Truth About the Races and

Interracial Marriage

By Frank Brown

This is a study that I believe is long overdue, and I predict right off that it will not be received well by some readers, but will be considered a blessing by some others. Often we let our prejudices and preconceived notions get in the way of real Scriptural understanding, and this is one of those subjects. However, Truth must out, even if it may seem like heresy to some. Read it, study it, pray about it, and search the Scriptures on the subject.

Let’s start in Genesis chapter 1. It explains “in the beginning,” including the creation (or re-creation) of the earth and all that is in it, including the creation of the first man and woman on the sixth day. Remember that the original Scriptures were not divided into books with chapters and verses. These were added much later. The proper stopping place for chapter one is actually at the end of chapter two, verse three. We are told        some very important things in these three verses that belong at the    end of chapter one.

First, note that at the end of the sixth day, “Elohim saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” (Gen 1:31).

Second, in chapter 2, verse 1, it says that “…the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” Everything that was made was made in these six days. His work was finished! I mention this because of some misguided individuals who believe in what they call an “eighth-day creation,” in which the events of chapter 2 are another, separate creation, in which Adam and Eve were created, while the creation in chapter 1, verses 26-28, was another couple, or some kind of humanoids, but NOT Adam and Eve. This is definitely a misinterpretation of Scripture. To believe that the events of chapter 2, verses 4 through 7 is another creation, is adding to the Scriptures and a denying of chapter 2, verse 1, quoted above, which plainly says the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

Third, no mention is made of the seventh day, the Sabbath, in chapter one. Thus, while the work was done, the week was not yet complete. (Genesis 2:2-3 KJV) And on the seventh day Elohim ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. "And Elohim blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which Elohim created and made."

Did He rest because He was tired? No. Scripture says, (Isa. 40:28 KJV)  "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting El, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding." Then why did He rest? To “sanctify” (make holy, or set-apart) this day, above all other days, for us. He set the example.

This word, “generations” is from the Hebrew “towledah,” and means “descent, family, history.”

So we see, then, that chapter two gives more details about the history of our descent, the beginning of the human race, and all the generations that have followed.

Was Adam truly the first man? The Apostle Paul said so. (1 Cor 15:45a KJV)  "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; This is from Gen. 2:7. Was Eve (Kavah) really the mother of us all? (Gen 3:20 KJV)  "And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living."(Kavah or Chavvah means “life-giver”).

If we are honest with ourselves and honestly believe the Scriptures, how can we not believe this? Either these verses are correct, or the whole of Scripture is suspect. Yah forbid!

Speaking from a scientific and biological standpoint, there is only one “race” of humans on earth, and that is Homo sapiens, and scientists do agree. Here is a quote from a scientist at the Advancement of Science Convention in Atlanta. He stated, ‘Race is a social construct derived mainly from perceptions conditioned by events of recorded history, and it has no basic biological reality.’ He went on to say, “Curiously enough, the idea comes very close to being of American manufacture.” (R. I. Hotz, “Race has no basis in biology, researchers say,” LA Times Article, Feb. 1997).

Darwinian evolution is a racist idea. Before evolutionary thinking became accepted by those who did not want to recognize an Intelligent Designer (the Biblical Creator), when people spoke of races, it was usually a reference to national origin, such as English, Chinese, German, etc. But these are not separate “races,” and neither are what are commonly called “races,” such as the white race, the black race, the reds and yellows and browns. These are really ethnic groups, all from the same “blood,” from two people, Adam and Eve; then through eight people, Noah and his wife, their three sons, and their wives.

(Acts 17:24-26 KJV)  "Yahweh, who made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; {25} Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; {26} And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;…"

Some individuals do not believe this. For example, they ask the question, “Where did Cain get his wife? Certainly he would not have married a sister!” So they think this proves that there were other people on the earth already. This is no proof at all. Marriage between close relatives was the only way that the human race could “be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth,” as Yahweh commanded in Genesis 1:28. Consider that the entire Torah had not yet been given to the people at that time, and this included the commandment forbidding close relatives from marrying. For proof, notice that the faithful Patriarch, Abraham, married his half-sister without condemnation. If this had been a law at that time, and Abraham had broken it, Yahweh could not have said this of him:

(Gen 26:5 KJV)  "Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

Later, when the Covenant was formalized and the Torah was given to Israel at Mount Sinai, the earth’s population had grown to the point that incestuous marriages were no longer necessary, so Yahweh forbad it from that point forward. Why? Well, another reason is that close relatives tend to have children with undesirable mutations and characteristics.

