HEBREW CELTIC NAMESAKES
by Yair Davidiy
by Yair Davidiy
"Feed your people with your staff, the flock of your heritage, which dwell solitary in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old" (Micah 7;14).
Hebrew Celtic
Namesakes # 1
(Adapted from Lost Israelite Identity, Chapter
Fifteen)
HEBREW NAMESAKES AMONGST THE WESTERN CELTS
HEBREW NAMESAKES AMONGST THE WESTERN CELTS
Gomer = Welsh
Albion = Lebanon of Asher and Menasseh
"The name Albion, usually given by the early Greeks to the island of Britain was a native appellation; it first occurs circa 322 B.C., but was apparently known to Himilco two centuries earlier. It was the old name (Albion ipsi nomen fuit; Pliny, N.H. iv.30); but not, it seems, the oldest, the last honour belonging to Kimmeria" Whatmore p.53..
ALBION can be understood to mean Lebanon and many of the early inhabitants of Britain came from the Lebanon which was part of the land promised to Israel and had largely been controlled by the Lost Ten Tribes before their exile. The Prophet Zecharia (10;10) predicts that Ephraim is destined to re-possess both Lebanon and Gilead meaning Syria!
Gadeni (of Scotland) = Gad
GAD. The Gadeni were a people of Scotland. They came from the Israelite Tribe of Gad. They were centred around the site of Edinburgh also called Giudi. GAD in Hebrew could be pronounced as GOTH and the Goths applied the name GAD to themselves. Isidore of Seville and Rabanus Maurus are quoted as ascribing Gotho-Scythic ancestry to the Scottish. The Welsh are said to have called the Scottish "Ysgothiad" and their land Ysgotland (i.e. Land of the Goths) and ancient English authors called the Scottish "Ysgoths".
We would ascribe the Scottish mainly to Manasseh. Historically all of the entities east of the Jordan (Gad, Reuben, and half-Manasseh) became identified with the Goths even though the name Goth is another form (in Hebrew) for Gad.
Barrach (of Ireland) = Barak of Nephtali or Borad of Ephraim
A section of the Brigantes in Ireland were the Bairrche traditional descendants of Daire Barrach. A god in Brigantian Britain was called Barreks and linked with Mars of the Romans. In Hebrew, "Barak" means lightning and "Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kadesh Nephtali" (Judges 4;6) had been an early military leader of the northern Tribes. He was probably a Nephtalite. The Hebrew name "Barak " can be understood as either synonymous or at least similar in meaning to Bored and in Hebrew is spelt similarly. Bored was a grandson of Ephraim (1-Chronicles 7;20). There were the Boradi with the Goths, the Bardi in Sweden, and Bordeaux in southwest Gaul was originally known as Bard-galli.
Isru and Isurium (of Britain) = Israel
ISRAEL. Isurium was a city near York also known as Isurbrigantium. The name relates to Isru ancestor of the British in Irish legend and a form of the name Israel.
Hebrew Celtic
Namesakes # 2
KEREN: THE HORN OF
GILEAD
Numerous ethnic names amongst the western Celts, especially in Britain and particularly of Pictish groups in Scotland relate to the Province of "Karnayim" in Gilead of Menasseh, east of the Jordan e.g. Cernunnos (of Britain), Careni, Corinion, Crinan, Cerones, Carnonaco, Cornwealas (of Britain), Cornavi (of Wales), Creone, Carnone, Cerini, Cornabi, Conall Cernach, Cruithen (all probably Pictish groups of Scotland), Carnutes (of Gaul), Coriondi (of Ireland), Corannied (Vandals of Britain), Careotae and Carbone (Agathyrsi-Picts and Khazars of Sarmatia) all derive their name from "Karnayim" of Gilead in Menasseh.
