Jewish Africans
“And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” [Galatians 3:29]
For as long as anyone can remember the Lemba tribe in Zimbabwe, South Africa has claimed to descend from Hebrew ancestors. The Lemba people look like regular Africans but have some very Jewish customs. For example they abstain from eating pork and other unclean foods. They are monotheistic, keep the Sabbath, and shun idolatry. They wear yarmulkelike caps and prayer shawls. They conduct religious animal sacrifice, and mark their gravestones with a Star of David. They even circumcise their male children, which is uncommon in Zimbabwe.
For years people laughed at the Lemba claims of Jewish heritage. But now, according to a recent BBC report, the legend has been backed up by science. British scientists have succeeded in proving the 80,000 member tribe in Zimbabwe descended from Jewish ancestors. The scientists conducted DNA tests on a large sample of the Lemba people, which confirmed Semitic origins dating back more than 2,600 years. In fact, members of the priestly clan of the Lemba were discovered to have a unique genetic element only found among the Jewish priestly line known as Cohen. In addition, the report says the Lemba have a sacred prayer language that combines Hebrew and Arabic.
So how did their Jewish ancestors get there? The tribe’s oral tradition says that centuries ago a small group of men fled the Holy Land, making a 3,000 mile journey from Israel to southern Africa. They carried with them a replica of the Ark and took African wives along the way. This story does coincide with the disappearance of the real Ark around 586 B.C., just before Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of the Jewish temple. Despite their “Jewish roots,” many of the tribe people are now Christians. One Lemba pastor explained, “Christianity is my religion and Judaism is my culture.”
Finding a genetic connection with Jewish ancestors is fun and interesting but will not guarantee you an automatic ticket to heaven. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, explained to the Roman Christians, “Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith” (Romans 3:29,30). We may all be God’s children through faith.