Some others believe that Cain was the product of a union between Eve and Satan – that her sin was having sex with Satan, instead of eating forbidden fruit. This not only denies Genesis 3:6, which says she ate fruit, and that her husband was with her, but also the plain language of Genesis 4:1. (KJV)  "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from Yahweh." “Knew” is an old-English euphemism for “had intercourse with.” To say that Satan fathered Cain is to deny this scripture, and also to deny the words of Yahshua in His discourse with the Sadducees:

(Mat 22:23-30 KJV)  "The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, {24} Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. {25} Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: {26} Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. {27} And last of all the woman died also. {28} Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. {29} Yahshua answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of Yahweh. {30} For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of Yahweh in heaven."

Since angels are spirit beings, and demons are fallen angels, it follows logically that, just as angels cannot engage in sexual activity, neither can demons, of which Satan is the chief. So, Satan could not have fathered Cain or anyone else in the physical sense. He is spoken of as having sons in the (carnal) spirit sense, as in John 8:44, “…Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do…” They were then, and are still today, following their spiritual “father,” Satan the devil, who is the adversary of all who try to live righteously.

Usually when the subject of “race” is brought up, it is either by blacks complaining about abuses by whites, or by whites complaining about the supposed degeneracy of the black “race.” They point to the curse of Canaan in Genesis, as “proof” that blacks are somehow inferior. But does the curse on one man actually apply forever to an entire ethnic group? I cannot find this in Scripture.

Some seem to manufacture ideas that tend to divide the different ethnic groups of people. One of these ideas going around now, being promoted by those who should know better, is that Adam was a black man, Eve was white, but Yahweh put within her the makings of the yellow and red “races.” Was Adam a black man? Where is the Scriptural proof for such a statement? Let’s examine his name, “Aw’dawm” in Hebrew.

119. 'adam, aw-dam'; to show blood in the face), i.e. flush or turn rosy:--be (dyed, made) red (ruddy). (Used 10 times in the old testament, translated “red” in 9 of them and “ruddy” in one.)

120. 'adam, aw-dawm'; from H119; ruddy, i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.):--X another, + hypocrite, + common sort, X low, man (mean, of low degree), person. (occurs 561 times in Scripture, and is generally translated “man.”)

127. 'adamah, ad-aw-maw'; from H119; soil (from its gen. redness):--country, earth, ground, husband [-man] (-ry), land. (Occurs 227 times and is generally translated “earth” or “ground”.)

Yahweh has a propensity for naming people, places and things, for a characteristic or what they are or were. For example, He was instrumental in naming Jacob (“Ya’aqob” in Hebrew), meaning “Heel catcher” or “Supplanter,” because he was holding on to Esau’s heel when he was born. He also supplanted Esau as the heir to the ‘firstborn’ blessings.

Nabal, Abigail’s husband was a churlish man, and was so named (1 Sam. 25:25).

Another example is our Savior’s own name, given him by a messenger from Yahweh to Joseph in a dream (Mat. 1:20-21), “Yahshua,” meaning “Yah’s Salvation.”

So, considering all these examples of usage, we must conclude that Adam was neither white (albino) nor black (ebony), but rather was of a reddish hue. Since he was made from soil, I would guess that he was made from red clay. Was Eve different? Not likely. But since they were the only two humans on the face of the earth at the time, they or at least she had the genetic ability to have offspring who did mutate. Thus, they, and their descendants did, over a period of some time, produce all the different ethnic groups that we see today, and erroneously call them “races.”

What is the real reason for so-called racism, racial slurs, racial differences, racial inferiorities or superiorities? One word – vanity. The white race tends to think of itself as somehow superior to all the other races. It is understandable that the other ethnic groups resent this. And it is abundantly evident that all of the different groups have equal abilities, intelligence, etc, and, when given the same educational and training opportunities, no differences can be ascertained. This has been demonstrated over and over again. Any discernible differences between individuals are the result of indifference, individual laziness, lack of incentive, or lack of opportunity to become educated on the part of the under-achiever, and not because of any ethnic differences in basic intelligence.

But, regardless of what we think, how does Yahweh feel about all this? As surprising as it may be to some, He says not a single word about what we think of as racial intermarriage. What we find in the Scriptures is a prohibition against marrying foreign wives or foreign husbands, NOT because of their race, but because of the well-founded danger that the foreign mate will seduce the other to follow their foreign, pagan “gods.” And this is what occurred, just about every time such a union was made.

Read  Deut. 7:3-4 KJV,  "Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of Yahweh be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly." See  the reason? Not because they were of a diverse “race,” but they were worshippers of pagan idols, and Yahweh knew they would corrupt the Israelites.

This happened to Solomon, the wisest man ever. His downfall was his propensity for foreign wives. He built houses of worship all over Jerusalem for them.