Some details of some of the above names follow:
Cernunnos (the horned god) was the god in Britain of the Brigantes. Many Tribes in Britain had names based on the root CRN meaning Horn in both Hebrew and ancient British:
The Picts were called Quritenoi or Quriten or Cruithen or included a people of that name. The Carnutes (north of the Loire in Gaul) were connected with the Druids whose centre was in Britain:
"Each year on a fixed date they hold an assembly on consecrated ground in the territory of the Carnutes, whose land is supposed to be in the very centre of the whole country of Gaul. Those who have disputes to settle come from all over Gaul to this assembly and accept the verdicts and rulings given to them by the Druids" (Julius Caesar, B.G. vi;2).
In the southwest of Britain were the Cornwealas of CORNWALL. Ptolemy recalls the Cornavii on the west coast apparently in north Wales. North of the Caledonni in north Scotland Ptolemy mentions the CREONE, CARNONE, CERINI, and CORNABI. The inhabitants of the Orkneys and Hebrides islands off the coast of Scotland were considered descendants of Conall Cernach a fact said to prove their linkage with the Cruthin (Picts) who claimed the same ancestor. Ptolemy places the CORIONDI in Ireland. In Irish Mythology Cuiren was ancestor of a people named Cuirennrige. The Welsh Triads report of the CORANNIED who were assumedly a group composed of Varini-Vandals associated with Angles and Scandinavian groups who collaborated with the Anglo-Saxons in the invasion of Britain. This group eventually congregated in Bernicia (ca. Northumberland) and included Celtic elements which they had absorbed on the Continent in Poland. In Britain they intermerged relatively freely and quickly with the Celtic peoples whom they conquered. Other "Keren" ethnically associated names in Britain included the Careni, Corinion (Cirencester), Crinan, Cerones, and Carnonacao. Ptolemy placed the Careotae and Carbone in north European Sarmatia neighbouring the AGATHYRSI who migrated to Scotland and became the Picts. All of these appellations contain the root -KRN- meaning (as in Cernunnos, the Celtic-British horned god) HORN from the Hebrew KRN (Keren) or QRN. The Prophet Amos inveighed against the northern kingdom of Israel prior to its exile: "Ye which rejoice in a thing of naught [Hebrew: "LO-DEBAR"], which say, Have we not taken to us horns [Hebrew: Karn-ayim] by our own strength?" (Amos 6;13). This verse uses a play on words, "a thing of nought" (Lo Debar) being similar to LADABAR a city in the territory of Gad and Horns (Karn-ayim) being the same as the name as another city in Bashan of Gilead. These were apparently strategic areas and had been regained by king Jeroboam-ii of Israel from the enemy and it was hoped that with their help security could be achieved. Karnayim appears to have become the centre and namesake of an important province. In part of the Israelite land of Gilead east of the Jordan, the Assyrians after exiling the Israelites formed a Province named QERNINI (or Kernini) and this name was derived from the previous Israelite "Karnayim". In Greek Tradition, "KRONOS" had apparently been equated with the Canaanite god "Baal" whose worship many of the Israelites adopted and who was frequently depicted as a two-horned deity. In Classical Mythology, the god KRONOS (cf. KRN") was identified both with the deity and ancestor of ancient Israel and with the ancient ruler and god of Britain. In their own way some of the pagan Roman savants appear to have recognized a kinship between the so-called "Celts" of Britain and ancient Israel.
Hebrew Celtic Namesakes # 3
YAIR of Judah, Manasseh, Scotland, and Ireland all in
One!Yadi in Assyrian terminology meant Judah. The Assyrians referred to a Yadi in the north-west of Syria as well as Yadi of Judah in the south. An Assyrian inscription mentions Azaryah of Yadi campaigning in the north. Azaryah (also known as Uziah) was a king of Judah. Regarding Azaryah of Yadi it is worth noting that he was contemporary with Jeroboam-11 of northern Israel and in alliance with him. Jeroboam-11 was described as reconquering Hamath that belonged [previously] to Judah. Hamath as a geographical region (and not just a city) encompassed Yadi. It would stand to reason that Jeroboam reconquered Yadi in the north and returned it to the control of Judah in the south which at that times was ruled by Azariyah.
