Published on Sunday, 17 April 2011 15:14 | Written by Administrator | | | Hits: 5871
Hebrews, Israelites and Jews
People are sometimes confused by the use of these terms. It seemed appropriate, therefore, to include some information and definitions for those who may benefit by some clarification. Webster’s give the following definitions for the terms:
Hebrew n. lit., one from across (the river).
1. any member of a group of Semitic peoples tracing decent from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; Israelite in modern,esp. earlier, usage interchangeable with Jew.
2. a) the ancient Semitic language of the Israelites, in which most of the Old Testament was written b) the modern form of this language, the official language of Israel --adj. 1. of Hebrew or the Hebrews 2. same as Jewish.
Israelite n. any of the people of ancient Israel or their descendants; Jew; Hebrew
---- adj. of ancient Israel or the Israelites; Jewish: alsoIs’ra/ el/ it’ish
Jew n. member of the tribe or kingdom of Judah:
1. a person descended, or regarded as descended, from the ancient Hebrews of Biblical times (underline mine)
2. a person whose religion is Judaism See also Hebrew
Semitic adj.
1. of, like, or relation to a Semite or the Semites.
2. designating or of a major subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages, usually divided into eastern (Akkadian), northwestern (Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, etc.), and southwestern (Arabic, Ethiopic, etc.) branches -- - n. this subfamily, or any member of it.
Semite n.
1. a person regarded as descended from Shem
2. a member of any of the peoples speaking a Semitic language, including the Hebrews, Arabs, Assyrians, Phoenicians, etc.
3. same as Jew: a loose language.
Authors notes:
From the definitions above, we see that the terms Hebrew, Israelite and Jew are often used interchangeably. There are, however, distinctions that should be noted.
The term Hebrew identifies those descended from Abraham, through his son Isaac, and grandson Jacob, who were descendants of Noah and Shem Genesis 11:10-31; 17:5.
The designation Israelite refers generally to the people of Israel, especially those descended from Jacob, who was renamed Israel by God (Genesis 35:10).
The term Jew is linked with the descendants of Judah, son of Jacob (Israel), but is now used more broadly to refer to all Hebrews especially those who embrace Judaism as their religion. It can, therefore, refer to race or to religious belief.
Semite or Semitic refers not only to those descended through Isaac and Jacob, but to all descendants of Shem including all those of Abraham, Nahor and Haran (Genesis 10:21-32; 11:10-32; 16:1-11; 21:1-20; 25:12-34; 35:22-29; 36:1-43).
Category: Tabernacle
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