There are some people who believe that the family came from ancient Israel or was deeply involved in establishing the belief in Yawata no kami (the Shinto god of war), but these are no more than popular stories based on the similarity in the pronunciation of a character.
またルーツを古代イスラエルに求めたり、八幡神（やはたのかみ）信仰の成立に深く関わったと考える人もいるが、字音の類似などによる俗説の域を出ない。