[2-Kings 14:28] NOW THE REST OF THE ACTS OF JEROBOAM, AND ALL THAT HE DID, AND HIS MIGHT, HOW HE WARRED, AND HOW HE RECOVERED DAMASCUS, AND HAMATH, WHICH BELONGED TO JUDAH, FOR ISRAEL, ARE THEY NOT WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF THE KINGS OF ISRAEL?
Elsewhere we have shown how Damascus in the north referred to a region on the Euphrates River and to the east of it. An enclave from Judah in the north is consistent with the Bible and interrelates with the existence of the group belonging to Yair in the north.
THE CLAN OF YAIR (DESCENDANT OF JUDAH) IN GILEAD OF
MENASSEH
AND IAR THE PROPHET IN IRISH TRADITION:
AND IAR THE PROPHET IN IRISH TRADITION:
[Part of the following material concerning Yair is based on a study appearing in an old (undated) British Israel National Message Serial no.118c, from an unnamed author who did however substantiate his claims from quoted sources]
The name of Iar appears several times in the Irish genealogies under various forms: There is Iarbonel the prophet one of the four sons of Nemedh mentioned by Keating. There is Jaruanell the prophet one of the four sons of Neuie McAgamemnon in the "Annals of Clonmacnois".
Keating mentions that "some antiquaries" derive the Tuatha De Danann from "Iarbanel son of Nemedh". Iarbanel is considered a form of Iar.
The Leabhar Gabhala also brings two alternate versions in which Iarbanel is high up on the genealogical lists of the Dana.
In the History of Keating the sages are mentioned: Fennius Farsa the Scythian; Gaedal son of Ethor, of the race of Gomer, from Greece; and "Caei the Eloquent (or the Just), from Judea, or Iar, son of Nemha, as others call him.."
Iarbonel, Iarbanel, Iar, and Jaruanell are all versions of IAR!! Not only that but Yair in the Bible was linked to both Judah and to Gilead of Menasseh east of the Jordan one of whose sons was Peresh ("Separated" or "Sanctified") which name is identical with that of "Nemha" in Irish. The above source connects Iar with both Judah and Nemha who in turn is linked to Gilead! Nemha (i.e. Nemedh) was ancestor of the Nemedians and his name has the same meaning as the Hebrew Pereshwho was linked with Gilead of Menasseh who gave rise to the Celtic Galatae also known as the Galadi.
"Iar" or "Yair" or "Jair" is recorded in the Bible as a descendant of Judah who settled in the land of Gilead of Machir in Menasseh and had at least 23 cities attached to him.
"The sons of Judah..Pharez and Zerah..
"The sons of Pharez; Hezron and Hamul.
"And afterwards Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was sixty years old; and she bare him Segub.
"And Segub begat Jair, who had twenty three cities in the land of Gilead.
"And he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them, with Kenath and the towns thereof, sixty cities. All these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead. (1-Chronicles ch.2;3,5,21,22,23).
Gilead was the son of Machir who was the firstborn of Menasseh. They inherited their portion in the lands on the east side of the Jordan stretching to the northeast and reaching far into the north and eastward to the River Euphrates.
Old Assyrian inscriptions often recall the Iari (who are identified as the people of Yair, i.e. "Jair" who fought along the Euphrates' banks and sometimes in the north to the east of the Euphrates in the region of the Habor tributary (B. Mazar in Encyclopedia Biblica, "Yair"). Contrary to some opinions the territory of Gilead did reach up to those regions.
In regards to the people of Yair it is worth noting the opinion of the Israeli researcher, Benjamin Mazar in the Encyclopedia Biblica:
~ "Yair, Yairi": "A large family belonging to the Tribe of Menasseh... In the account of Israelite conquest east of the Jordan this family plays an important role....the family of Yair were related by family-blood with the family of Hezron from Judah on one side and with Machir father of Gilead on the other...
