According to the Torah are Hebrews Israelites and Jews the same people?

Answer 1

Christians and Hebrews are similar in that their religions are derived from the same Bible. The Hebrew Bible consists of the books of the law, also known as the Torah. It also has the books of history and the prophets, also known as the Tenach. Christians refer to this as the Old Testament. Christians, in their Bible, include books which refer to the story of Jesus Christ and the church founded on belief that he is the Messiah, the fulfilment of the prophecies of the Old Testament. They both believe that sin must be paid for, also known as the doctrine of atonment. The ancient Hebrews offered up a sacrifice for sin. In this ceremony, they would present a live sacrificial animal to a priest at the tabernacle or temple. They would place their hands upon the animal, symbolizing the transfer of sin from themselves to that animal. They would then slaughter the animal to show that death was the penalty for sin. The blood of that animal made payment for the sin. Christians believe in atonement, too. However, they believe that the Messiah, Jesus, was God in human flesh and that he came and allowed himself to be the "sacrificial lamb" for us. Therefore, when he died and shed his blood, his blood was the atoning sacrifice. They believe it is no longer necessary to sacrifice animals because God, himself, came to be the sacrifice and that the sacrficial animals of the Old Testament pointed to the "once and for all" sacrifice that he would make. Contributed by Fred Cooper, a Hebrew Christian

Answer 2

Same people, different eras. "Hebrews" (Ivrim) actually means descendants of Eber (Ever). Ever was an ancestor of Abraham (Genesis ch.10-11) and the earliest Hebrews were Abraham's uncles and cousins for several generations back.
In 1934-39, excavations were conducted at ancient Mari on the Euphrates River. They found that ancient towns were named after the ancestors of Abraham: The city of Nahor was found near the city of Harran which exists to this day. Equally clear signs of early Hebrew residence appear in the names of other towns nearby: Serug (Assyrian Sarugi), Terah (Til Turakhi, "Mound of Terah"), and Peleg (Paliga, on the Euphrates). All these names are found in Genesis ch.11.
Abraham himself was called a Hebrew (Genesis 14) because of his ancestors, not because he was the first one. That is the simple meaning of Genesis 14:13. Poetically, however, Abraham is called Ivri because the name also translates to "other side." Abraham was on "the other side" since he was the only monotheist (Midrash Rabbah 42:8) until his teachings spread.
In that sense, "Hebrews" is often used to refer to Abraham's Israelite descendants. Thus it refers to the Jewish people.
"Israelites" refers to the people down to about the time of the destruction of the First Temple some 2500 years ago. "Jews" refers to the people from Second Temple times onward, because after the Assyrian conquest the remaining Israelites were (and are) mostly from the Israelite tribe of Judah.

In 2000, the analysis of a report by Nicholas Wade "provided genetic witness that Jewish communities have, to a remarkable extent, retained their biological identity separate from their host populations, showing relatively little intermarriage or conversion into Judaism over the centuries. The results accord with Jewish history and tradition and refute theories which would allege that Jewish communities consist mostly of converts."

Answer 3

"Hebrews" (Ivrim) actually means descendants of Eber (Ever). Ever was an ancestor of Abraham (Genesis ch.10-11) and the earliest Hebrews were Abraham's uncles and cousins for several generations back. They were among the Western Semites and lived in northern Mesopotamia, near the confluence of the Balikh and the Euphrates.Abraham himself was called a Hebrew (Genesis ch.14) because of his wider family. Poetically, however, Abraham is called Ivri because the name also translates to "other side." Abraham was figuratively on "the other side" since he was the only monotheist (Midrash Bereshit Rabbah 42:8) until his teachings took root. His ancestors and cousins had slipped into idolatry well before his time, as is evident from Genesis 31:30, 31:53, and Joshua 24:2. For that reason, Jews do not bestow on them the honorific title of ancestors despite the genealogical connection.
We credit Abraham as our first ancestor despite knowing exactly who came before, since it was Abraham who founded our beliefs. Thus, "Hebrews" is often used to mean Abraham and his Israelite descendants, instead of his wider family. In this sense it can refer to the Jewish people.

The word Hebrews can continue to refer to Abraham's descendants until the lifetime of Jacob. After that, we prefer "Israelite," since Jacob was given that name by God (Genesis ch.35), and it is considered a national title; one of honor. "Israelite" refers to the people (Jacob's descendants) down to about the time of the destruction of the First Temple some 2500 years ago. "Jews" refers to the people from Second Temple times, up to this day, because after the Assyrian conquest the remaining Israelites were (and are) mostly from the Israelite tribe of Judah. But all the above terms are occasionally interchanged. In modern usage, we prefer to use the term Hebrew only to refer to the language.

Answer 4

"Hebrews" (Ivrim) means descendants of Eber (Ever). Ever was an ancestor of Abraham (Genesis ch.10-11) and the earliest Hebrews were Abraham's uncles and cousins for several generations back. They were among the Western Semites and lived in northern Mesopotamia, near the confluence of the Balikh and the Euphrates.
Abraham (18th century BCE) was called a Hebrew (Genesis ch.14) because of his wider family.

Poetically, however, Abraham himself is called Hebrew because that name (Ivri) also translates to "the other side." Abraham was figuratively on "the other side" since he was the only monotheist (Midrash Rabbah 42:8) until his teachings took root. His ancestors and cousins had slipped into idolatry well before his time, as is evident from Genesis 31:30, 31:53, and Joshua 24:2. For that reason, Jews do not bestow on them the honorific title of ancestors despite the genealogical connection.
We credit Abraham as our first ancestor despite knowing exactly who came before, since it was Abraham who founded our beliefs. Thus, "Hebrews" is often used to mean Abraham and his Israelite descendants, instead of his wider family. In this sense it can refer to the Jewish people.

• Link: Abraham's biography
  

The word "Hebrews" can continue to refer to Abraham's descendants until the lifetime of Jacob. After that, we prefer "Israelites," since Jacob was given that name by God (Genesis ch.35), and it is considered a national title; one of honor. "Israelites" refers to the people (Jacob's descendants) down to the Assyrian conquest (133 years before the destruction of the First Temple), some 2600 years ago.

• Link: Jewish ancestry
  

"Jews" refers to the same people, from the end of First Temple times up to this day, because after the Assyrian conquest the Israelites who remained in the land were (and are) mostly from the Israelite tribe of Judah, and the land was then called Judea. But all the above terms are occasionally interchanged.

In modern usage, we prefer to use the term "Hebrew" only to refer to the language.

Answer 5

According to the Torah, Abraham and his extended family were called "Ivri" (Hebrew) by the people around them. That description may have come from "Eyver," a widely known and respected ancestor of Abraham's from some generations earlier. Or it may have been a reference to Abraham and his family having migrated from "eyver" ("across"), from the other side of the great river, in present-day Iraq.
Two generations later, Abraham's grandson, Jacob, was given the name "Israel" after a traumatic event in his middle age. From that time on, his descendants are collectively known as the "Children of Israel", or simply as "Israel".
The label "Jew" originates some time after the Torah, but still in the Tanach-era, and there's no question that it refers and applies to the descendants of the same people.