Is the Hebrew Bible Anti-Semitic?

Counter-missionaries accuse the New Testament of being anti-Semitic for having content where some Jews call other Jews names along the likes of stubborn, heart hearted, sons of the Devil, harlots and so one, but does this make the New Testament anti-Semitic? Let's take a look at the Hebrew Bible and see the criticism and names it calls the Jewish people.

Anti-Semitic Moses? Moses calls some Levites Rebellious, Stubborn, Corrupt:

Moses commanded the Levites, that bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying:....For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck; behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?....ye will in any wise deal corruptly--Deuteronomy 31:25,27,29

 Anti-Semitic God?

God calls Israel uncircumcised of heart and stubborn

Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.--Deuteronomy 10:16

God calls Israel and Judah whores and talks about divorce

And the LORD said unto me in the days of Josiah the king: 'Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel  did? she went up upon every high mountain and under every leafy tree, and there played the harlot...And I saw, when, forasmuch as backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorcement, that yet treacherous Judah her sister feared not; but she also went and played the harlot; --Jeremiah 3:6,8

God Calls Israel stiff-necked, threatens total annihilation except Moses' offspring 

 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people. Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of thee [Moses] a great nation.'--Exodus 32:9-10  

There is much more which if it were not found in the Hebrew Bible, it would appear to be the most anti-Semitic literature around--what worse can be said than when God called the whole Jewish community in Jeremiah whores? or when God says in the Torah that perhaps He should kill ALL the Jews? 

Conclusion: If it should be conceded the New Testament is a work of anti-Semitism because of pejoratives used by Jews towards other Jews, then by that same standard it should be admitted that the Hebrew Bible and the Torah itself are by far more Anti-Semitic, and should be categorized as the foremost books on hatred of Jews. 

God blesses Abraham due to works

In Genesis 12 we see no works mentioned at all as to the reason why Abraham was blessed, let's look at what God says:

 

No mention of works--God just blessing Abraham

Now the LORD said unto Abram: 'Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.'--Genesis 12:1-3 

And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said: 'Unto thy seed will I give this land'; and he builded there an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.--Genesis 12:7

And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him: 'Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.  And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.  Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for unto thee will I give it.'--Genesis 13:14-17

And He brought him forth abroad, and said: 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if thou be able to count them'; and He said unto him: 'So shall thy seed be.' And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness.--Genesis 15:5-6

In that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: 'Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates;--Genesis 15:18

In these prior verses Abraham did not do much besides move where God said to and believe. However, after Genesis 22 when Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac because of God's request, God now cites His previous promises as being done BECAUSE of Abraham's works and obedience, even using the same language about the stars and sand.

By Myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;  and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast hearkened to My voice.'--Genesis 22:16-18

And the LORD appeared unto him, and said: 'Go not down unto Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father;  and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands; and by thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves; because that Abraham hearkened to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.'--Genesis 26:2-5

 Genesis 26 explicitly refers to Abraham's blessing because of his commandment/statute/law keeping.

Abraham also tells others about the Covenant with God in Genesis 24, not mentioning his obedience:

The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, and from the land of my nativity, and who spoke unto me, and who swore unto me, saying: Unto thy seed will I give this land; He will send His angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife for my son from thence.--Genesis 24:7

 Why doesn't Abraham mention his works this time after Genesis 22? Because of humility, and it was all possible BECAUSE of what God did.

We see in Abraham a man that believed God and was accredited with righteousness, but the very thing he believed was partly accomplished because of Abraham's obedience to God. God made these promises because God knew in advance that Abraham WOULD be obedient and keep His Commandments once he believed!

The word Judaizing

Some people that believe in keeping aspects of Mosaic law object to the term "Judaizer" or "Judaizing" saying it a made up term, and that its only used by Law (Torah) breakers.

However, the term Judazing is used in the New Testament, in fact, by St Paul himself

But when I saw that they were not straight forward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews [Ioudaizein]?-Galatians 2:14

Ἀλλ' ὅτε εἶδον ὅτι οὐκ ὀρθοποδοῦσιν πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, εἶπον, τῷ Πέτρῳ ἔμπροσθεν πὰντων, Εἰ σύ, Ἰουδαῖος ὑπὰρχων, ἐθνικῶς ζῇς καὶ οὐκ Ἰουδαϊκῶς, τί τά ἔθνη ἀναγκὰζεις Ἰουδαΐζειν;--Galatians 2:14 


As we can see, St Paul used the word with the meaning "live like a Jew."  Sabbath keeping is never pushed by Apostles in the New Testament, it was only obligatory until Christ's death, and was tolerated afterwards in the New Testament as part of the transition period for the Jews accustomed to keeping the 7th day sabbath.

Was the Levitical Priesthood Eternal?