~There is ground to assume that Yair was also a general name for a large group of Israelite clans who had already united at the beginning of the Israelite conquest of the northern part of the land of Gilead and from there had spread out over the Land of Bashan; (Consequently) a large and broad territory east of the Jordan was called by their name, "Townships of Yair". This widely-branched family held on to its own inheritance..and also succeeded in gaining control over the territory of Argob in Bashan....
~It is possible that the group of clans, known in Scripture by the name of Yair, are recalled in Assyrian records. In the preamble to several building-dedications the King of Assyria, Adadnirari-i tells how his father Archdinal (early 1200s b.c.e) fought against and subdued the camps of Achlemu [i.e. Arami-Syrians], Suthi [=Seth], and Yauri [Iauri] on the banks of the Euphrates.
~There are grounds for the proposition that the Yauri are none other than the nomadic Sons of Yair who would transmigrate between the desert and the Euphrates River; also in the Genealogical records of the Tribes east of the Jordan is retained the recollection of their spreading out to the Euphrates River "Because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead" (1-Chronicles 5;9). From the 1200s Assyrian sources several times recall the camps of Yauri [Iauri], Yari [Iari], and the Land of Yari [Iari] and the Mountains of Yari [Iari] in the region of the Euphrates and Khabor Rivers. In addition Assurnasipal-11 and his successors recall the House of Yair [Iahir].... as one of the princedoms in Mesopotamia whose centre was the city Magrisu.."
~The name Yair apparently expresses the wish that God will shine his face upon the child, meaning to say, show him favour; cf. "The LORD make his face shine upon thee..." (Numbers 6;25)....~15
Scripture (1-Chronicles chapter two) states that Yair was descended from Judah yet his people were to be identified with Gilead the son of Machir from the Tribe of Menasseh. As noted above Irish Mythology also relates "Iar" (i.e. Yair) to Judah! The region of Yair (and Argob) was one of 12 administrative districts into which King Solomon divided the Land of Israel. It was ruled by the Ben-Gever(Son of Geber) whose father (Geber the son of Uri) was appointed over all Gilead and the neighbouring region of Bashan which could reach up to the Euphrates and beyond.
"And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel....The son of Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Menasseh , which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars.....
"Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land."
(1-Kings 4;7,13,19).
Ptolemy listed numerous place and historical ethnic names proving that Israelite tribes once ruled over all the area of northern Syria reaching at least to the Euphrates. Examples are the areas called RAHABENI (i.e. Reuben), MASANI (Menasseh), CAUCHABENI (i.e. Sons of Chauchi, i.e. of Haggi son of Gad), BATHANAEI (Bashan in Aramaic), CHALYBONITIS (Chalybes of Judah), and the cities of Belginaea and Belagaea (Belgae from Bela-g-h), and GABARA from Geber in the region of Bashan (Bathanaei) close to Masani (Menasseh ). The "House of Gabbar" were the ruling dynasty of "Yadi". Yadi was a Judaean enclave in north west Syria ("Hamath which belonged to Judah" 2-Kings 14;28) known as "Yadi" (i.e. "Judah" in Assyrian) and also garrisoned by the "Dananu" from the Tribe of Dan and somehow associated with the neighbouring Tribe of Gad since its other name "Smal" is synonymous with Zephion a clan of Gad. The Tsaffani (from Tsfion of Gad) were listed by the Assyrians in the region of Smal! The people of Yadi were taken into exile to an area of Armenia whereto exiles from the Ten Tribes were also taken. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle said that the Celts of Britain came from Armenia. Ethnic and Place-names with the root "Geber" (GBR) were found amongst the Celts on the Continent (Guberni, Gabreta) and in Scotland and Ireland: Ptolemy recalled the GABRETA in Baiern (Bavaria) whom Zeuss identified as a Celtic people and recalls the city of Gabromagus and Vergobretus (in territory of the Aedui of Gaul, Caesar, G.W.1;16). There was also a Celtic group called Guberni (Pliny N.H.4;17) between the Ubii and Batavi in Holland.
