Editor’s Note: This ATJFTP Series was first written and published beginning in late 2017. Most recent update and revision 2025.

Welcome readers to “All The Jews Fit To Print 7: Of Sewing and Seeds.” This one is going to be a longer one in three parts because we’ve got a fair bit of stuff to get through. In Part 1 we’ll to do a bit of sordid housekeeping in the KJV before getting to the books of Esther, Ezra and Nehemiah in Part 2, and then final observations and conclusions on the history and the mystery of the ‘Jews’ as they appear in scripture in Part 3.

However, before we get going, above are two graphics for easy visual reference on the true identity of biblical Israel as descended from Judah.

1. The Royal Standard of the UK: Judah & Tamar > Pharez (Israelite).
2. The flag of Northern Ireland: Judah & Tamar > Zarah (Israelite).

PART 1 – Biblical Chronology

According to Mike Taylor, the timeline of prophets to the Israelites from the split of the Kingdom of David into the houses of Israel and Judah goes like this:

Israel: 1.Ahija 2.Jehu 3.Elijah 4.Micaiah 5.Elisha 6.Jonah 7.Amos 8.Hosea 9.Nahum.

Judah: 1.Joel 2.Isaiah 3.Micah 4.Zephaniah 5.Jeremiah 6.Habakkuk 7.Ezekiel 8.Daniel 9.Obadiah 10.Hagai 11.Zecharai 12.Malachi.

This is the order of books in the KJV:

2.Isaiah, 5.Jeremiah, 7.Ezekiel, 8.Daniel, 8.Hosea, 1.Joel, 7.Amos, 9.Obadiah, 6.Jonah, 3.Micah, 9.Nahum, 6.Habakuk, 4.Zephaniah, 10.Haggai, 11.Zechariah, 12.Malachi.

Have you got that?

We can follow chronology in the KJV from Genesis straight down to 2 Chronicles but then we get total timeline chaos. Here is the order of the books of the prophets to Israel and Judah and other books of collected writings following on from 2 Chronicles as they appear in the KJV:

2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalm, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, 2.Isaiah, 5.Jeremiah, Lamentations, 7.Ezekiel, 8.Daniel, 8.Hosea, 1.Joel, 7.Amos, 9.Obadiah, 6.Jonah, 3.Micah, 9.Nahum, 6.Habakuk, 4.Zephaniah, 10.Haggai, 11.Zechariah, 12.Malachi.

Folks, this is timeline madness and makes no sense at all. If you wanted to present things as clearly and concisely as possible would you do this? Or, would you just throw the books up in the air and when they landed all higgledy-piggledy present them like that? I realise that sometimes films and books do exactly that kind of thing, but take note it is usually for dramatic effect! So, why would the KJV do this? We aren’t talking about the latest New York Times bestselling work of fiction here. Or are we? Why didn’t the KJV just include a “Book of the Kitchen Sink“? The answer is to drive the story of the Israelites straight to Babylon so that ‘confusion of faces’ could occur as we saw in Part 6 of this series.

So, if we use Mike Taylor as our guide, the chronological timeline of the books of the prophets to Israel and Judah should run like this (please note the first five prophets to Israel have no books in their name):

1.Joel (835BC), 6.Jonah (796BC), 7.Amos + 8.Hosea (782BC), 2.Isaiah (767BC), 3.Micah (740BC) ASSYRIAN CAPTIVITY (722BC) 9.Nahum (642BC), 4.Zephaniah + 5.Jeremiah (640BC), 6.Habakkuk (609BC) BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY (586BC) 7.Ezekiel + 8.Daniel + 9.Obadiah (586BC-516BC), 10.Haggai + 11.Zechariah (520BC), 12.Malachi (433BC). 

So, what about the books of writing Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalm, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Lamentations?

These are the rough working dates for the various books of writing found: Psalm 1000BC, Song of Solomon & Proverbs 935BC, Lamentations 640BC, Job 600BC, Esther 486-465BC, Nehemiah 465-424BC, Ezra 458-440BC, and Ecclesiastes 450-200BC. (If you have more accurate dates please do not hesitate to provide them in the comments below).

