This study hopes to show how Sh`aul compares the legal requirements of 1st. Century Roman with that of the Biblical view of adoption.
Adoption: what is meant by adoption into The Family of Yahuah p.1;
Slavery p.1;
Adoption p.3;
The Family of Yahuah p.3;
Ya`akob p.6;
References and Credits p.9:
Adoption
This study hopes to show how Rabbi Sh`aul compared the legal requirements of 1st. Century Roman law with that of the Biblical view of adoption.
For the purposes of this discussion son and child means both male and female.
#G5206 υἱοθεσία hwee-rth-oh-see-a from the compound word #G5207 υἱός hwee-rss – son and #G5087 τίθημι tith-ay-mee – III.B to establish or ordain. Therefore, υἱοθεσία means to make someone a son.
Slavery
A slave could not be adopted.
“Yahusha answered them, ‘Most assuredly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the slave to sin.’” (John 8:34). “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves as slaves to obedience, its slaves you are whom you obey; whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16). A slave did not have free-will. Once a slave (or indentured servant) entered service, they were no longer free to do as they pleased. Every moment of their life was governed by their master’s will. In the Roman world, a slave (as opposed to a servant) was considered as an object and one inventory found showed that the slaves were numbered amongst the cattle and farming implements, to be bought and sold at the master sees fit.
“But now, being made free from sin, and having become servants of Yahuah, you have your fruit of sanctification and the result of eternal life.” (Rom. 6:22). It was possible for a slave to be voluntarily released by the master (e.g. for services rendered) or to be able to by its freedom (earning extra money by selling services). However, these were totally at the master’s discretion and the master had no obligation to do so. Therefore, the slave had no means of himself to be released from service. This verse shows that something outside of the slave needed to be done in order that the slave could be freed.
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Therefore, in order for a slave to be adopted, he must first become a freeman. This meant that the adoptive father had first to buy the slave and then make him a freeman (manumission). The adoptive father could then formally adopt the former slave (www.carolashby.com).
“For Yahuah has ransomed Ya`akob, and redeemed him from the hand of him who (itthat) was stronger than he,” (Jer. 31:11). “knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers, but with precious blood, as of a Lamb without spot, the blood of the Messiah,” (1 Pt. 1:18, 19).
Adoption
“For as many as are led by the Ruach of Yahuah, these are children of Yahuah. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ HaRuach Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of Yahuah; and if children, then heirs; heirs of Yahuah, and joint-heirs with the Messiah; if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Rom. 8:14-17).
When Sha`ul wrote to the Assembly at Rome, he likens the Kingdom of Yahuah as being in Yahuah’s family. However, there is only one true Son, Yahusha (John 3:16), and every born-again Believer is adopted into this Family. The recipients of Sha`ul’s letter would have recalled the exact status of an adoptee:
(i)Under Roman law a father had complete authority over his children throughout their entire lives (http://www.academia.edu). This was termed patria potestas (possession of the father).
“And being found in human form, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross.” (Phil. 2:8).
“For as through the one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One will many be made righteous.” (Rom. 15:9). Yahusha, the natural Son, obeyed the Father in every aspect of His life. This would be expected of all ‘adopted’ children, “Be imitators of me, even as I also of the Messiah.” (1 Cor. 11:1). Sha`ul exhorts the Corinthian Assembly to copy what he does as he emulates the Messiah. The Corinthians who would not have seen the Messiah in His earthly ministry, would be able to see Him through the life and ministry of Sha`ul. Therefore, people today should be able to see the Messiah through the life and ministry of Believers.
(ii)The adoption of children was very rare but that of adult males was common. “For Yahuah so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Salvation can only come (except to those with learning difficulties) by a full realisation of what the Messiah has done for the individual. Although young children may be capable of making a true decision, it is rare amongst the very young.
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(iii)In the adoption process, the transfer of patria potestas had to be witnessed by seven people. This ensured that there would always be a living witness within reason.
“HaRuach Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of Yahuah;” (Rom. 8:16). As HaRuach is eternal, there is no need for multiple witnesses.
“So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, ‘Abba, Father.’ “And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of the future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as His adopted children, including the new bodies He has promised us.” (Rom. 8:15, 23 NLT).