In ancient Ireland there was an important ethnic group tribe called Gabraige and a place named Gabran (mod. Gowran in County Kilkenny) and a king of the Picts in northern Scotland had the same name.
The Lagin people gave their name to Leinster in east Ireland. They were also known as GABAIR (ORahilly). After being conquered by the Milesian Goidels, the Lagin Gabair joined forces with them and participated in raids on, and settlement in, Scotland. They have been equated with the Gailian or Galioin which names may well derive from the Golan in the Land of Israel since GEBER or GABAR appears to have once been an important family name in that general area. To the northeast of Eboracum (York) and the Parissi were the GABRANTOVICES. Further north in the Caledonian region of the Gadeni (Otadeni) was the settlement of Gabrosentas.
From Gilead ("Galaad") of Israel emerged the Galatae or "Galadi" of northern Gaul, the Galadon of northern Wales and southern Britain, and the Caledonians of Scotland. These groups had ethnic migratory connections with the Gaels of Ireland. In both Ireland and Scotland are toponyms bearing the name Iar (i.e. Yair) which are believed to represent an eponymous ancestor of that name .
The IERNE in southeast Ireland regarded IAR as their forefather and similar usage of the name is also found in Scotland (Hubert p.197)! The people of Yair may therefore be assumed to have been submerged amongst the descendants of Gilead in the British Isles. The Irish legends quoted above speak of Iar of Judea or of Iarbanel the Prophet who is identifiable with Iar and who in some accounts was one of the first ancestors of the Nemedian peoples (including the Dana and Milesians) who settled in Ireland and elsewhere is closely associated with Fennius, the first and primary forefather. "Nemed" means "Separated" or "Sanctified" the same as "Peresh" the son of Machir the son of Menasseh (1-Chronicles 7;16). It is doubtful if the transmitters of the Irish legends were ever aware of the quoted verses in the First Book of Chronicles and their historical value. Neither did they know what was inscribed on Assyrian tablets concerning the Iari. Neither were the place names bearing the ethnic denomination "Iar" in Ireland and Scotland derived from scholastic imagination. It follows that all of these proofs are from independent sources that complement each other and indicate historical truths underlying the Irish texts. Biblical and archaeological evidence showed a geographical linkage of the names Gabar, Gad, Yair, Yadi (Yehudah), and Gilead and parallel associations are noticeable in the toponomy of Ireland and Scotland and in Celtic Mythology.
The Irish texts mentioned above speak of several waves of invasion of peoples who were essentially akin to each other and from the same ancestors. They speak of having had some portions of their people subjected in Greece or in "Grecian Scythia", of having been in Egypt, of having been able if they so wished to partake with the Israelites in the Israelite inheritance, of their leader's forces having included Israelites, of going to Scythia, and of conquering Spain and in Spain being driven into the northwest and from there coming to Ireland.
Hebrew Celtic Namesakes # 4:
Druids and the gods of Gaul
THE GODS OF GAUL.
In Gaul three main gods were worshipped and a host of smaller ones. Samuel Bochartus traced these gods to Phoenician sources. Taramis (or Taranis) was the god of thunder, in Hebrew RAM means thunder and in verbal form can be rendered TARAM. Taramis was considered (says Bochartis) the equivalent of Zeus or Jupiter; Hesus (Mars) derived from the Syrian Ezuzo and in Hebrew Ezuz connotes Strength and is used in the Psalms (24;8). Hesus was also known as Essuvos and Alternately the name may be derived from Esau. The name Belenus (Apollo) derives from the Phoenician Bel (Baal). Other parallels are Celtic "Onuana" and Phoenician Onga; Gallic Minerva Belisama and Phoenician "Belsamen"; The figures of Hercules and Ogmus came from the Phoenician Melicerte. The cult of Gallic Camule paralleled the Oriental Cadmil; the Gallic Gwyon equalled the Phoenician Gigon.
