The Indiscriminate Use of Ethno-Cognates in Biblical Studies and Its Repercussions to the Filipino Migrants Abroad

Abstract

The term ethnic group, along with related ethno-cognates, has been ubiquitous in recent scientific research since the advent of the formal discipline called Ethnic Studies in the 1960s. The biblical field is no exception to this phenomenon because many social, religious, territorial, and political groups in the Bible are indiscriminately referred to as ethnic groups by commentators. However, using this appellation loosely may cause some problems in the representation of contemporary communities, especially those who use the Bible as a normative guide in daily living. This concern is even magnified in contexts where ethnic conflicts and persecutions prevail, leading to the further marginalization of the weaker sector as evidenced, for example, in the experience of some Filipino workers living outside the Philippines. In this light, this paper aims to explain the evolution of Ethnic Studies and the introduction of ethno-cognates into the biblical field, with special attention to the use of the term Ioudaioi in the Fourth Gospel as an illustration. Given that the use of social approaches in reading pericopes has been largely employed already in many recent biblical investigations, it is also advantageous to explore the social principles in the use of ethno-cognates, lest sensibilities to ethnic identification are transgressed. In the end, this paper proposes practical measures in conveying biblical episodes that respect ethnic differences and recover the rightful ethnic identification of Filipino migrants abroad.