#G553 ἀπεκδέχομαι ap-e-dekh-oh-my – to assiduously and patiently waiting for and fully expecting. During the raising of the adopted child, the child may come into its inheritance in stages. It would not be sensible to give a young child the full provision of the familial estate. However, on reaching full maturity, the adopted child would have all the benefits of the natural family (all excepting that which can only come upon the father’s death). The adoptive rights of a Believer are not based upon any merit of their own or any rightness in the adoption, but solely upon the promises of Yahuah. “that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherited the promises.” (Heb. 6:12).
“remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labour of love and patience of hope in our Master Yahusha the Messiah, before our `Elohiym and Father.” (1 Thess. 1:3). The wait is not a period of idleness. Believers must be about Father’s work until His Son returns. The promises are based upon the assurance of and a Believer’s trust in His return.
Many Roman children (natural or adopted) were often treated little better than the slaves until their maturity. A child remained the total possession of the father until marriage (a girl became the possession of her husband’s father) or the death of the father. “At the end of the days I, Nevukhadnetztar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed Ha`Elyon, and I praised and honoured Him who lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His Kingdom from generation to generation.” (Dan. 4:34). As Father Yahuah is eternal, once adoption into His family takes place, it is eternal.
(i) The adoptee lost all legal rights to their previous family and all aspects of their former lives were erased. All debts were cancelled as though they never existed.
“The master of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.” (Matt. 18:27).
“I (Yahuah), even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; I will not remember your sins.” (Isa. 45:25).
“For this is the Covenant that I will make with the House of Yisra`el, ‘After those days,’ says Yahuah, ‘I will put my Laws into their mind, I will also write them on their heart. I will be to them an `Elohiym [Father], And they will be to me a people [sons]’” “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.” (Heb. 8:10, 12).
“Therefore, if anyone is in the Messiah, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17). There are many verses detailing how past sins are remembered no more by Yahuah.
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(ii) The adoptee gained full rights of their new family and the new family’s history was then considered as that of the adoptee’s. The adoptee became an heir to the father’s estate and was to be considered an equal to all natural children.
“and if children, then heirs; heirs of Yahuah, and joint-heirs with the Messiah; if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Rom. 8:17). A Believer shares in all that happens to the Family.
“So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of Yahuah through the Messiah,” (Gal. 4:7). This states the status of the adopted son. Like the natural son, there is a process of maturing with the ultimate promise of a close relationship with Father.
(iii) The father chose or elected the adopted son. The adoptee did nothing to deserve being chosen. “But we are bound to always give thanks to Yahuah for you, brothers loved by the Master, because Yahuah chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth;” (2 Thess. 2:13). Even before birth, the Believer has been chosen by Yahuah.
For those about to be adopted, knowledge of the ‘new’ family would be scant and would rely upon third party information and hearsay and of the father even more so. When the child moves into the ‘new’ family they would seek to get to know the ‘new’ father more intimately both out of gratitude for the adoption and out of respect for the father who now has patria potestas over the child. Before salvation, knowledge of Father was based upon similar scarcity of information and third-party knowledge. However, after salvation, a Believer should want to know Father more intimately. This requires studying His Word (self-revelation) and takes effort and sacrifice that is well-pleasing to Him. This self-revelation is made even more clear, deeper and meaningful by the leading of the HaRuakh of Father.
When the Adopter takes on the Adoptee, it is under the understanding that the Adoptee would ‘follow its rules, pick up its habits and something of its character’ (youtube.com/ Danny Kruger). The Adoptee would be coming from a situation that was worse than the new, adopted life, whether war, famine, orphaned or political upheaval and the Adoptee would be grateful to the Adopter for the promised new life.
The Family
“However, at that time, not knowing Yahuah, you were in bondage to those who by nature were not gods.” (Gal. 4:8).
“You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. It was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in it. When it speaks a lie, it speaks on its own; for it is a liar and the father of it.” (John 8:44). This is the family into which all people are born when they sin. The father of lies deceives everyone and all fall into bondage.
“But when He saw many of the Perushim and Tzedukim coming for His immersion, He said to them, ‘You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?’ Do not think to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I tell you that Yahuah is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.” (Matt. 3:7, 9). The Master warned the Jewish people, through their leaders, that a natural descent from Abraham was not a guarantee of their eternal status (refer to Rom. 11:17 below). The teaching of the leaders was poison to their listeners.
