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Chapter 3 : Are All Israelites Jews? |
Today
almost everyone identifies the name Israel with the Jews. Most people assume
the Jewish people are the sole remaining descendants of the ancient nation of Israel.
This assumption, however, is incorrect. Technically the Jews are descendants of two
of the Israelite tribes: Judah and Benjamin, plus a considerable part
of a third, the priestly tribe of Levi.
Unknown to most, 10 other tribes in ancient Israel were never called Jews.
These northern tribes were historically distinct and politically separate from the
Jews, their brothers to the south who formed the kingdom of Judah, from which
the term Jew was derived.
The northern coalition of tribes, the kingdom or house of Israel, had
already become an independent nation, separate from the house of Judah, by the time
the word Jew first appears in the biblical narrative. In fact, the first time
the term appears in the King James Version of the Bible, Israel was at war
with the Jews
(2Kings 16:5-6).
Are all Israelites Jews? No. Jews-the citizens and descendants of the kingdom of
Judah-are indeed Israelites, but not all Israelites are Jews. Since all 12 tribes,
including Jews, are descendants of their father Israel (Jacob), we can apply the
term Israelite to all of the tribes. The term Jew, however, is accurate
only for the tribes that comprised the kingdom of Judah and for their descendants.
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