King Chukwuemeka = G-d has done Great things

There are some phrases that linguistically link the Igbo to Israel/Gad/Eri.

The Igbos kept a historical based, oral history that one can trace back to Gads son Eri; unlike the other peoples around them who used legend and myth to establish the origins of their people, claiming their progenitor fell from heaven to establish their people. A phrase heard in Igboland is, Eri fell from heaven (Igwe). It seems that the Igbo adopted the mythos phraseology of the peoples around them and is a perversion of, Eri came from Israel (Jacob) and migrated from Egypt.

Mgbe Eri or Eri Mgbe meaning Since/at the time of Eri to signify something a long time ago.

Nigeria has 374 ethnic groups, 500 spoken languages and most have some connection to the Igbo tongue.

According to the EBS (Edo Broadcasting Service) Fact File in Nigeria said that at least 250 identifiable tribes have distinct dialect yet share many commonalities with the Igbo Language.

Oduduwa a companion of Eri as he journeyed from Egypt to Nigeria, father of the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria proves a close Igbo-Yoruba connection and lends credence to the stories because of the close relationship in language that they share.

The Jewish origin of the Igbos of Nigeria is as real as Oduduwa (of ancient Babylon) origin of the Yorubas or the Saudi Arabian origin of the Hausa-Fulahs, without of course any prejudice to their (the Ibos) full Nigerian citizenship. Prof. O. Alazi

COMPARISON BETWEEN IGBO AND HEBREW WORDS - Ifeduba ThankGod Tochukwu

1- SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE HEBREW WORD *ANI*(meaning "I") AND THE IGBO WORD *ANYI*(meaning "US") Hebrew word: "ANI" is a Hebrew that means "I" Igbo word: ANYI is an Igbo word that means "US/WE" e.g ANYI na-abia(WE are coming) . ANYI na ebe akwa (WE are crying). ha na Anyi biara (They came with US)

2- SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE HEBREW WORD "AGUR"(compiler, brave one and one who pursuit wisdom) AND THE IGBO WORD "AGU"(lion, crave for food) in the Igbo language Agu means lion and its also a title given to brave individual e.g Agu (odum) biara ani (ana/ala) Igbo (means the brave one who came to igbo nation/land.) Also, agu means craving for food (agur crave for wisdom), hunger.

3- SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE HEBREW WORD "HA"(meaning "the") AND THE IGBO WORD "HA"(meaning THEY) "HA" in Igbo language means THEY e.g Ha naabia (they are coming) HA bere akwa (THEY cried)

4- SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE HEBREW WORD "AHA YAH (meaning "I AM") AND THE IGBO WORD "AHA YA (meaning "HIS NAME" ) AHA in Igbo language means name. YA sometimes refer to "HIM" e.g AHA YA BU TOCHUKWU (his name is Tochukwu) AHA YA BU CHUKWU ABIAMA (HIS name is God of Abraham)

5- SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE HEBREW WORD "CHAI"(life/living) AND THE IGBO WORD "CHI"(God-source of all life) the Igbo word for God is "CHI", UKWU means mighty in Igbo language. Hence, CHI UKWU means MIGHTY GOD OR GOD ALMIGHTY the original form for TO-CHUKWU is TO-CHI UKWU but the "I"

was removed because in writing, Igbo avoid placing two verbs side by side e.g HA NA ABIA(they are coming) is writing as HA N'ABIA or you separate it with dash HA NA-ABIA

6- SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE HEBREW WORD "URI"(meaning fire/light) AND THE IGBO WORD"URI"( meaning a traditional fire lantern) Uri is a traditional Igbo fire lantern made from the extract of palm fruits. It is damped with palm oil and ignited with fire. Its light is use in the night. In some traditional Igbo society without electricity URI is still in use as a source of light. FIRE LANTERN TRADITIONAL FIRE LANTERN in Igbo language is also known as URI MMU

7- SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE HEBREW WORD "ORRI"(my light) AND THE IGBO WORD "ORIRI (celebration/eating galore) oriri means good celebration in Igbo language. It also means eating

8- SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE HEBREW WORD "ORLI (light to me) AND THE IGBO WORD "ORLU (work, 3rd largest town in imo state) Orlu means work in Igbo and its the name of the third largest town in Imo state. The home of prominent successful business men and politicians. Its like the light of Imo state

9- SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE HEBREW WORD "AMI"(my people) AND THE IGBO WORLD "ANI"(nation/land) Ani in Igbo symbolize the land, nation and people. Grave sin against the people is called NSO ANI meaning what the land forbids.

10- SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE HEBREW WORD "ASA"(to heal or healer) AND THE IGBO WORD "ASA"(meaning seven and a number of perfection)

11 - Similarity between the Hebrew word "TOVIYAH" (), meaning "Yahweh (GOD) is good"). And the Igbo word "TOVIYA"(praise him). In some Igbo dialect TOVIYA can be pronounce and written as TOBEYA 12- Similarity between the Hebrew word "AMARIAH"(God has said or promised by God) and the Igbo word AMARACHI (grace of God)?

13- Similarity between the Hebrew word "AMARIAH"(God has said or promised by God) and the Igbo word "AMARACHI"(Grace of God)? "Amara" in Igbo language means GRACE, whereas "CHI" means GOD. AMARACHI means GRACE OF GOD we take cognisant of two factors; 1- Phonetically similarity (sound similarity) 2- Literal/figurative similarity (actual similarity in the word meaning) The actually meaning of words maybe lost over time and space but some traces ought to remain. AMARIAH is phonetically similar to AMARACHI, while the former (amariah) mean Promise of God, the latter (amarachi) means GRACE OF GOD. Figuratively, both meaning can be link GRACE AND PROMISE OF GOD

14- Similarity between the Hebrew word "AHAB"(uncle or father's brother) and the Igbo word "AHABUNNA"(this name is father) Ahabu in Igbo language means "THIS NAME IS" AHA means Name in Igbo language. 'BU' means *IS* So AHABU which is more close to Hebrew word AHAB means *NAME IS* Depends on the intonation use in the pronunciation. AHABUNNA may mean *The name is father* or this name is father Aha or afa means name

15- Similarity between the Hebrew word, "BETH"(house) and the Igbo word "BE"(home)? 16- Similarity between the Hebrew word ELIJAH (my God is YAHWEH) and the Igbo word "ELIAJA (consumer of sacrifice/ consume sacrifice). Aja means sacrifice in Igbo and ELI means to consume or eat. Biblical Elijah is known for calling down Fire of God to consume sacrifice.

17- Similarity between the Hebrew word "Y"( HE) and the Igbo word "YA"(HIM) the components of YHWH, are Y, meaning roughly HE and the consonants root HWH which is connected with acts of creation. There appears to be two main line of reasoning to explain the origin of the name. The first suggest that it is the shortened form of a sentence "HE CAUSES TO BE or HE CREATES.

18- Similarity between the Igbo word YAHME (meaning LET IT BE or LET IT HAPPEN) and the Hebrew word YHWH (Yahweh). The components of YHWH are Y, meaning roughly "he", and the consonantal root HWH, which is connected with acts of creation. There appear to be two main lines of reasoning to explain the origin of the name. The first suggests that it is the shortened form of a sentence used in worship, "he causes to be" or "he creates", from el d yahw abat, "El who creates the hosts", meaning the heavenly army accompanying the god El as he marched out beside the earthly armies of Israel. YAHUWA in Igbo language means LET HIM SEE OR LET HIM BE SEEING YAHUWAH means "The Selfsufficient One" or "The Eternal YAHU CHANA in Igbo languages means LET HIM NOT SEE ALL. Yahuchana/John 17:11-12 Yeshua prayed, "And I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Set-apart Father, keep them in Your Name which You have given

Me, so that they might be one, as We are. When I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your Name which You have given Me, and I watched over them, and not one of them perish except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be completed." John 5:43: I have come in My Father's Name and you do not receive Me, if another comes in his own name, him you would receive. Salvation comes only by the Name of YAHUWEH 18- Similarity between Igbo (CHI) and Hebrew (CHAI)? Chai (Hebrew: " living" ay) is a symbol and word that figures prominently in Jewish culture. It consists of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet Chet ( )and Yod (). The Hebrew word ay " living" is related to the term for "life", chaim; ayyim. It appears in the slogan "am yisrael ay!" ( , "The people of Israel live!"). CHI in igbo represent God the source of ALL LIFE AND THE UNIVERSE CHI -UKWU means GOD ALMIGHT INFACT ITS WRITTEN AS CHIUKWU OR CHUKWU! Hence the name *To (praise) CHUKWU OR CHIUKWU = TOCHUKWU OR TOCHIUKWU CHAI also represent LIFE in Hebrew. I personally have observed that the Name Chukwu Abiama, the title for the supreme Igbo Deity means, The God of Abraham, Abiama being an obvious corruption of Abraham which has its roots in the world Ab meaning father. The Ch comes from the Hebrew word Chai and the Igbo Chi both meaning Life Source. Ukwu the U could be likened to the Hebrew letter Yod and the K from the Hebrew Koph or Chet so as to preserve the Sacred Name and not

actually pronounce it as some of the Orthodox Jews do not want to spell, let alone say the Personal Divine Name of God, they spell His Name YKWK (Yod-Key-WawKey) instead of YHWH (Yod-Hey-Waw-Hey) Yahweh. The K replaces the H. the W stands for the Hebrew letter Waw or in Modern Hebrew Vav. Chineke is Igbo work for God of Life. Chileke is the Hebrew word meaning, To Create Life. Comparing the Igbo Language with other Nigerian Tribes Associated with the Igbo

Seeing as the Father of the Yoruba People traveled together with the Father of the Igbo people, let us see if their languages are similar.