In southwest Gaul (Aquitaine) the Egyptian goddess Isis was worshipped in the Dordogne River Valley from pre-Roman times. Both Phoenicians and Israelites in the Land of Israel prior to their exile are proven by archaeological findings to have adopted Egyptian deities.
DRUIDS: Pliny (N.H.30.1.4) is often quoted as saying that British Druidical practices had been learnt directly from the Persians. Actually, Pliny (in the Latin) may equally be understood to say: "..as if they had taught the Persians, not the Persians them". Persian religion was a mixture of Israelite, Canaanite, and Babylonian beliefs with some "Indo-European" additions.
The frequent conjunction of a ship with the solar disc on rock sculptures is found in Sweden, Ireland, and Brittany. This is an Egyptian symbol. It is also found in the Pict region of Scotland.
"It is thought that the Druidical doctrine was discovered already in existence, in Britain and was brought from there to Gaul. Even today it is the rule for those who want to become really expert in the doctrine to go to Britain and learn it there" (Julius Caesar B.G. vi;2).
In Gaul the territory of the Carnutes was a Druidical centre. The name of the CARNUTES contains the root CRN derived from the Hebrew KeReN (meaning horn ) and found frequently with Celtic tribal-names especially those of Britain and in Britain especially amongst tribes of the Picts in the north. Druidism practised human sacrifice. They believed in transmigration (reincarnation) of the soul after death as did the ancient Egyptians. It was possible amongst the Celts to give a promissory note on debt, payable in the next world; this custom is considered to be an Egyptian one.
The Druidical priests of Ireland seem to have employed a type of hair tonsure found also in Arabia and the east. In Irish a priest was called a "cois" and it is known that in the Phoenician colony on Samothrace (off the coast of Greece) a priest was termed a "coies" equivalent to the Hebrew "cohen". In Ireland the supreme god was known as Beal (meaning baal) or as Beal Samhan which name is paralleled by that of the Syrian god "Baal Samim" whose name in Hebrew (Baal Shamayim) means "lord of heaven". The Canaanite worship of Moloch was also practised and was known to the Celts as Crom Cruach. The Celtic goddess Aistorith (also worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons according to Bede) was a version of Canaanite Ashtoreth. Religious associations and customs paralleled those recorded concerning the ancient Egyptians, the Canaanite Phoenicians, and the Phoenicians of Samothrace. The Irish funeral ceremonies recall those of ancient Greece and Egypt.
In Britain and Ireland numerous Celtic place-names retain the term "baal" or derivations of it: Baal-y-bai, Beal-Tene, Balhomais, Ballinluig, Balmuick, Balnaguard, etc. It has been stated that in Britain place-names associated with baal are usually near stone circles or other megalithic remains. In Ireland "baal" place-names are especially numerous. The "sidhe" in Irish connoted the fairy people or gods; this name, "sidhe" is of Hebrew or Phoenician origin. The Balaam inscription (described in our work "Ephraim") indicates that the Ancient Hebrews had adopted pagan practices and revered the sidde or demons. In Hebrew "shed" means demon while "Shadi" is one of the names for God. Very soon after the conversion of Ireland to Christianity the whole country was covered by monasteries, whose complete organization seems to indicate that they were really Druidic colleges transformed en masse (Rolleston p.83 quotes from Bertrand "L'Irlande Celtique").
Hebrew Celtic Namesakes # 5:
Gilead
The Greeks called the Celts "Galatae" also rendered as "GALADI" which is another way of pronouncing "Gilead" son of Machir son of Menasseh. Some authorities distinguish the Galatae from the rest of the Gauls and identify them with the Belgae in the north of Gaul.