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“There is neither Yehudi [Jew] nor Yevanit [Greek], there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in the Messiah Yahusha. If you are the Messiah’s, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to promise.” (Gal. 3:28, 29). There is only one Family in the Kingdom of `Elohiym. The three couples cover all of humanity. There can only be Believers regardless of ethnicity, social status or gender. In a family there can only be one set of rules regardless of background. Eternal status is dependent upon spiritual descent (faith) and not upon physical descent.
“Noach went into the ark with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, because of the waters of the flood.” (Gen. 7:7). It is commonly understood that the ark is a type of the Kingdom of `Elohiym and there was only one family considered righteous and saved from the wrath of `Elohiym. Likewise, at the Day of Wrath, when the Messiah returns to Mount Olivet, He will find only one righteous family (all Believers) and not two (Jewish Believers and Gentile Believers).
“But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them, and became partaker with them of the root and of the richness of the olive tree;” (Rom. 11:17). The process of grafting-in a wild branch into a cultivated tree was an unnatural state as it normally produces inferior fruit. However, that seems to be the whole point of Sha`ul’s analogy (Sanday & Headlam). In the natural world, this would never occur, but in the supernatural world the wild olive (gentiles) has been grafted-in to the cultivated tree and enjoys the same blessings. #G4791 συγκοινωνός soo-koy-no-nars refers to a participant, partaker or joint partner (heir AENT). There is only one tree and one Root. Any branch that does not bear (righteous) fruit, will be pruned hard back and thrown away and burnt. Descent from Abraham is no guarantee of good fruit, so it should be of no surprise that the (spiritually) dead branches are cast away.
“Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4, 5). Here the Master gives the reason that the wild olive has been grafted into the cultivated tree. It is so that both enjoy the richness of the Root. There is only one Root that supplies all that is required to bear righteous fruit.
“For most assuredly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.” (Matt. 5:18). #G3551 νόμος no-mos – law is the word the Septuagint (LXX) usually translates as torah. This has several meanings: the Book of Moshe (Gen. – Deut.); all of the TaNaKh (Old Testament); entire Word of Yahuah (TaNaKh and Renewed Covenant). As the passage refers to ‘all things’ this would indicate that it means all Scripture. This must mean, therefore, that all Scripture remains in force.
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“Now the chief Priests, the Elders, and the whole council sought false testimony against Yahusha, that they might put Him to death; and they found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward… ‘Nevertheless, I [Yahusha] tell you, henceforth you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of the sky.’ Then the High Priest tore his clothing, saying, ‘He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Behold, now you have heard His blasphemy. What do you think?’ They answered, ‘He is worthy of death!’” (Matt. 26:59-66). At His trial, the Master’s accusers could not bring any charge (truthfully or falsely) of Him having broke any laws/Torah, false teaching or false prophesy. It was only the statement regarding the Son of Man that eventually led to the Master being condemned. If this was not so, the accusers would have charged Him accordingly. Therefore, the Master must have obediently and faithfully followed all the requirements of Torah.
“Be therefore imitators of Yahuah, as beloved children.” (Eph. 5:1). “Yahusha said to him, ‘Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Pilipos? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’” (John 14:9). As the Messiah’s little brothers and sisters, it must be incumbent upon all Believers to follow His perfect example. He has shown how it is possible to perfectly obey Father. All Believers must strive to reach this standard and have no excuse not to try.
“Therefore, remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called ‘uncircumcision’ by that which is called ‘circumcision’, (in the flesh, made by hands); that you were at that time separate from the Messiah, alienated from the commonwealth of Yisra`el, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without Yahuah in the world. But now in the Messiah Yahusha you who once were far off are made near in the blood of the Messiah.” (Eph. 2:11-13). #G4174 πολιτεία pol-ee-ty-a a commonwealth is a group of people linked by something that they all have in common (BLB Thesaurus). In this case, the group is all Believers in the Messiah brought together by their faith in His shed Blood. There is only one group and one Messiah.
“I have other sheep, which are not of this fold I must bring them in also and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one Shepherd.” (John 10:16). There is only one group with only one Shepherd that is the Messiah. The Master was addressing a group of people who were Jews. Therefore, He is talking about a group of people other than Jews i.e. Gentiles. The Gentiles were to be called after the Jews but into the same fold as the Jews. The Jews were not called to be a part of the ‘Christian’ fold.
