2 Corinthians 11:22
New International Version
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I.

New Living Translation
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

English Standard Version
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.

Berean Standard Bible
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

Berean Literal Bible
Are they Hebrews? I also. Are they Israelites? I also. Are they descendants of Abraham? I also.

King James Bible
Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.

New King James Version
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.

New American Standard Bible
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

NASB 1995
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

NASB 1977
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

Legacy Standard Bible
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s seed? So am I.

Amplified Bible
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

Christian Standard Bible
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the descendants of Abraham? So am I.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.

American Standard Version
Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.

Contemporary English Version
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Jews? So am I. Are they from the family of Abraham? Well, so am I.

English Revised Version
Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I.

Good News Translation
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I.

International Standard Version
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelis? So am I. Are they among Abraham's descendants? So am I.

Majority Standard Bible
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

NET Bible
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

New Heart English Bible
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

Webster's Bible Translation
Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the offspring of Abraham? so am I.

Weymouth New Testament
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

World English Bible
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the offspring of Abraham? So am I.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Are they Hebrews? I also! Are they Israelites? I also! Are they seed of Abraham? I also!

Berean Literal Bible
Are they Hebrews? I also. Are they Israelites? I also. Are they descendants of Abraham? I also.

Young's Literal Translation
Hebrews are they? I also! Israelites are they? I also! seed of Abraham are they? I also!

Smith's Literal Translation
Are they Hebrews? I also. Are they Israelites? I also. Are they Abraham's seed? I also.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
They are Hebrews: so am I. They are Israelites: so am I. They are the seed of Abraham: so am I.

Catholic Public Domain Version
They are Hebrews; so am I. They are Israelites; so am I. They are the offspring of Abraham; so am I.

New American Bible
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

New Revised Standard Version
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Now if they are Hebrews, so am I. If they are Israelites, so am I. If they are descendants of Abraham, so am I.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
If they are Hebrews, I am also; if they are Israelites, I am also; if they are the seed of Abraham, I am also.
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they of the posterity of Abraham? So am I.

Godbey New Testament
Are they Hebrews? I am also. Are they Israelites? I am also. Are they the seed of Abraham? I am also.

Haweis New Testament
Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.

Mace New Testament
Are they Hebrews? so am I: are they Israelites? so am I: are they of the race of Abraham?

Weymouth New Testament
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

Worrell New Testament
Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they Abraham's seed? so am I.

Worsley New Testament
Are they Hebrews? so am I: are they Israelites? so am I: are they the seed of Abraham?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Paul's Suffering and Service
21To my shame I concede that we were too weak for that! Speaking as a fool, however, I can match what anyone else dares to boast about. 22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. 23Are they servants of Christ? I am speaking like I am out of my mind, but I am so much more: in harder labor, in more imprisonments, in worse beatings, in frequent danger of death.…

Cross References
Philippians 3:5
circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;

Romans 11:1
I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

Acts 22:3
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

Galatians 1:14
I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

Romans 9:4-5
the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises. / Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them proceeds the human descent of Christ, who is God over all, forever worthy of praise! Amen.

Genesis 12:1-3
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. / I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. / I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 17:7-8
I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. / And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”

Deuteronomy 7:6
For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of the earth.

Exodus 19:5-6
Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine. / And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.”

Isaiah 41:8-9
“But you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend— / I brought you from the ends of the earth and called you from its farthest corners. I said, ‘You are My servant.’ I have chosen and not rejected you.

Jeremiah 31:31-34
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. / It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. / “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. ...

Acts 26:4-5
Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from my earliest childhood among my own people, and also in Jerusalem. / They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.

Galatians 3:16
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.

Genesis 28:13-14
And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie. / Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.

Genesis 32:28
Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”


Treasury of Scripture

Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.

Hebrews.

Exodus 3:18
And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.

Exodus 5:3
And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.

Exodus 7:16
And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.

the seed.

Genesis 17:8,9
And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God…

2 Chronicles 20:7
Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?

Matthew 3:9
And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

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2 Corinthians 11
1. Out of his jealousy over the Corinthians, he enters into a forced commendation of himself,
5. of his equality with the chief apostles,
7. of his preaching the gospel to them freely, and without any charge to them;
13. showing that he was not inferior to those deceitful workers in any legal prerogative;
23. and in the service of Christ, and in all kinds of sufferings for his ministry, far superior.














Are they Hebrews?
In this phrase, Paul begins by questioning the ethnic and religious identity of his opponents. The term "Hebrews" refers to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, emphasizing their connection to the covenant promises given to the patriarchs. In the Greek, "Hebraioi" underscores a cultural and religious heritage that was deeply rooted in the Jewish tradition. Paul is asserting his own credentials as a true Israelite, countering any claims that his opponents might have to superior Jewish lineage or understanding. Historically, being a Hebrew was not just about ethnicity but also about being part of God's chosen people, entrusted with the Law and the promises.

So am I
Paul affirms his own identity as a Hebrew, placing himself on equal footing with his critics. This declaration is not just about ethnic identity but also about his deep connection to the Jewish faith and traditions. Paul, originally Saul of Tarsus, was a Pharisee and well-versed in the Law, which he often references in his letters. His assertion here is a reminder that his apostolic authority and understanding of the Gospel are deeply rooted in his Jewish heritage, which he now sees fulfilled in Christ.

