Jewish Indian theory

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Jewish Indian theory, also called Hebraic Indian theory or Jewish Amerindian theory, is the old belief that some or all of the lost tribes of Israel came to the Americas and that many Indigenous peoples there are descended from or influenced by Jews. It was especially popular in the 1600s and later influenced various religious ideas, including some branches of Mormon belief.

Origins and purpose
When Europeans began to explore the Americas, they asked where Indigenous peoples came from and how that fit with Bible history. Many theories existed, from connections to Egyptians and Phoenicians to Vikings or Atlantis. The most popular idea became that the Indigenous peoples were the descendants of the lost tribes of Israel. This linked biblical history to the new world and answered questions about origins and what happened to the tribes.

Early thinking and English interest
The idea circulated in several forms during the 1500s and 1600s. In 1607, Dominican Gregorio García argued that the lost tribes reached the Americas and mixed with other groups, suggesting Hebrew-like features in language and culture, even claiming Hebrew influences in places like Mexico. Other writers offered routes across the Arctic or via Greenland. In England, the theory gained momentum in the 1650s during a time of millennial religious thinking and the rule of Oliver Cromwell, when some people were open to tying biblical prophecy to American lands. Proponents included Edward Winslow, who urged converting Indigenous peoples to Christianity, and Thomas Thorowgood, who defended the idea and linked circumcision and language to Hebrew origins. He also argued that the lost tribes might have arrived via the Bering Strait and that their presence fit into a plan leading to the Second Coming.

Jewish and messianic angles
A key figure was Menasseh ben Israel, a Portuguese-Dutch rabbi who wrote about the possibility of hidden Jewish communities in the Americas and argued that some similarities between Indigenous cultures and Jewish practices could come from contact with Jews living in those areas. He, too, placed his case in a messianic frame: if the lost tribes were found in the Americas, they might help bring about Jewish redemption and Christian prophecy.

Later influence and shifts
In the late 1700s and early 1800s, authors like James Adair and Elias Boudinot connected the idea to American history and Christian millennial beliefs. Ethan Smith and others followed, and the theory even shaped early Mormon thinking. The Book of Mormon, published in 1830, later rejected the lost-tribes idea as the origin of Native peoples, instead outlining a Biblical but non-Israelite origin and telling of Jesus visiting the Americas after his resurrection.

Decline and modern view
After the 1830s, interest faded in mainstream scholarship and science, though some millennial Christian groups, including some Black Hebrew Israelites, kept the idea alive. In the late 20th century, DNA testing renewed interest, but studies have not supported an Israelite origin for Native American populations. Debates in the 1990s and 2000s questioned the historical basis of the narrative and its use in race and religion. Some scholars argued for a more nuanced view of Indigenous ancestry within Mormon faith, while others urged reconsideration of the doctrine.

Current status
Today, the idea that Native Americans are descended from Israelite tribes is not supported by mainstream science. The belief persists in a few religious groups, but it remains a contested and largely debunked theory in history and genetics.