“He said, ‘Your name will no longer be called ‘Ya`akob,’ but, ‘Yisra`el,’ for you have fought with Yahuah and with men, and have prevailed.’” (Gen. 32:28). In Scripture after this time, when the name Yisra`el is used it is in conjunction with spiritual matters. When the name Ya`akob is used, it is in relation to the flesh or the tribes, including Yehuda. It is into the (spiritual) family of Yisra`el that Gentiles are grafted. It is into the commonwealth of Yisra`el that all Believers, Jew and Gentile alike, now belong. Yahuah calls Yisra`el to comply with His law, He is speaking to Jew and Gentile. Yahuah is not calling Gentiles to become members of the (carnal) family of Ya`akob thus becoming Jews, but to become members of the (spiritual) family of Yisra`el. Hence the requirement of physical circumcision is not relevant to Gentile Believers.
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Ya`akob
Ya`akob was the father of 12 sons and a daughter and was so named in conjunction with his children, all of whom except Binyamin were born before the P`ni-El experience. Taking into account the Law of First Mention, this is the first time Yisra`el is mentioned. “Yahuah said to him, ‘Your name is Ya`akob. Your name shall not be Ya`akob anymore, but your name will be Yisra`el.’ He named him Yisra`el.” (Gen. 35:10). Ya`akob’s name is changed here to Yisra`el because of his personal encounter with (the Messenger of) Yahuah at P`ni-El. Hereafter, apart from a few isolated verses (e.g. Deut. 33:10 where poetic parallelism is used) the name of Ya`akov is used with regard to matters of the flesh and Yisra`el with matters of HaRuakh.
“After that, his brother came out, and his hand had hold on Esav’s heel. He was named Ya`a-kob. Yitz`khak was sixty years old when she bore them.” (Gen. 25:26). #H3290 יַעֲקֹב Ya`akob the name meaning heel grasper or supplanter with the implication of deceitfulness or subtly and cunning. This can be seen in the accounts of Esav losing his birthright (Gen. 25:29-34) and his blessings (Gen. 27:1-40) both to Ya`akob by cunning means. “Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which the Yahuah `Elohiym had made.” (Gen. 3:1a). #H6175 עָרוּם eh-rome that which filled Ya`akob had also filled the serpent in Gan Eden. The Adversary’s aim was to supplant Yahuah `Elohiym with itself in the role of Sovereign of the Universe by the use of deceit and cunning.
“Yahuah said to him, ‘I am El Shaddai. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations will be from you, and kings will come out of your loins. The land which I gave to Abraham and Yitz`khak, I will give it to you, and to your seed after you will I give the land.’” (Gen. 35:11, 12). It was while Yisra`el was at Beit-El that Yahuah conferred the blessings first given to Abraham and then onto Yitz`khak and then onto Yisra`el.
“When the Yahuah your `Elohiym shall bring you into the land where you go to possess it, and shall cast out many nations before you… neither shall you make marriages with them; your daughter you shall not give to his son, nor his daughter shall you take to your son. For he will turn away your son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Yahuah be kindled against you, and He will destroy you quickly.” (Deut. 7:1-4). This passage forms the Torah basis upon which a person is to be considered Jewish or not (www.chabad.org/library…601092 ; www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman…968282). A child born to a Jewish woman is recognised as being Jewish irrespective of the father’s lineage; a child born to a non-Jewish woman is recognised as being a Gentile irrespective of the father’s lineage (www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8114 ).
“Ya`akob said to Yosef, ‘El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Kana`an, and blessed me… Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Mitzrayim before I came to you into Mitzrayim, are mine; Efrayim and M`nasheh, even as Re`uven and Shim`on, will be mine. Your issue, who you become the father of after them, will be yours. They will be called after the name of their brothers in their inheritance.’” (Gen. 48:3-6). Although the Torah had not yet been formally codified, I do believe that this passage was looking forward to Duet.7:1-4.
Yosef’s two sons were born to him by the Egyptian woman, Asenat, “To Yosef were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asenat, the daughter of Potiphera Priest of On, bore to him.” (Gen. 41:50) and accordingly would not have been considered as being Jewish. However, upon his deathbed Yisra’el adopted Efrayim and M`nasheh. From this time forth the descendants of Yosef’s two sons were considered to be sons of Yisra`el. This would not now make Efrayim and M`nasheh Jewish but they inherited every part of Yahuah’s blessings upon Abraham. Yitz`khak and Ya`akob/Yisra`el and through them and the other birth-sons of Ya`akob unto the people that were to be called Yisra`eli. Thus, all became sons of the promise.
