What is the difference between the terms “Hebrews”, “Israelites”, and “Jews”?
All of these terms are dependent upon ancestry, rather than upon where anyone lives. An “Israelite” is any biological descendant of Jacob. Jacob was renamed “Israel” by God …
What is the difference between the terms “Hebrews”, “Israelites”, and “Jews”? | Pastorjamesandrews's Blog Pastorjamesandrews's Blog The truth shall set you free! HomeAbout What is the difference between the terms “Hebrews”, “Israelites”, and “Jews”? All of these terms are dependent upon ancestry, rather than upon where anyone lives. An “Israelite” is any biological descendant of Jacob. Jacob was renamed “Israel” by God in Genesis 32:28. “And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” Jacob was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel whom he blessed in Genesis 49:1-28. Thus, the nation of Israel is often called “the children of Israel” in the Bible text, because they are the descendants of the man, “Israel”. The term “Hebrews” is almost identical to “Israelites”, but it slightly broader, because it includes the fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in addition to all of the descendants of Jacob. We know this because Abraham was referred to as “Abram the Hebrew” in Genesis 14:13. Therefore all Israelites are also Hebrews. In explaining the term “Jews”, it is beneficial to understand some of Israel’s national history. After the reign of King Solomon over all the tribes of Israel around 1000 BC, the kingdom was split into two kingdoms as recorded in 1 Kings 12:1-24. The southern two tribes of Judah and Benjamin comprised the kingdom of Judah. The northern ten tribes continued to be called the kingdom of Israel. Because of the split, there are some occasions where the term “Israel” is used only in reference to the ten northern tribes instead of all twelve. But usually, the term “Israel” refers to all twelve tribes, depending upon the context. About 300 years after the split of the kingdom, in 712 BC, the Assyrians attacked the northern kingdom and took the ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel captive (2 Kings 17:6). The earliest occurrence of the word “Jews” in the Bible is in 2 Kings 16:6, near the time that Israel was carried away. The term “Jews” refers to those of the kingdom of Judah, and their descendants. About one hundred years later, in 606 BC, the Babylonians took the kingdom of Judah captive and carried them away to Babylon (2 Kings 24-25). Seventy years later, the Medes and the Persians conquered Babylon (Daniel 5) and released the Jews. However, most of the Jews chose to remain in Babylon, and only a small remnant (Ezra 2:64) of about 42,000 returned to the land of Israel. Paul said in Acts 21:39, “… I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus (which was not in the land of Israel) ….” He also said in 2 Corinthians 11:22, “Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I ….” So all Jews are also Israelites and Hebrews regardless of whether or not they live in the land of Israel. As for the northern ten tribes of Israel, the Bible does not record them returning from the Assyrian captivity. Even though their whereabouts may be unknown to men, God still knows where they are and will use them during tribulation, just like the two tribes of the southern kingdom (Revelation 7:1-8). But during the first century when the New Testament was written, the vast majority of the Israelites referred to in scriptures were from the two southern tribes. Thus, they are called “the Jews”. But even though “Jews” refers primarily to those of Judah and Benjamin, the term is probably not intended to exclude other Israelites who were living among them such as Hanna from the tribe of Asher (Luke 2:36) or Barnabas from the tribe of Levi (Acts 4:36). In Acts 26:2-7, Paul defended himself before King Agrippa saying, “… I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews: Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently. My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers: Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.” Notice here that Paul seems to be implying that “our twelve tribes” are of the Jews, which would seem to support the idea that the term “Jews” had taken on a broader meaning by the first century, where it no longer meant exclusively the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Rate this: i 6 VotesShare this:FacebookXLike Loading... Related Rightly Dividing the Word of TruthAugust 12, 2010In "Bible"Faith That Pleases GodJuly 26, 2010In "Faith"Ten Egyptian PlaguesAugust 25, 2010In "God" This entry was posted on Saturday, June 30th, 2012 at 8:25 pm and is filed under truth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Post navigation « Previous Post Next Post » 2 Responses to What is the difference between the terms “Hebrews”, “Israelites”, and “Jews”? james1948 says: July 2, 2012 at 6:31 pm Good post and about time you got up and running on this again. 2 0 i Rate This Reply pastorjamesandrews says: July 3, 2012 at 8:03 pm I agree, and thank you. 1 0 i Rate This Reply Leave a Reply Cancel reply Δ Pages About Blog Stats 35,715 hits Email Subscription Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address: Sign me up! Join 39 other subscribers Categories Categories Select Category 4 Keys to Bible Study (4) abortion (1) Angels (3) Archangel (1) Baptism (5) Baptist (2) Baptist History (3) Bible (22) Cherub (1) Christmas (4) Church (15) Church Covenant (1) Confidence (1) Creation (5) Doctrine (2) Eternal Security of the Believer (5) Faith (4) False Teachers (7) God (4) Grace & Law (1) Greek (1) Healing (2) HEAVEN (11) Hebrew Alphabet (3) Holy Spirit (2) Hope (3) Humor (3) Illustrations (10) Jesus Christ (17) judgment (2) Life (10) Lord’s Supper (2) Love (7) Mary (1) Millennium (10) Opportunity (1) Parent (1) pastor (9) Prayer (7) Promises (1) resurrection (3) Salvation (18) Satan (3) Seraphim (1) Service (7) Sin (13) Songs (1) Soul Winning (3) TONGUES (1) truth (4) Uncategorized (9) Warfare between God and Satan (1) What is a New Testament Church? (3) Word (3) Worship (1) Blogroll Good Truth Blog WordPress.com WordPress.org Archives Archives Select Month February 2013 (4) July 2012 (1) June 2012 (1) April 2012 (1) February 2012 (4) December 2011 (1) July 2011 (4) May 2011 (4) April 2011 (2) March 2011 (5) February 2011 (10) January 2011 (11) December 2010 (25) November 2010 (22) October 2010 (10) September 2010 (9) August 2010 (16) July 2010 (27) June 2010 (4) May 2010 (25) April 2010 (14) March 2010 (20) February 2010 (8) January 2010 (12) December 2009 (9) Find It Search Top Posts Camels and ChristiansMaking Your Own BaloneySin and the Child of GodWho is Christ?visitationWhat is the difference between the terms "Hebrews", "Israelites", and "Jews"? Cell Phones vs. Holy BibleWash Me, and I Shall be Whiter Than SnowTHE HEART OF THE GOSPELChrist’s Blood Cleanses from Sin Blog at WordPress.com.Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information Comment Reblog Subscribe Subscribed Pastorjamesandrews's Blog Join 39 other subscribers Sign me up Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now. Pastorjamesandrews's Blog Customize Subscribe Subscribed Sign up Log in Copy shortlink Report this content View post in Reader Manage subscriptions Collapse this bar Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy %d