TO THE TWELVE TRIBES WHICH ARE SCATTERED ABROARD (James 1:1) - Part 2
These people were Jews by birth, belonging to the twelve tribes of Israel. Because of Israel's sin, the people had been driven from their native land and were now dispersed in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean. The original dispersion took place when the ten tribes were carried away into captivity by the Assyrians in ...721 B.C. Some of these returned to the land in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, but only a remnant. On the Day of Pentecost, devout Jews were visiting Jerusalem from every nation of the then-known world (Acts 2:4). These could properly be called Jews of the Dispersion.
A later dispersion of Christian Jews took place. In Acts 8:1 we read that the early Christians (mostly of Jewish ancestry) were scattered abroad throughout Judea and Samaria by the persecutions of Saul. This dispersion is referred to again where we read that believers were driven to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. The people to whom James wrote could have been Jews who had been dispersed in any one of these crisis times.
These people were Jews by birth, belonging to the twelve tribes of Israel. Because of Israel's sin, the people had been driven from their native land and were now dispersed in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean. The original dispersion took place when the ten tribes were carried away into captivity by the Assyrians in ...721 B.C. Some of these returned to the land in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, but only a remnant. On the Day of Pentecost, devout Jews were visiting Jerusalem from every nation of the then-known world (Acts 2:4). These could properly be called Jews of the Dispersion.
A later dispersion of Christian Jews took place. In Acts 8:1 we read that the early Christians (mostly of Jewish ancestry) were scattered abroad throughout Judea and Samaria by the persecutions of Saul. This dispersion is referred to again where we read that believers were driven to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. The people to whom James wrote could have been Jews who had been dispersed in any one of these crisis times.
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