Galadon was the mythical ancestor of a group in Britain related to the Caledoni of Scotland whose name was also derived from Gilead. In southern Gaul existed a people named Gebali. "Gebalk" was a name applied by the Arabs to Western Europe especially to Gaul. The Sons of Moses in folklore were often spoken of together with the Lost Ten Tribes. They were reported by Arab- related sources of Jewish origin to be in "Gebalk" meaning in Gaul and related areas. They were also said to be together with the Sons of Ad in the "Islands of the Happy" meaning the British Isles. "The Sons of Ad" was an Arabian term for the Lost Ten Tribes who because of their sins had been blown across the sea and were to be found in in the British Isles. The name "Gebalk" is similar to "GABALA" which is a term used by the Talmud for the Israelite region of Golan called "Gaulanitis" by the Romans who referred to the Gauls (of Gaul, i.e. France) as "Galli". The similarity between "Gaul" and "Gaulanitis" (Golan) is obvious. The name "Gall" could be derived from the Hebrew "Galil" (i.e. Galilee, denoting hill-land) or from the Hebrew "Goleh" meaning "exile". The Jewish sage Rashi (1040-1105) in his commentary on the Biblical Book of Obadiah reported the tradition that the Lost Ten Tribes were in France while Don Isaac Abarbanel (1437-1508) emphasised that the term ( Tsaraphat in Hebrew) understood by Rashi to mean France included both France and Britain.
Hebrew Celtic Namesakes no.6:
The Hebrew Celts
THE HEBREWS OF BRITAIN
Amongst Celtic names of importance was that of "EBER" (meaning Hebrew) examples of which are found spread throughout the Celtic world. The Celtic settlers of Britain and Ireland referred to themselves as "Hiberi" or "Iberi" as may be seen in from the Geography of PTOLEMY and from Irish Mythology.
EBER: In the country of the Parissi was the city of York called Eboracum by the British, Ireland was called Hibernia, and there were the Hebrides Islands and numerous places in Gaul and other Celtic areas whose names contained the root "eber" meaning Hebrew. In addition,
"...there were twenty or more places in Wales, the names of which begin with another form of the name Eber Aber such as Aberystwyth and Aberdare. In Scotland we find Aberdeen, Aberfoyle, Aberdour, Aberargie, Abruthven and several others" Bennett p.114.
Celtic Mythology and toponomy is replete with Hebraic names many of which were recorded long before the Christian era when the Celts were still pagans and therefore cannot be ascribed to extraneous influences:
The Iberi (Hiberi) had once been in Spain and due to them the North African natives who invaded Spain after them and drove them out were in turn called Iberi (Iberians) by the Greeks and Romans.
An additional proof for ascribing the original application of the name HEBER to the Celts is the fact that Celtic peoples such as the Gaelics of Britain and Ireland called themselves Iberi. These people had been in Spain at the time when the name Heber or Iber was first applied to regions and rivers there and they had been driven out to Gaul and the British Isles where numerous additional place and ethnic names received the appellation HEBER and its cognates. This name is considered typically Celtic and an indication of Celtic presence (de Rougemont p.102, Hubert p.288). Later application of the term Iberianto the Spaniards is a misnomer.
Names containing the root "HEBER" meaning Hebrew are found throughout the Celtic sphere of influence especially in its western section of Gaul and Britain:
Examples of place names containing this root in places somehow or other regarded as those of a sometime Celtic presence are multitudinous and include Yboracum the original name of York, Hibernia the name of Ireland, the Hebrides, and numerous others, see below.
The denomination "HEBREW" as applicable to ISRAELITE in distinction to foreigners is found in the Book of Jonah: Jonah the prophet had been commanded by God to go and call upon the inhabitants of the Assyrian capital city Nineveh to repent. Jonah did not want to help the Assyrians so he attempted to flee the Holy Land which place is most conducive to Prophecy, whereas outside of the Land the Divine Presence makes Itself less palpable. He went to the port of Jaffo on the coast and took a ship headed for Tarshish. A supernatural storm arose and after casting lots the sailors realised that their ship was endangered due to Jonah's presence. The men of the ship asked Jonah:
"Whence comest thou? what is thy country and of what people art thou" (Jonah 1;8). Jonah answered:
"I AM AN HEBREW; AND I FEAR THE LORD, THE GOD OF HEAVEN, WHICH HATH MADE THE SEA AND THE DRY LAND" (Jonah 1;9). "Hebrew" in the Bible is synonymous with Israelite.
