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We Are Not "Two House"

What is "Two House" Doctrine?

There is a modern Christian sect (with a very few Jewish members) called the Ephraimites who focus their theology on what is called "Two House" Doctrine.

This doctrine teaches that all follwers of Yeshua have Jewish lineage, whether they know it or not. It claims that all modern Jews are descended from the kingdom of Judah, and all modern Christians are descended from the kingdom of Israel (also called Ephraim in scripture).

Clearly there are some followers of Yeshua who have Jewish lineage and are not aware of it. But to claim this is always true, and to blow it out of proportion as a focus of your theology, is contrary to both history and what the apostles taught.

Have them stop devoting their attention to myths and never-ending genealogies, for these divert people into speculating instead of doing God's work, which requires faith. -First Timothy 1:4
But shun foolish controversies, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about Torah, for these are unprofitable and futile. -Titus 3:9

Most "Two House" organizations are associated with the Messianic Israel Alliance, at least here in Oregon. The MIA is very polite about not calling itself Messianic Jewish and about being upfront with their beliefs. We wish these groups well, are appreciative of their support for Israel and the Jewish people, and plan to enjoy their company in the World to Come. Meanwhile, their lack of Jewish participation, identity and culture makes them incompatible with the Messianic Jewish calling to live as a Jewish community revived and transformed through Messiah Yeshua, so we rarely cooperate or worship together.

Historical Introduction

The ancient Israelites split into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah before the exiles to Assyria and Babylon. In the writings of the Prophets these two kingdoms of Israel and Judah are often compared or contrasted. An example is the first such verse, Isaiah 11:12.

He will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Before the split into the northern and southern kingdom, the word "Israel" always referred to all the descendants of Jacob. In post-exilic Jewish writings, the term "Judah" (or its derivative "Jew") can apply to any descendant of Jacob; for example, in Tobit a "Jew" is someone from any tribe. But during the time of the two kingdoms there is a difference between Israel and Judah.

Since the prophets oftem speak of Israel and Judah distinctly, people wonder if this distinction will be prophetically significant in the future. The answer is "no", for several reasons.

Ahistorical Claims

An accurate knowledge of history debunks the claims made by most people who attempt to distinguish Judah, Israel, and/or Ephraim in the writings of the Prophets.

Gentiles in Israel?

It is sometimes claimed that God promised the patriarchs that Israel would include Gentiles. This is not true. Paul certainly explains that Gentile believers are counted as descendants of Abraham. But this does not mean they are counted as descendants of Jacob.

The phrases translated "multitude of peoples" and "multitude of nations" in Genesis 17:5, 28:3, 35:11, 48:4, and 48:19 can also be translated "multitude of people-groups" or "multitude of kinship groups". The twelve tribes fulfill all these promises. The children of Jacob did become a multitude of kinship groups. And, as foretold in Genesis 48:19, the name "Ephraim" becomes synonymous with ten tribes, yet the name "Menasseh" never represents more than one tribe. There is no need to interpret any of these verses as saying that any Gentiles would be counted among Jacob's descendants.

People unfamiliar with Biblical Hebrew sometimes claim that goy means "Gentile", but it does not. Both am and goy mean "people-group" or "kinship-group". Am emphasizes the family, goy emphasizes the community. The term goy applies to the Jewish people in Genesis 12:2, Jeremiah 31:36, and many other verses.

Distinct Bloodlines?

It is sometimes claimed that Israel and Judah kept distinct bloodlines. This is not true. The tribes mingled, starting after the time of the judges.

Historical evidence shows that the Torah's laws about land use ownership were not followed strictly, and the tribes mingled in marriage and had shifting geographical borders. For example, a comparison of Numbers 26:35-51 and 1st Chronicles 7:20-27 shows that Ephraim mingled with Asher, Benjamin, and Judah. As another example, the tribe of Ephraim moved into the territories originally belonging to Dan and Benjamin as these neighbors moved north (Dan) or shrunk (Benjamin). This does not mean people lost track of their genealogy (i.e., in Luke 2:36 Anna knew she was of the tribe of Asher), but does mean that the tribes mingled.

Even after the split into two kingdoms, intermingling happened (2nd Chronicles 10:16-17, 11:16, 15:9, 31:5-8). The two kingdoms also had times of cooperating in worship (2nd Chronicles 30:25, 31:1-6), even though at other times they were in opposition.

Isaiah is blunt in his claim that it is still appropriate to call the southern kingdom by the name of Israel, in verse 48:1

Hear you this, house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel...