(1 Ki 11:4-8 KJV)  "For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other Elohim: and his heart was not perfect with Yahweh his Elohim, as was the heart of David his father. {5} For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. {6} And Solomon did evil in the sight of Yahweh, and went not fully after Yahweh, as did David his father. {7} Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. {8} And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their Elohim."

Plainly, it was not because of their “race,” but rather their religion. Yahweh knew full well that man did not have the heart to obey. Mankind had proven this down through the ages, time after time, even after Abraham and his descendants were called to be Yahweh’s own special people, examples to the nations, to show them the way.

But what about during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah? Read about this in Ezra 10. Study the entire chapter. Again we see that the stumbling block was their religion, not their race.

Now let’s consider a couple of other Scriptural instances that send the racists scrambling for answers, those of the Canaanitess, Rahab, and the Moabitess, Ruth. These are two notable exceptions where Israelite men took foreign wives without being corrupted by them. Let’s consider Rahab first. The two Israelite spies were sent to Jericho to spy out the land. They went to the home of what Scripture calls a prostitute, to lodge. Why would they go there? It makes more sense that Rahab was an inn-keeper, not a prostitute. Her home was on the wall, which would be a logical place for an inn, and likely near the city gate. At any rate, she had apparently been given a special revelation from Yahweh that the Israelites would soon conquer the land (Josh 2:9-11). In fact, the whole area had heard of Israel’s exploits since leaving Egypt, and fear had stricken every heart. They even knew His Name. So she, being a good-hearted woman, made a deal with them – their lives for hers and for her entire household, father, mother, brothers and sisters. So they did as she said. She became a follower of Yahweh.

Later, when Israel invaded the land, the promise was kept. And she, a Canaanitess, eventually married an Israelite named Salmon, and bore a son, Boaz, to him. Then, to make matters worse for the racists, including those who insist that only pure-blood physical Israelites will be saved, Boaz later married Ruth the Moabitess. Read Ruth’s impassioned statement in Ruth 1:14-18. It is a moving testimony to the faith of this young woman. She later bore Boaz a son, Obed, who became the grandfather of King David, son of Jesse. Read this genealogy in Matthew chapter 1, verses 1-17. Both of these foreign women were in the lineage of Yahshua the Messiah, Son of the Most High Yahweh. So obviously Yahshua was not a pure-blood Yahudi (Jew), or even Israelite.

So we see that so-called racial purity is not an issue at all with Yahweh; neither are mixed marriages between ethnic groups. However, I say that with one caveat – when Yahweh confused the languages after the tower of Babel incident, He gave each diverse group its own section of the planet on which to reside, and apparently desired them to live in their own areas (Gen. 11:8 and Deut. 32:8). That makes me believe that He would prefer we exercise discretion and not carry ethnic mixing to excess. He likes variety, as evidenced by all the different colors we see in the plant life, wild flowers, etc. This does not make mixing a sin, however.

So, if we are all only ONE race after all, the human race, then what is the problem? It’s we, the people! Just like a comment I heard last evening in the “news,” that government cannot solve our problems, because government IS the problem! How true. And consider that these are man’s governments. So, since we the people cannot govern ourselves, it is obvious that we need help.

Yahweh knew this of course, and He has provided a way. Now we are getting down to the crux of the matter. I have said all the above, establishing that while there is only one race of humanity on earth, to show that there are actually two – those who have repented and are being saved, and those who have not repented, and are perishing, unless they, too repent..

The first man, Adam and his wife, Chavah, led us into sin by their disobedience. Thus sin entered the world. He is the father and Eve is the mother of the unrepentant; the lawless, those without hope or knowledge of a Savior, those going their own way, involved in the world’s systems, activities, religions, pleasures, etc.  

The second man, Adam is Yahshua from heaven, sent to live a perfect life that Adam was not able to do, then to make the perfect sacrifice to reconcile us to the Father. See 1 Corinthians 15:

(1 Cor 15:45-54 NRSV)  "Thus it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. {46} But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. {47} The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. {48} As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. {49} Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven. {50} What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of Yah, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. {51} Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, {52} in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. {53} For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. {54} When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: "Death has been swallowed up in victory.""

Paul explains here that the earthy, the physical, the unconverted, will die unless they repent. We who are now being called have borne the image of Adam, the man of dust, and, if we stay faithful to the end, we will also bear the image of the man from heaven.

Man’s enemy is death. If Adam and Eve had not sinned, they and their descendants (us included) would have apparently lived forever in the flesh. But in the day they sinned, they incurred the death penalty, and later died a physical death. Yahshua came and conquered death. Death is our enemy (1 Cor. 15:26), but we shall have victory over death (1 Cor. 15:54-57). Yahshua did this for us. All we have to do is obey.