Thus, if we interleave chronologically the books of writing and the books of the prophets to Israel and Judah following 2 Chronicles, they should appear like this:

Psalm (1000BC), Song of Solomon, Proverbs (950BC), 1.Joel (835BC), 6.Jonah (796BC), 7.Amos + 8.Hosea (782BC), 2.Isaiah (767BC), 3.Micah (740BC) ASSYRIAN CAPTIVITY (722BC) 9.Nahum (642BC), 4.Zephaniah + 5.Jeremiah (640BC), Lamentations (640BC), 6.Habakkuk (609BC), Job (600BC) BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY (586BC) 7.Ezekiel + 8.Daniel + 9.Obadiah (586BC-516BC), 10.Haggai + 11.Zechariah (520BC), Esther, Nehemiah, Ezra (486-424BC), 12.Malachi (433BC), Ecclesiastes (450-200BC).

Once again here is the chronological mishmash of the KJV:

Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah (486-424BC), Job (600BC), Psalm (1000BC), Proverbs (935BC), Ecclesiastes (450-200BC), Song of Solomon (935BC), 2.Isaiah (767BC), 5.Jeremiah (640BC), Lamentations (640BC), 7.Ezekiel + 8.Daniel (592BC), 8.Hosea (782BC), 1.Joel (835BC), 7.Amos (782BC), 9.Obadiah (587BC), 6.Jonah (796BC), 3.Micah (740BC), 9.Nahum (642BC), 6.Habakuk (609BC), 4.Zephaniah (520BC), 10.Haggai + 11.Zechariah (520BC), 12.Malachi (433BC).

So, if we look at the order of books in the KJV we follow timeline chronology from Genesis through to 2 Chronicles and then suddenly we observe the various books of the Bible appear as if they were shot out of a cannon! (Hmmm, cannon eh?) We jump forward and back through a chronologically scattered presentation of books of writings followed by a chronologically scrambled mess of books of prophets to Israel and Judah. “What’s wrong with that?” you ask. Well, even if one were to argue the books of writing should flow on from Chronicles before getting to a final section devoted to the books of the prophets, the books are still chronologically scattered. (Editor’s note: the prophetic books should come before the books of writing.) Yet, there is a bigger problem. As we have already seen, there are only two mentions of ‘Jews’ from Genesis through to 2 Chronicles (2Kings 18 circa 700BC), yet, the books Esther, Nehemiah and Ezra are choking with mentions of ‘Jews’. Why the sudden explosion of mentions of ‘Jews’? To put this in perspective let’s just break that down now shall we?

The whole book of Isaiah, all 66 chapters of it contains only 2 uses of ‘Jews’ that we have actually already seen in the book of 2Kings in Part 1 of this series:

“Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.” Isaiah 36:11 KJV

“Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.” Isaiah 36:13 KJV

There are zero mentions of ‘Jews’ in Ezekiel, Obadiah, Haggai, Nahum, Joel, Micah, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Malachi and Hosea. Zero mentions! There are zero mentions of ‘Jews’ through chapter after chapter after chapter of thirteen prophetic books of God talking through His prophets about His people the children of Israel and Judah. There are seven mentions of ‘Jews’ in Jeremiah and three mentions of ‘Jews’ in Daniel, and we’ve already unravelled the bulk of those. Finally there are fifty, nine and eight mentions of ‘Jews’ in Esther, Nehemiah and Ezra respectively and one last mention of ‘Jews’ in the book of Zechariah. Given what we have now begun to establish, how many of these uses are even accurate at any rate because they should be ‘Israelite’, ‘Judahite’ or ‘Judean’?

Here is the chronological order of books with the number of mentions of ‘Jews’ in parentheses (J=#):

Joel (835BC)(J=0), Jonah (796BC)(J=0), Amos + Hosea (782BC)(J=0), Isaiah (767BC)(J=2*), Micah (740BC)(J=0) ASSYRIAN CAPTIVITY (723BC) Nahum (642BC)(J=0), Zephaniah (J=0) + Jeremiah (640BC)(J=7), Habakkuk (609BC)(J=0), Ezekiel (J=0) + Daniel (592BC)(J=3), Obadiah (587BC)(J=0) BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY (586BC) Haggai (J=0) + Zechariah (520BC)(J=1), Esther (J=50) + Nehemiah (J=9) + Ezra (486-424BC)(J=8), 12.Malachi (433BC)(J=0).

(*Both mentions of Jews are those listed in 2Kings 18).