Many people that subscribe to a group, or belief system that state the laws of the Torah of Moses are still in effect because they were declared to be "eternal," several times in the Torah and ought to be kept by Christians (or atleast Christians of Jewish Ancestry) have no problem admitting that the Levitical Priesthood was changed and abolished because of the Epistle to the Hebrews.

However, the Old Testament itself DOES call the Levitical priesthood "eternal," as we can see here with the incident of Phineas slaying the Israelite and the Midian woman.

וְהָיְתָה לּוֹ וּלְזַרְעוֹ אַחֲרָיו, בְּרִית כְּהֻנַּת עוֹלָם--תַּחַת, אֲשֶׁר קִנֵּא לֵאלֹהָיו, וַיְכַפֵּר, עַל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.

and it shall be unto him, and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.' -Numbers 25:13

As we can see the priesthood is here refered to as כְּהֻנַּת עוֹלָם k'hunnat olam (kehunat olam).

After doing some searching I then found that the priesthood is described as eternal elsewhere too

וּמָשַׁחְתָּ אֹתָם, כַּאֲשֶׁר מָשַׁחְתָּ אֶת-אֲבִיהֶם, וְכִהֲנוּ, לִי; וְהָיְתָה לִהְיֹת לָהֶם מָשְׁחָתָם, לִכְהֻנַּת עוֹלָם--לְדֹרֹתָם.

And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto Me in the priest's office; and their anointing shall be to them for an everlasting priesthood [lich'hunnat olam] throughout their generations.' -Exodus 40:15

God said He would have His Eyes and Heart in the Temple FOREVER:

וְעַתָּה, בָּחַרְתִּי וְהִקְדַּשְׁתִּי אֶת-הַבַּיִת הַזֶּה, לִהְיוֹת-שְׁמִי שָׁם, עַד-עוֹלָם; וְהָיוּ עֵינַי וְלִבִּי שָׁם, כָּל-הַיָּמִים

 And now, I have chosen and consecrated this House that My name be there forever [ad-olam, עַד-עוֹלָם ], and My eyes and heart will be there at all times.--2 Chronicles 7:16

Now, how could He dwell there literally forever if there was  no temple for years at a time, and even today there has been no Temple for over 1900 years! God knew the future, "forever" just means for a long time!

Lamentation 3:6 in just about EVERY bible translation translate OLAM as "long"

בְּמַחֲשַׁכִּים הוֹשִׁיבַנִי, כְּמֵתֵי עוֹלָם

He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long [olam, עוֹלָם] dead.

Psalm 143:3, similarly translates OLAM as "long"

הוֹשִׁבַנִי בְמַחֲשַׁכִּים,    כְּמֵתֵי עוֹלָם.

he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long [olam, עוֹלָם ] dead.--Psalm 143:3

It is also interesting to note that King David said only the Levites were to carry the ark and serve before God 'forever'.

אָז, אָמַר דָּוִיד, לֹא לָשֵׂאת אֶת-אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים, כִּי אִם-הַלְוִיִּם:  כִּי-בָם בָּחַר יְהוָה, לָשֵׂאת אֶת-אֲרוֹן יְהוָה וּלְשָׁרְתוֹ--עַד-עוֹלָם.

Then David said, "It is not proper to carry the Ark of God except the Levites, for the Lord chose them to carry the Ark of God and to serve Him forever [olam]. "-1 Chronicles 15:2

So, even though, the Torah refers to the priesthood as being for "olam" this was not understood by the New Testament writers to mean it would never be abolished, as we see in Hebrews 7

When there is a change of priesthood, there is necessarily a change of law as well. --Hebrews 7:12

So, as we can see, since the Levitical priesthood of the Old Covenant was abolished as the book of Hebrews tells us, and the fact that the Levites no longer "serve" God forever, that olam, does not necessarily have to mean literally FOREVER.

Reponse to some Jewish arguments against Jesus

Antimissionary: If Jesus died on Friday and less than 36 hours later on Sunday he undied, Jesus made no real sacrifice.
Response: Dying is dying, suffering still occurs, the suffering is part of the death and is the sacrifice.  How long someone is dead is irrelevant, since every gets resurrected and since you will be without a body in the meantime, what is it to you that you dead?  Did the "10 Holy Martyrs" of Israel not actually atone for sin, since they will all be resurrected at the end of time?

The prophet tells us that this sin was unforgivable and was viewed with greater severity than every cardinal offense. With this statement the prophet alludes to the fact that the greatest scholars of Israel, the ten holy martyrs would be brutally murdered in atonement for this sin. Hashem said that the sale of Yoseif, unlike all other sins, could never be overlooked and that one day the greatest Tannaim (Mishnaic authors) would suffer inhuman torture and be taken from us in atonement for this sin. -vayeishev