Sometimes Isaiah 49:21 is used to claim that the tribes of the northern kingdom lost track of their genealogies. But that verse is about seeing children wondrously, not losing knowledge of your own lineage.

A Missing Northern Kingdom?

It is sometimes claimed that the northern kingdom became lost among the Gentile nations after it went into exile. This is not true. By the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, the Babylonian Empire had already swallowed up Assyria and its captive nations. People from both the northern and southern kingdoms returned from exile. (And Jews from both kingdoms remained living among the Gentiles, as anyone who has studied Talmud knows.)

Thus Jeremiah refers to the returning exiles as both "Jacob" and "Israel" (30:10), and reports that the northern kingdom has repented, is grieving, and will be shown mercy (31:17-20). Ezra (2:70) and Nehemiah (12:47) both say that "all Israel" has returned from exile. Ezra 6:21 repeats that claim in less exaggerated language ("Israel", not "all Israel"), as does Zechariah 8:13-23, which mentions both Israel and Judah having returned. (Overall, in Ezra and Nehemiah, people returning from exile are referred to as both Israel and Judah � more than 30 times with each label.)

Thus Daniel and Nehemiah pray for all the people as "Israel" (Daniel 9:11, Nehemiah 1:6). The split between kingdoms did not negate the fact that all had Jacob as their ancestor, and all saw themselves as one people-group before, during, and after the Babylonian exile.

The Apostolic Writings affirm that the ten tribes of the northern kingdom were not lost or left in exile. Both Paul and James address the people of all twelve tribes (Acts 26:7, James 1:1). The book of Acts mentions a unity of Jews despite geographic dispersion (Acts 2:5) and says that "the children of Israel", "all the house of Israel" or "all the people of Israel" are able hear the words of a speaker (directly, as in Acts 9:15 and 13:24, or second-hand, as in Acts 2:36 and 4:10).

The verses used to claim that the northern kingdom lost its identity are also misread. Hosea 1:9 does not say Israel will cease to be a recognizable people-group, nor is the declaration "not my people" long-lasting in light of Hosea 14. Jeremiah 3:6-8 should not be used to argue that the northern kingdom was "more divorced" by God than the southern kingdom: it uses a "bill of divorce" as a synonym for exile, and verses 9-11 threaten the same and worse for the southern kingdom.

Unscriptural Language

The Apostolic Writings contian other language opposing the Two House Doctrine, and nothing supporting it.

In all of the Apostolic Writings, the term "Judah" is only used to refer to that specific tribe, never to all the descendants of Jacob. A mention of both Israel and Judah never appears except when Hebrews 8:8 quotes Jeremiah 31:30-33(31-34). The word "Ephraim" (or its derivates) does not ever appear to name a tribe or people-group.

In the synoptic gospels "Israel" is the term normally used to refer to the descendants of Jacob; the terms "Jew" and "Jews" are used almost exclusively by non-Israelites; the term "Judah" is only used to refer to that particular tribe. (If David Stern is correct in concluding that John's gospel normally uses Ioudaios to mean "Judeans" in contrast to "Gallileans", then this is also true for that gospel.) For example, Yeshua uses "Israel" when putting forth a contrast with Gentiles in Matthew 10:5-6.

Paul almost always uses "Jews" in contrast to "Gentiles" or "Greeks". He uses "Israel" most pointedly in Romans 9:6-8, when he contrasts the believers who are the current faithful remnant with the unfaithful majority of the descendants of Jacob who have forfeited being "children of the promise". But often Paul uses "Jews" and "Israel" interchangeably.

Linguistic Confusion

Note how the Hebrew language uses an identical grammatical structure to equate and contrast ideas. Consider Deuteronomy 32:30 and Habbakuk 1:2.

How should one chase a thousand, two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, Adonai had delivered them up?
Adonai, how long will I cry, and you will not hear? I cry out to you "Violence!" and will you not save?

In these verses the parallelism is clear. The "rock" is Adonai. The cry is about suffering violence, and so hearing the cry means saving the prophet.

Because of this grammatical feature of Hebrew, any argument contrasting Israel and Judah because of verses like Isaiah 11:12 must first prove that Israel and Judah are being contrasted instead of equated. This is a difficult claim to support.

Conclusion

Scripturally and historically there does not seem to be any distinction between "Israel" and "Judah" (or "Ephraim" and "Judah") after the Babylonian exile. We should be very wary of any theological statements that use such language in discussing the roles of Jewish and Gentile believers.

Sources: The Ephraimite Error, a position paper submitted to the IMJA by Kay Silberling and colleagues.