Please note that some words may appear as duplicates, but though spelled the same some words when pronounced or inflected differently carries a different meaning.

Igbo

Yoruba

Meaning

Odo

Odo

Mortar

Obi

Oba

King

Mu nkea

Emikee

Myself

Mu

Ni

Gidigidi

Girigiri

Stampede

Agoruwa

Onagoruwa

A Personal Name

Odumodu

Oduduwa

Progenitor/The Yorubas

Gini

Kini

What

Ego ole/olee onu ya

Ole oni

How much?

Ikpe ile

Kpere

Begging/sorry-please

Ego

Owo

Money

Onu

Enu

Mouth

Nti

Eti

Ear

Imi

Imu

Nose

Go/left-come Waa Wa Ring Olaka Oruka

Ewu

Ewure

Goat

Ogu

Ogun

Twenty

Ogwu

Ogun

Medicine

Ogu

Ogun

War, Fight

Utari

Atorin

Cane

Okuko

Akuko

Fowl

Orisa

Orisa

God

Onowu

Olowu

Title

Isee

Ase

Amen

Okwuta, Okute

Okuta

Stone

Umu

Omo

Children

Sie

Se

To Cook

Suo

So

To Speak

Ikwikwii

Owiwi

Owl

Ejima

Ejire

Twins

Ako

Eko

Wisdom or Knowledge

Afa

Ifa

Oracle

Garagara

Shakara

Posing

Mmiri

Omu

Water

Onugbu

Ewuro

Bitter Leaf

Aka

Ara

Hand

As mentioned earlier, Eris other traveling companions; Edo, Igala and Idoma, thought to be descendants of Esau also share a linguistic connection thus giving weight to the story that they came to Nigeria with Eri.

Igbo

Edo/Benin

Meaning

Oka

Oka

Corn, Grain

Ogba

Oka

Fence

Isee

Ise

Amen

Onowu

Olowu/Onowu

A Traditional Title

Odafe

Odafe

A Traditional Title

Orisa/Olise

Orisa

God

Ogbe

Ogbe

Quarters

Ugbo

Ugbo

Farm

Ozala

Ozara

Forest

Odibo

Odibo

Servant

Onugbu

Oriwo

Bitter Leaf

Garagara

Garagara

Agile

Here are similarities between the Igbo and Igala Languages.

Igbo

Igala

Meaning

Aka

Owo

Hand

Imi

Imo

Nose

Okwute

Okwuta

Stone

Isee

Ami

Amen

Ikwikwii

Owuwu

Owl

Utali

Itali

Cane

Ogu

Ogwu

War

Ogwu

Ogwu

Medicine

Ewu

Ewo

Goat

Nti

Eti

Ear

Onu

Alu

Mouth

Afo

Efu

Stomach

Agba

Agba

Jaw

Eze

Enyi

Teeth

Nti

Nti

Cheek

It is significant to note that while the Ika can communicate with other Igbo people with some of whom they are separated by as much as two hundred and fifty miles, the Ika can never communicate with Ishan, their nearest neighbors a few miles apart except through Ishan. While the Ika does not have to learn the other dialect of Igbo to communicate with the Igbo man. All he does and this is usually mutual is adjust. No amount of adjustments short of learning Ishan, can make an Ika communicate with the Ishan, without using Ishan. F.C. Ogbalu

On realizing the Ibo peoples Jewishness, the British Colonial masters began to refer to the Ibo, the Ifites, the Ivites, as Hebrew (English version of Ibrit, Ivrite or Ifite) a name that was corrupted as Heebo, Eboe and finally Ibo. The name Hebrew from where Ibo is derived is simply the English version of the Jewish word Ibrit (pronounced Ivrit). In Hebrew, b is often pronounced as v. For instance, Tel Aviv is written as Tel Abib (see Ezekiel 3:15), but pronounced and now also written as Tel Aviv. In the same way, the name Gavriel in Hebrew is written as Gabriel in English. Interestingly, b is also pronounced as v, in some parts of Ibo nation for example, ibu (load) or ivu (load); edule (ram) or evule (ram); abu (song) or avu (song), and so on. Prof. O. Alaezi: Ibo Exodus p. 13

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