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The Yisra`eli were to be split up after the death of King Shlomo into the nation of Yahudah and Yisra`el (1 Kgs. 12:1-33). Although thereafter, it was only the tribes of Yahudah and Binyamin that were called Yisra`eli, the other tribes were Yisra`eli, no matter where in the Diaspora they were to settle.
“Yahusha saw Natan`el coming to Him, and said about him, ‘Behold, an Yisra`eli indeed, in whom is no deceit!’” (John 1:47). Unlike Ya`akob (and the Serpent), Natan`el was called a true Yisra`eli by the Master and was verified by the follow-on declaration by Natan`el, “Natan`el answered Him, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of Yahuah! You are King of Yisra`el!’” (John 1:49) long before Shimon Kefa’s declaration, “He said to them ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Kefa answered, ‘You are the Messiah.’” (Mark 8:29).
“For I would wish that I myself were accursed from the Messiah for my brothers’ sake, my relatives according to the flesh, who are Yisra`eli; whose is the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service, and the promises… But it is not as though the word of Yahuah has come to nothing. For they are not all Yisra`el, that are of Yisra`el. That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of Yahuah, but the children of the promise are counted as a seed… For being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of Yahuah according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls… Even as it is written, ‘Ya`akob I loved, but Esav I hated.’ For He said to Moshe, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then, it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of Yahuah who has mercy.” (Rom. 9:3-16).
In this and the surrounding chapters (Rom. 8-12) Sha`ul clearly defines who is a son (and daughter) of Yahuah. His fellow Jews after the flesh are in exactly the same position as Gentiles; in need of a Saviour. It is not a flesh-centred birth that qualifies a person as a child of Yahuah, but a Messiah-centred new birth by His Ruach that constitutes a child of Yahuah. It is clear that not every professing Jew would automatically gain entrance in the Kingdom of Yahuah, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Master, Master,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 7:21).
“For in the Messiah Yahusha neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. As many as walk by this rule, shalom and mercy be on them, and on Yahuah’s Yisra`el.” (Gal. 6:15, 16). Throughout Scripture the phrase Yisra`el’s Deity (`Elohiym of Yisra`el) indicating that it was Yisra`el’s choice to have Yahuah as their `Elohiym. In this passage, Sha`ul refers to Yisra’el as having been chosen by Yahuah as ‘Father’ to be His people and is of a spiritual nature. It must be noted that the insertion of Yahuah in v16 shows that there is another Yisra`el, that of the flesh and after their ‘father’ Ya`akob.
It is my belief that all Believers should be referred to as Yisra`eli; Jewish Believers as the natural olive tree and Gentile Believers as the grafted-in wild branch (Rom. 11:16-24). It cannot be stressed strongly enough that I am NOT saying that Gentile Believers are the ‘Ten Lost Tribes’. These are all Jewish people who will all be brought back to the land of Yisra`el in the End Times, “Then He will send out His angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky.” (Mark 13:27) along with all Believers, both Jew and Gentile.
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Yahuah bless you and keep you,
Yahuah make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you,
Yahuah lift up His face toward you and give you peace.
All glory be to Yahuah,
Ameyn.
References and Credits
In using these references, it is in no way agreeing to or condoning the theological viewpoint of the authors.
Sanday W. &
Headlam A.C. (1968) Romans, T&T Clark, Edinburgh.
Strong J. (1994) Strong’s New Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, World Bible Publishers Inc., Madison.
Strong J. (1996) The New Strong’s Complete Dictionary of Bible Words, Thomas Nelson, Nashville.
AENT “Scripture taken from the Aramaic English New Testament Copyright 2008. Used by permission of Netzari Press.”
HNV The Hebrew Names Version is based off the World English Bible, an update of the American Standard Version of 1901. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.
NLT Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
http://www.academia.edu/4241401/Adoption_Sonship_in_Ancient_Rome
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/601092/jewish/Why-is-Jewishness-matrilineal.htm
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http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8114-inheritance
https.youtube.com/wathch?v=9yiytksqio&t=533s
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First Generation Assembly 