2007-01-07 15:09:59 · 8 answers · asked by Tunney 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Hebrew is a language, Jew is a Religious Identity (like Christian, Hindu ...), and Israelite is a nationality.
2007-01-07 15:15:46 · answer #1 · answered by .40 Glock 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
So here's how it works:
Hebrews was the word used for people who went down to Egypt. It comes from Ivri - meaning crossed over. They were called that because 1) Abraham came from the other side of the Euphrates, and 2) He and his people came from the other side of the Jordan into Canaan.
Israelites was a different term for this group and their descendants in later times because they were all descendants of Jacob, who's name was changed to Israel.
After the death of King Solomon, the people split into two nations, the Kingdom of Israel in the North, and the Kingdom of Judah in the south. Obviously the North took the name Israelites, and the South became the Judahites, or in the Hebrew of the bible, Yehudim. Yehudim is the word we translate into Jew.
YOu can check it out in the book of Esther, that Mordechai is called Mordechai the Jew even though he was from the tribe of Benjamin, because he was from the Souther Kingdom of Judah.
Nowadays all three terms describe the same people. Hebrews was used in the early 20th century a lot more than it is now. It still exists in the names of certain Jewish organization, like, "The AMerican Hebrew Congregations." Israelite is used rarely in English, but in SPanish I believe a Jew can be called an Israelita. I know in Ukraine the Ukranians called Jews, Israel. And Jew is the most common now.
Hope that helps.
2007-01-10 00:13:14 · answer #2 · answered by 0 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are not all the same, and shouldn't be thought of interchangeably. In the Old Testament, God's people were all Hebrews. The northern ten tribes of the Hebrew nation became a separate entity after they sinned and broke away because they didn't want the burdensome king they had anymore. The name of that entity became Israel, after Jacob, their forebear.
There's actually more to it than that.
2007-01-07 23:52:39 · answer #3 · answered by Who Knew? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
israelites are people from Israel, Hebrew is a language, and Jews are people who study the Jewish religion. Hebrew originates from Israel, and all Jewish people are children of Abraham and are from Israel.
2007-01-07 23:18:47 · answer #4 · answered by sabaku no clea 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the jews are the descendants of the hebrews and israelites.
2007-01-07 23:16:15 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, these terms, no matter how 'old' or 'young' they are, all refer to the same group of people.
2007-01-07 23:13:09 · answer #6 · answered by MamaBear 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a "hebrew" is not a person. hebrew is a language.
2007-01-07 23:12:37 · answer #7 · answered by Karen M 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pretty much, yes
2007-01-07 23:14:18 · answer #8 · answered by Mozes 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