M
mojobadshah
Guest
There is a legend among the Pashtuns (Aryans) of Afghanistan, like there is among a lot of people, that they are descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. The Yusufzai or "sons of Joseph" believe they're connected to the tribe of Joseph, one of Israel's 12 sons. But recently I have come upon a few clues that it was not the Hebrew phenomenon that influenced the Aryan phenomenon, rather it was the other way around. First of all it should be understood that the Persian (Aryan) Empire was a vast expanse with vast resources and manpower for hundreds of years. Israelite society on the other hand was a very fragmented society and prone to influence under the tutelage of the Persians. Also it may be of significance to note that it was in Persia that the master copy of the Hebrew Bible was compiled. Now my first clue that it was from the Aryans that the common name Yusuf was derived was from an etymology that shows the form Yusuf was derived from Aryan forms equivalent to our word equine such as the Avestan asva/aspa "horse" which was quite frequent among the Aryan equestrians. Zoroaster's father, for example, was named Pourush-aspa "full of horses." The eponym Yusufzai, itself was derived from a combination of form aspa "horse" and zai (cf. kin, gene) "son." So aspazai > yusufzai. There was also an adviser to the Kushan King and religious synchronist Kanishka named Yusuf Asaf. Both these forms appear to have been derived from the Irano-Afghan (Aryan) root aspa after metathesis (aspa > asaf and aspa > yusuf) Yusuf Asaf lived around the time Christianity was on the rise in Sassanid Persia about 100 years before Constantine established Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire.
My second clue was the etymology for the the eponym Ashkeneze which one source says was derived from an Aryan eponym meaning and related to the form Scythian. But this form Ashkeneze resembles the eponym of the Parthians Ashkan more. The Parthians ruled immediately before the Sassanids and the eponym Ashkan "horseman" is another term that is was derived from the same Aryan root as the Avestan asva and is also akin to the national designation Afghan. Ashkeneze is also the designation for a sect of Jews and it is obvious that the borrowing was from Aryan to Hebrew and not Hebrew to Aryan. And if you notice the affix -ze in Ashkeneze is akin to the affix -zai in Yusufzai.
In conclusion it looks like the name Joseph which is derived from the Hebrew Yusuf is of Aryan origin. And when you think about it it really shouldn't come of surprise when keeping in mind that the tribes of Israel lived under the Persians, Greeks, and Romans, all gentile or Aryan (Indo-European) people. Controversial etymologies have been made for names like Abraham and Sara (I think there is more to it than that), but not so controversial etymologies for the names of Jewish personages have been made like Peter, and Luke.
My second clue was the etymology for the the eponym Ashkeneze which one source says was derived from an Aryan eponym meaning and related to the form Scythian. But this form Ashkeneze resembles the eponym of the Parthians Ashkan more. The Parthians ruled immediately before the Sassanids and the eponym Ashkan "horseman" is another term that is was derived from the same Aryan root as the Avestan asva and is also akin to the national designation Afghan. Ashkeneze is also the designation for a sect of Jews and it is obvious that the borrowing was from Aryan to Hebrew and not Hebrew to Aryan. And if you notice the affix -ze in Ashkeneze is akin to the affix -zai in Yusufzai.
In conclusion it looks like the name Joseph which is derived from the Hebrew Yusuf is of Aryan origin. And when you think about it it really shouldn't come of surprise when keeping in mind that the tribes of Israel lived under the Persians, Greeks, and Romans, all gentile or Aryan (Indo-European) people. Controversial etymologies have been made for names like Abraham and Sara (I think there is more to it than that), but not so controversial etymologies for the names of Jewish personages have been made like Peter, and Luke.