Why are so many people confused about what Jews looked like 2000 years ago?

Question

I asked a question concerning Jesus as he is portrayed in paintings and other representations. A lot of people answered that he was Jewish, so he was white, or lighter skinned.

Does anyone know that the Jews who live in Israel are not what Jews looked like 2000 years ago? Most Jews we see today are from Europe. They moved to Israel before and after it was formed in 1948.

2000 years ago, the Jews living in the middle easy would look very similar to arabs living there now. So Jesus, being a Jew, would look like an Arab.

Answer 1

The Jewish People are not a race and are not defined by racial characteristics.

Some Jews look like Arabs, and some look like Russians. Some even look like Afro-Americans.

So that your question is not one that can be answered with any degree of certainty.

Answer 2

You're, like 99% of the way there, so take this as a friendly amendment to your question.

Not all Arabic peoples look alike. And there are a few other ethnicities hanging about in those parts as well. Persians, Bedouin, Druze, Kurds, and so on. The oldest Arab peoples have ~35% of their DNA from Africa, hardly surprising given the geography. The newer Arab peoples were intermarried, converted, etc.; their African DNA is ~10%.

Some people say that Palestinian Arabs and Jews are so similar in their genetics that the Palestinian Arabs had to have been descended, in part, from Jews. Other people disagree. It is thought that 'Palestinians' adopted Arabic culture along with the Islamic religion (~700 C.E.), a wee bit after Jesus' time.

And in the two thousand years since, territorial takeovers, intermarriages and general moving about have continued, just as they did in the two thousand years before. In short, Jesus might well have looked Arabic. We're just not clear which version of 'Arabic' it was, or if it even was appropriate to use that word at all.

Yeah, it's complicated. 'Semitic' covers more bases.

But your basic point is right on.

Answer 3

You are right, Jesus did look like an Arab person today, and so did women back in Jesus days, they looked like arab women today in the middle east, people from modern culture's or "white" cultures don't like to think this though, because back in the old days when our great grandparents lived, christian people believed Jesus was white! Noo Idea were people came up with that, besides maybe because white people didn't think anyone who wasn't white was considered equal to them. Its funny how people think, it wasn't until 1960 when someone questioned it.

MAYBE all you racist white people, should stop and think, next time you want to diss someone for their colour, ex specially if they are "Arabian" because the God you believe in, comes from the same descendants!!

Answer 4

There was not much difference betwwen 2000 years back and now infact 2000 years is around the corner we say, ppl look the same then how they look now, Some Jews look arabs, some look European, now and 2000 years ago, i dnt get da Question lol.

Answer 5

The reason Jesus is "White" in most older paintings is because of who painted the paintings. The earlier painting are from the European painters at the time. If you'll notice most of the earlier paintings also show Him in short hair and clothed when He was on the cross. Well, poeple paint what they know. If I were in Africa and painting, chances are I would be painting a much darker skinned person...

Answer 6

Jesus is King of Jehovah's Kingdom and it doesn't matter what Jesus looked like when he was on earth. He was God's Son who's teachings have helped people all over the world to live a better way of life and have a beautiful hope for the future. Jehovah God inspired all the scriptures and God didn't describe what he looked like in the scriptures so it's all speculation. Just focus on what he did, not what he looked like.

Answer 7

Jesus looked like Oded Fehr.

Answer 8

because of the fact the Messiah replace into promised to the seed of Adam and Eve from the initiating of time. They have been the initiating of mankind so the promise of the Messiah is to all adult males. Believing in his coming is what stored the Israelites by using each and every technology that has ever lived. For Adam exceeded down this promise to Abel who died so God had to advance up yet another and that replace into Seth and from the time of Seth Genesis tells us that guy began to call on the call of the Lord. The success of each and every promise to comprise the promise to Abraham for that his descendents would extensive sort because of the fact the sands of the sea and to the Gentile countries that they too would acquire mercy and returned to the Israelites who have been scattered to the farthest places in this earth that God would locate them and produce them returned to the land. one and all of those provides have been fulfilled whilst Jesus Christ rose from the ineffective and despatched his rag tag military to locate the Jew first. For as he despatched them to evangelise to the lost toddlers of Israel the Gentile countries heard the call and it is how one and all of those provides are being fulfilled. God bless and hear at present for now may be the time of salvation and harden not your coronary heart for his hand is out stretched in love in the direction of all who call on the call of the Lord.

Answer 9

I know that.
But seriously,it must depend on what art you see,as to whether the majority of it shows Him as white..Most of the art depicting Jesus,where I live,shows Him as dark skinned,like He would have been.

Answer 10

you are so right, i hate how people always portray him that way, it's so innacurate!!! This misconception has been going on forever, since medieval times!!!! i haven't seen even one pic of Jesus looking middle eastern, the closest i've seen is that one portraying Jesus as African!