Are they Israelites?
The term "Israelites" refers to the people of Israel, the nation chosen by God to be His special possession. In the Greek, "Israelitai" emphasizes the covenant relationship between God and the descendants of Jacob, who was renamed Israel. This identity is not just about lineage but about being part of the community that received God's Law, the prophets, and the promises. Paul is challenging his opponents by highlighting that he, too, is an Israelite, fully part of the covenant community.

So am I
Again, Paul asserts his identity as an Israelite, reinforcing his connection to the covenant promises and the people of God. This repetition serves to strengthen his argument that he is not inferior to those who are challenging his authority. Paul’s life and ministry are deeply intertwined with the history and promises of Israel, which he now sees as fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Are they descendants of Abraham?
The phrase "descendants of Abraham" highlights the physical and spiritual lineage from the patriarch Abraham, to whom God made significant promises regarding his offspring and their role in blessing the nations. In the Greek, "sperma Abraam" refers to the seed or offspring of Abraham, emphasizing both physical descent and the spiritual inheritance of the promises. Paul is addressing those who might claim superiority based on their direct lineage from Abraham, a common point of pride among Jews of the time.

So am I
Paul concludes this series of rhetorical questions by affirming his own descent from Abraham. This is significant because it ties him to the foundational promises of God to Abraham, which are central to Jewish identity and faith. Paul’s claim here is not just about physical descent but also about his participation in the spiritual promises given to Abraham, which he argues are ultimately realized in Christ. This assertion is a powerful reminder that Paul’s authority and message are deeply rooted in the very foundations of the Jewish faith.

(22) Are they Hebrews?--This, then, was one of their boasts. They were Jews of Palestine, speaking Aramaic, reading the Law and Prophets in the original. He, they asserted, or implied, was a Hellenistic Jew (his birth at Tarsus naturally suggesting that thought), content to use the Greek version of the LXX., over which many of the more exclusive Hebrews mourned on an annual fast-day as a national degradation. St. Paul's answer is, that he too was a Hebrew; or, as he puts it in Philippians 3:5, "a Hebrew born of Hebrews." What he means is obviously that his parents were Jews of Palestine, and that the accident of his birth in Tarsus had not annulled his claim to that nationality. As a matter of fact it made him able to unite things that were commonly looked on as incompatible, and to be both a Hebrew and a Hellenist.

Are they Israelites? . . .--The words imply another insinuation. They whispered doubts whether he had any right to call himself an Israelite at all. Had he a drop of Abraham's blood flowing in his veins? Might he not, after all, be but the grandson of a proselyte, upon whom there rested the stigma which, according to a Jewish proverb, was not effaced till the twenty-fourth generation? Did not this account for his heathen sympathies? Strange as the thought may seem to us, the calumny survived, and the later Ebionites asserted (Epiphanius, Haer. xxx. 16) that he was a Gentile by birth, who had only accepted circumcision that he might marry the high priest's daughter. The kind of climax which the verse presents points not only to three claims to honour on their part, for in that case the first would include both the second and the third, and the climax would have little meaning, but to successive denials that he possessed any of the three. Jerome, strangely enough (Cat. Vir. Illust. c. 5), asserts that St. Paul was a Galilean, born at Gischala; but this, though it may possibly point to a tradition as to the home of his parents, can hardly be allowed to outweigh his own positive statement (Acts 22:3).

Verse 22. - Hebrews. In the strictest sense those who still understood and spoke Aramaic, not Hellenists of the dispersion, who no longer knew the sacred language. (For the use of the word, see Acts 6:1; Philippians 3:4.) Israelites. Jews, not only by nation, but in heart and feeling (see John 1:48; Acts 2:22, etc.; Romans 9:4; Romans 11:1). The seed of Abraham. Alike literally and spiritually (see John 8:33-53; Romans 9:7; Romans 11:1). It may seem strange that St. Paul should have found it necessary to make this statement; but his Tarsian birth and Roman franchise may have led to whispered innuendoes which took form long afterwards in the wild calumny that he was a Gentile who had only got himself circumcised in order that he might marry the high priest's daughter (Epiphan., 'Haer.,' 30:16).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Are they
εἰσιν (eisin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

Hebrews?
Ἑβραῖοί (Hebraioi)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 1445: A Hebrew, particularly one who speaks Hebrew (Aramaic). From Eber; a Hebrew or Jew.

So am I.
κἀγώ (kagō)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2504: To also, I too, but I. From kai and ego; so also the dative case kamoi, and accusative case kame and I, me.

Are they
εἰσιν (eisin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

Israelites?
Ἰσραηλῖταί (Israēlitai)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 2475: An Israelite, one of the chosen people of Israel, a Jew. From Israel; an 'Israelite', i.e. Descendant of Israel.

So am I.
κἀγώ (kagō)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2504: To also, I too, but I. From kai and ego; so also the dative case kamoi, and accusative case kame and I, me.

Are they
εἰσιν (eisin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

descendants
σπέρμα (sperma)
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4690: From speiro; something sown, i.e. Seed; by implication, offspring; specially, a remnant.

of Abraham?
Ἀβραάμ (Abraam)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 11: Abraham, progenitor of the Hebrew race. Of Hebrew origin; Abraham, the Hebrew patriarch.

So am I.
κἀγώ (kagō)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2504: To also, I too, but I. From kai and ego; so also the dative case kamoi, and accusative case kame and I, me.


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NT Letters: 2 Corinthians 11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I (2 Cor. 2C iiC 2Cor ii cor iicor)
2 Corinthians 11:21
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