(2 Cor 2:14-17 NRSV)  "But thanks be to Yahweh, who in Messiah always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. {15} For we are the aroma of Messiah to Yahweh among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; {16} to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? {17} For we are not peddlers of Yahweh's word like so many; but in Messiah we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from Yahweh and standing in his presence."

But we cannot obey without Yahweh’s Spirit. That is what separates the seed of the first Adam (the disobedient) from the seed of the second Adam (the obedient, the followers of Yahshua, who are also the seed of Abraham) – the “race” of unconverted humanity, and the “race” of those being saved. So there you have it – the two true races.

But what about racial intermarriage? Now that we know who and what the races are, it is not hard to find out what true racial intermarriage is. We have already given some Old Testament examples. It is marrying those of religions other than the true one. It is being unequally yoked with unbelievers. This practice is condemned in both the Old and New Testaments. See what the Apostle Paul said about it:

(2 Cor 6:14-18 NRSV)  "Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship is there between light and darkness? {15} What agreement does Messiah have with Belial? Or what does a believer share with an unbeliever? {16} What agreement has the temple of Yahweh with idols? For we are the temple of the living El; as Yahweh said, "I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their El, and they shall be my people. {17} Therefore come out from them, and be separate from them, says Yahweh, and touch nothing unclean; then I will welcome you, {18} and I will be your father, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says Yahweh El Shaddai.""

The KJV translates the first part this way: (2 Cor 6:14 KJV)  "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"

This applies to a union of a man or a woman in marriage, to a business partnership, to a religious affiliation, or to any other partnership or relationship that involves a converted and an unconverted partner. The unconverted one will sometimes make unscriptural demands or requests of the other, or do things that are unscriptural and expect the other to go along. We are no longer of this world or its ways, once we repent and begin our new walk with Yahshua as our example.

Those without Yahweh’s Set-Apart Spirit cannot please Him. We must have His Spirit dwelling in our hearts and minds in order to fulfill His purpose for us – to be kings and priests in the coming Kingdom of Yahweh here on this earth. Until then, we are to be witnesses for Him, for His Son, Yahshua the Messiah, and for His Torah (Law or instructions). Those of us who are faithful until the end will be born into that Kingdom as Spirit beings. Those who do not, will eventually be cast into the lake of fire and destroyed, unless they likewise repent. Read what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans chapters 6, 7, and 8, especially 8:1-14:

(Rom 8:1-14 KJV)  "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Messiah Yahshua, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. {2} For the law of the Spirit of life in Messiah Yahshua hath made me free from the law of sin and death. {3} For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, Yahweh sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: {4} That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. {5} For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. {6} For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. {7} Because the carnal mind is enmity against Yahweh: for it is not subject to the law of Yahweh, neither indeed can be. {8} So then they that are in the flesh cannot please Yahweh.

{9} But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of Yahweh dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Messiah, he is none of his. {10} And if Messiah be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. {11} But if the Spirit of him that raised up Yahshua from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Messiah from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. {12} Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. {13} For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. {14} For as many as are led by the Spirit of Yahweh, they are the sons of Yahweh."

Please do not take this as an endorsement for marriages between those of diverse cultures. While it is not a sin to do so, there are reasons why it is not the best thing to do. One purpose of marriage is to raise up righteous, happy, well-adjusted children. Quite often, children of mixed marriages are discriminated against, and sometimes not accepted by either ethnic group. Another factor is the cultural differences in lifestyles, family and tribal customs. Often these differences require a great deal of patience and give-and-take on the part of both partners to work through these differences. Other problems can be expected, too.

But what of those who are either called after marriage and the mate is not, or who marry a non-believer anyway, despite the warnings not to? Paul tells us what to do in such a case:

(1 Cor 7:12-17 KJV)  "But to the rest speak I, not the Master: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. {13} And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. {14} For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. {15} But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but Yahweh hath called us to peace. {16} For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? {17} But as Yahweh hath distributed to every man, as the Master hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all the assemblies."

So, to sum up, if some still prefer to use the term “interracial” marriage, let’s at least be honest and recognize that the real interracial marriage that Yahweh forbids, is when a child of the last Adam, a converted follower of Yahshua the Messiah, marries a child of the first Adam, an unconverted, fleshly person who is dead to sin, a non-Believer. This almost always leads to strife and arguments, confused, unhappy children, and sometimes to divorce.

If you still harbor ethnic prejudices, please take it to Yahweh in prayer, and then be sure to study all the Scriptures on this subject, including those I have quoted in this article. Ask Yahweh to show you the truth, and to take away any preconceived notions about what you have “always” believed about the “races” and especially what is erroneously called racial intermarriages. ~