There were Twelve Israelite Tribes and Welsh tradition listed Twelve different peoples who invaded Britain. Representatives of all the Israelite Tribes do seem to have settled within the British Isles though the dominating elements belonged to the Tribes of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh and eventually especially of Ephraim since much of Manasseh later emigrated to North America.
In Celtic sources many names are similar to Hebrew ones. Examples of Celtic names (with suggested Hebrew equivalents in brackets) are:
Semoni (Simeon), Nemed (i.e. "Separated" equals "Peresh" in Hebrew), Macha
(Maacha), Galedon (Gilead), Iar (Yair), Dana (Dan), Don (Dan), Balor
(Baal), Bile (Baal), Briga (Beriah), Oriel (Oriel), Etain (Aitan), Manaanan
(Manoah), Gall (Gil, Galil), Tara (Atara), Aesus (Esau = Phoenecian Esus),
Bochra (Becher), Lamech (Lamech), Britan (Brit), lnbual (Anbel, Inbel),
Icen (Jachin), Isac (Isaac), Tamar (Tamar), Isc (Isaac), Isaca (Isaac),
Conn (Canaan).
Another name of significance in our study is "Hyperborean" meaning "Northern Hebrew" and this appellation was applied to the Celts of Britain.
Celtic Names from the root Iber meaning Hebrew:
Ybora: mouth of Halys River in Anatolia (Turkey), place of a Galatian colony.
Hebros River: in Thrace, scene of Celtic presence.
Iberia: in the Caucasus, north of Assyria, legendary area of exiled
Israelite Ten Tribes re settlement, cultural connections with the proto-Celts.
Ibernia: name for Spain derived from the original Iberians who accepted Celtic culture and migrated to the west and north.
Hibernia: name for Ireland.
Iberni in southwest Ireland.
Ibnerni Ocean east of Ireland.
Hebrides: islands off the northwest coast of Scotland, a Celtic region. Menasseh ben Israel spoke of an early Hebrew inscription having been discovered on the Hebrides.
Eboracum: A Celtic name for the city of York in north England. York gave its name to the North American city of New York where there are reportedly more people of Jewish extraction (mainly from the tribe of Judah) than in the modern State of Israel!
Eburodunum: also known as Embrun in the French Alps of ancient Gaul.
Evorolocum: in Auvergne, Gaul.
Eborobritum: Beira, Gaul, note the combination of Brit (Briton) with EBER.
Eborovices: Evreux, in Gaul
Eborobriga: Yonne, in Gaul.
Eboromagus: (in the region of Aude, in Gaul) also known as "Hebromagus" and close to Narbonne in southern France an historically significant center in many ways.
Eborodunum: Yverdon, in Switzerland, once dominated by the Celtic Tribe of Helveti.
Eboresheim, Eporestal, Eburingen: all Celtic place names in Germany. The Galatian Celts were once based in west central Germany but were driven out. Note the Semitic interchange of "p" for "b" as in Eporestal.
Eburones: a Celtic people who once dwelt between the Main and Rhine rivers.
[The Heber root name examples above have been culled from: de Rougemont p.102, Hubert-2 p.125, Markale p.308.]
Some Sources
BENNET, W. H. Symbols of Our Celto-Saxon Heritage.England, 1976
DE ROUGEMONT, FREDERIC. "L'Age de Bronze, ou Les Semites en Occident",
Paris, 1866.
HUBERT, HENRI. "The Rise Of The Celt", trans. By M.R. Dodrie, London 1934.
HUBERT, HENRI. "The Greatness And Decline Of The Celts". London 1934.
MARKALE, J. "Les Celts", Paris, 1970.
MARKALE, J. "Celtic Civilisation", Paris, 1970, trans.1978.
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