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Where did the word Judaism come from?
Origins of the Word JewThe word Jew came from the name Judah, who was one of the 12 sons of Jacob, from whom the 12 tribes of Israel are descended. When the Jews were expelled from the Land of Israel, the tribe of Judah was the last to go and the tribe from which most present-day Jews are considered to be descendants. Thus, they were known as Judeans or Jews.Etymology:The most common view is that the Middle English word Jewis from the Old French giu, earlier juieu, from the Latin Iudaeus from the Greek ουδαος. The Latin simply means Judaean, from the land of Judaea. In the Old English the word is attested as early as 1000 in various forms, such as Iudeas, Gyu, Giu, Iuu, Iuw, Iew. Middle English Jeu, from Old French giu, from Latin Iūdaeus, from Greek Ioudaios, from Aramaic yəhudāy, from Hebrew yəhûdî, inhabitant of Judah, from yəhûdâ, Judah.A Biblical ExplanationThe origin of the word "Jew" is from the Hebrew meaning "Praise." The name comes from the Bible in Genesis 29:34.Genesis 29:35 And she (Leah) conceived again and bore a son (to Jacob), and said, "Now I will praise the Lord." Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.So we see that Jew is the generic term for Judah. The term became common after the first Babylonian exile and the people applied the name to themselves. So correctly applied, it literally means "the people of praise."
When did the people of Israel become known as Jews?
The Jewish religion officially started when God commanded Abraham to perform circumcision on himself and his sons (Genesis ch.17). From that moment, Judaism was born.Another milestone was when God gave the sons of Abraham (through Isaac and Jacob) the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai in the time of Moses (Exodus ch.19-20). That sealed the deal for the "Children of Israel (Jacob)".The term "Jewish" actually refers to the descendants of the tribe of Judah, who were separated from the rest of the Children of Israel (the 12 tribes) upon the destruction of the first Temple and the start of the diaspora.Answer:"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.