Ladies and gentlemen, ‘Jews’ aren’t the focus of the Old Testament and don’t even get a mention until roughly 720BC. There are then 10 mentions pre-Babylon. Post Babylon there are 67 mentions of ‘Jews’ in only three books! The one book overflowing with 50 mentions of ‘Jews’ is likely to be a work of fiction intended to serve as an aetiology for  Purim:

“There is no reference to known historical events in the story; the narrative of Esther was invented to provide an aetiology for Purim, and the name Ahasuerus is usually understood to refer to a fictionalized Xerxes I, who ruled the Achaemenid Empire between 486 and 465 BCE.”

Suddenly, Israelites become ‘Jews’? Suddenly Moses (a Hebrew speaking Chaldean), is now by implication a ‘Jew’? To this day we have ‘Jews’ claiming Ezra as the father of Judaism. This claim probably has technical merit, at least of a sort. Though Ezra was not a Jew, he did nonetheless put everything back together again in terms of clarifying the Mosaic Law and ceremonies, which the Jews have henceforth been determined are theirs. If you recall way back in Part 1 of this series “The Salary Men of Fake Jews”, the question was asked from whence does the name ‘Jews’ derive? Well, it probably did not derive from the fertile mind of Ezra.

“From where then?” you ask.

Well, how about the ‘Jews’ themselves?

So far in this series all we have uncovered regarding the KJV is gross inerrancy and outright fraud. I’d like to suggest however, that we not just pick on the KJV, because all versions of the Holy Bible translated into English suffer the same basic nonsensical timeline and this must be down to something not just random coincidence. We were indeed warned about the ravening wolves in their pulpits. With all versions of the Holy Bible translated into English suffering the same chronological incoherence, this can only mean one thing: all official ‘Christian’ churches have ultimately been corrupted from the get-go, working from corrupt scriptures and serving their own interests and not those of Christ.

“Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”  Matthew 6:2 KJV (underline mine)

So, just for a bit of fun here is a chronology corrected layout of scripture in three parts:

Part 1: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles.

Part 2: Joel, Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Ezekiel, Daniel, Obadiah, Hagai, Zechariah, Malachi.

Part 3: The Book of Jasher, Psalm, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Lamentations, Job, Esther, Nehemiah, Ezra, Ecclesiastes.

Now that we’ve got that sorted, how about a refreshing glass of water and a stretch of the legs?

PART 2 – Esther, Ezra & Nehemiah

Just to recap from Part 1 of this post, let’s recall the sudden explosion of mentions of ‘Jews’ in these three books; 67 mentions, 8 in Ezra, 9 in Nehemiah and 50 in Esther a book likely to be work of fiction. Here is a note on Ezra (the author of the book that bears his name and the book of Esther):

“His work helped make Judaism a religion in which law was central, enabling the Jews to survive as a community when they were dispersed all over the world. Since his efforts did much to give Jewish religion the form that was to characterize it for centuries after, Ezra has with some justice been called the father of Judaism; i.e., the specific form the Jewish religion took after the Babylonian Exile.”

Ezra is claimed as a ‘Jew’ and even as the father of Judaism. However ol’ Ez was not a ‘Jew’ at all, nor was he a prophet but a scribe of the Levitical priesthood and his Israelite lineage is traced back to Aaron in Ezra 7. In due course, Ezra the scribe departs Babylon for Jerusalem:

“This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.” Ezra 7:6 KJV

“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” Ezra 7:10 KJV

What did Ezra find when he arrived there?

“Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.”  Ezra 9:1 KJV 

First off he finds “the people of Israel” not ‘Jews’. Second, the people of Israel are messing it up good and proper! Folks, this is pretty meaty stuff here, because it is telling us that cries of racial purity are a distraction. By the time of Christ, the land of Judea is very thin on true Israelites, hence this statement:

“Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” John 1:47 KJV

The Book of Ezra records quite clearly the return of legitimate Israel to Jerusalem in Chapters 2 & 8; they are nowhere to be found listed as ‘Jews’. Period. Let’s also note that the first three chapters of Ezra do not include any mention of ‘Jews’, which is most interesting because there are some crucial verses where one would think ‘Jews’ should indeed be mentioned if they were in fact “God’s chosen people”:

“Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.” Ezra 1:5 KJV

“And these were they which went up from Telmelah, Telharsa, Cherub, Addan, and Immer: but they could not shew their father’s house, and their seed, whether they were of Israel:” Ezra 2:59 KJV

“Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites.” Ezra 3:9 KJV

As regards the eight mentions of ‘Jews’ in the Book of Ezra I have listed them below including in parenthesis following what should have been written:

“Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations.” Ezra 4:12 KJV (Judeans/Israelites)

“Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.” Ezra 4:23 KJV (Judeans/Israelites)

“Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.” Ezra 5:1 KJV (Judeans/Israelites)

“But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter.” Ezra 5:5 KJV (Judeans/Israelites)

“Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place.” Ezra 6:7 KJV (Judeans/Israelites)

“Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king’s goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered.” Ezra 6:8 KJV (Judeans/Israelites)

“And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.” Ezra 6:14 KJV (Judeans/Israelites)

Folks, can you say ‘confusion of faces’?

Did Ezra really create a formal religion in which Law was central (understood as Judaism today), that the Israelites embraced? With all we have seen it looks more the case that while he may have tried his best to summate and make coherent all that the Israelites had lost and wandered away from, he had middling success at best in getting backsliding Israel to pay attention. This would of course explain the hard legalist priesthood that was well infiltrated by Canaanites at time of Christ; that the Canaanites would embrace strict legalism is of course their claim to legitimacy.

Moving on, the Book of Esther occurs well after Babylonian exile and 30 odd years after the subsequent return of legitimate Israel to Jerusalem. Mordecai, a character in the book is listed as a ‘Jew’ but his lineage clearly shows he is descended of Benjamin, Jacob/Israel’s last son; Mordecai is not a ‘Jew’ he is an Israelite. As we have already observed “the narrative of Esther was invented to provide an aetiology for Purim”, there is no point dwelling on this book’s contents other than to note that Jews today still seem to consider it a book of some considerable importance. Indeed. (Is that because Purim is actually important to them or, that it is a useful tool they use to dupe countless Christians, or both?). Finally, let’s note the 50 mentions of ‘Jews’ in the book of Esther are the lion’s share of the 82 mentions in the entire Old Testament. 

So, turning finally to the book of Nehemiah what can we find therein? Nehemiah was not a prophet but a governor of Persian Judea and this book describes his return to Jerusalem and supervision of rebuilding the second temple mid fifth century.

Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. He was governor of Persian Judea under Artaxerxes I of Persia (465–424 BC).^[1][2] The name is pronounced /ˌniːəˈmaɪə/ or /ˌniːhəˈmaɪə/ in English. It is in Hebrew נְחֶמְיָה‎, Nəḥemyāh, “Yahcomforts”.^[1]

Given the ‘confusion of faces’ discovered in Part 6 of this series, I decided to turn once again to the Septuagint for some perspective on the issue:

“That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.” Nehemiah 1:2 KJV

And Anani, one of my brethren, came, he and [some] men of Juda; and I asked them concerning those that had escaped, who had been left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. Nehemiah 1:2 Septuagint

Folks, you can see for yourself with this verse I don’t actually need to suggest what should be written as it looks as if the KJV just added “the Jews” right in! It’s off to the penalty box for the KJV once again – 2 minutes for tripping! Straight up the KJV is throwing a red herring, which, begins once again the confusing of what is actually going on in Nehemiah i.e. who is being spoken of ‘Jews’ or ‘Israelites’/’Judeans’? Well, doesn’t that just make so much sense? The KJV rendering of Nehemiah always left me feeling like I’d read a bit of rubble; a confusing and garbled mess that seemed more like tattered ideas than a coherent recollection; literary rubble that is a metaphor for the destroyed temple itself. It now appears that was always a most logical natural reaction to have had because the KJV translation basically seems up to playing silly buggers not just with the word ‘Jew’ but the contents generally of what is actually a most critical book! So, dear readers please do take the time to read this Septuagint version of the Book of Nehemiah because the clarity of the situation is much improved. However, let’s note that this Septuagint version is a different version from the other cited in Part 6 of this series, as the team that has been working on those translations has not yet produced a version of Nehemiah, and we’ll have to take what we can get from a different translation team. This version while much improved upon the KJV still has its fair share of misuse of the word ‘Jew’. For example:

“And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.” Nehemiah 2:16 KJV

“And the sentinels knew not why I went, nor what I was doing; and until that time I told [it] not to the Jews, or to the priests, or to the nobles, or to the captains, or to the rest [of the men] who wrought the works. Then I said to them, Ye see this evil, in which we are, how Jerusalem is desolate, and her gates have been set on fire: come, and let us build throughout the wall of Jerusalem, and we shall be no longer a reproach.” Nehemiah 2:16,17 Septuagint

Here we have ‘Jews’ and this raises a question as to why? In verse 17, Nehemiah is speaking to these people as “we” and “let us” so he must be speaking with Israelites proper. ‘Judeans’ is what we should have here. There is not much else to be gained from further detailed analysis of the Septuagint elsewhere; we can simply understand all uses of the word ‘Jew’ should be ‘Judean’. However, the following verse is interesting to note as it corroborates what we have seen in Ezra:

“In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab:” Nehemiah 13:23 KJV 

“And in those days I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, of Ammon, [and] of Moab: and their children spoke half in the language of Ashdod, and did not know how to speak in the Jewish language. And I strove with them and cursed them; and I smote some of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, [saying,] Ye shall not give your daughters to their sons, and ye shall not take of their daughters to your sons.” Nehemiah 13:23-25 Septuagint

Again, ‘Judeans’ and ‘Judean’ language should be understood as opposed to ‘Jews’ and ‘Jewish’ language. So, please notice the backsliding Israelite/Judeans getting into race mixing with the Canaanites! What was it with those Canaanites that was soooo compelling to the Israelites to wander off and get down with them? Not much has changed among the political class now has it?

Okay ladies and gentlemen, perhaps now would be the time for a wee tea break?

Part 3: Final Observations & Conclusions

With all we have been through in this series so far, it’s time to put what we can into focus. We’ve seen bogus ideas about ‘Jews’ being of Esau. We’ve discovered the legitimate word for those of Judah is actually ‘Judahite’. We’ve learned of Judah’s bedroom antics and the complications thereof. We’ve blown the lid on the ‘Jews’ and ‘Gentiles’ fiction. We’ve learned of the incest of Ham and his mother and the origin of the cursed Canaanites. We’ve seen the Wikipedia admission that ‘Jews’ emerge as an outgrowth of southern Canaanites. We’ve had a detailed look at potential plots and intrigues in the land of Canaan that became the Kingdom of Judah and the various people therein. We’ve seen outright KJV rubbish in Jeremiah 44:1. We’ve seen the claim of Christ’s accusers that they are Abraham’s seed and yet never in bondage to any man at all. We’ve unravelled the ‘Confusion of Faces’ in Daniel and noted how it has been carried on in Esther, Ezra and Nehemiah.

All of this has brought me to asking what is perhaps the now obvious question: were ‘Judeans’ actually ever known as ‘Jews’? While poking around trying to find an answer to that question I found something yet again in Kosherworld that was most interesting indeed:

Jews originated as an ethnic and religious group in the Middle East during the second millennium BCE,^[9] in the part of the Levant known as the Land of Israel.^[22] The Merneptah Stele appears to confirm the existence of a people of Israel somewhere in Canaan as far back as the 13th century BCE (Late Bronze Age).^[23][24] The Israelites, as an outgrowth of the Canaanite population,^[25] consolidated their hold with the emergence of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Some consider that these Canaanite sedentary Israelites melded with incoming nomadic groups known as ‘Hebrews’.^[26]

Here once more the ‘Jews’ are noted as being an outgrowth of the Canaanite population but are indicated as being Israelites – cheeky! Folks, you can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig; you can declare what you like but it doesn’t change the fact that Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan and was commanded by God to slaughter up the Canaanites. I guess we now know why ‘Jews’ don’t read Joshua!

So, ladies and gentlemen we now get to the big question: are there any legitimate uses of ‘Jew’ in the Old Testament at all?

To answer that question it seemed obvious that the first thing to do was see what the Septuagint had to say on the matter and for that we would need look no further than the very first mention of ‘Jews’ in the Septuagint book of 2Kings/4Reigns:

So, there it is folks, you can see for yourself what it says. You will find the other mentions of ‘Jews’ in 2Kings KJV are similarly erroneous: