What is the difference between Jews and Israelites?

Answer 1

The term "Israelites" refers to the inhabitants of the Ancient Kingdoms of Israel and Judah since both considered themselves descendants of the Patriarch "Israel". After the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel, only the people of the Kingdom of Judah continued to call themselves Israelites. However, the word for Judean (person from Judah) and the word for Jew are actually the same in Hebrew and Aramaic - Yehudi, so the term referring to the people of Judah became the name by which those Israelites came to be known. The name permanently stuck during the exile of a significant part of the Judean population in Babylon.

Answer 2

Abraham (18th century BCE) was called a Hebrew (Genesis ch.14) because of his lineage from Eber (Genesis ch.11). It was Abraham who founded our beliefs; and "Hebrews" is often used to refer to Abraham and his Israelite descendants, instead of his wider family. In this sense it can refer to the Jewish people.

(See: Abraham's biography)

The word "Hebrews" can continue to refer to Abraham's descendants until the lifetime of Jacob. After that, we are properly called "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.

See: Jewish history timeline

Jewish ancestry

"Jews" refers to the 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. But all the above terms are occasionally interchanged.

Answer 3

The Hebrew people occupied much of Palestine during the first millennium and for some time late in the second millennium BCE. During period from around 900 BCE to 722 BCE there were two kingdoms in the Hebrew territories - Israel in the north and Judah in the south. The situation prior to this is unclear - The Bible says that there was a United Monarchy, called Israel but under Judahite control, while scholars say that Israel and Judah were probably never united, but that they were always separate, with their own customs, culture, pottery and different dialects of the Hebrew language.

In 722 BCE, Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians and many of the Israelites sent into exile, where they adapted to the local culture and religion, and gradually lost their separate ethnic identity. Importantly, a large number of Israelites fled south into Judah, creating political problems and, later, opportunities for the rulers of Judah. Judah was also conquered, but somewhat later than Israel. Furthermore, their conquerors, the Babylonians, were in turn conquered by the Persians, who allowed the people to return to Judah if they wished to do so.

Scholars tend to call the people of Judah prior to the Babylonian Exile 'Judahites', just as the people of Israel are called 'Israelites'. From the time of the Babylonian Exile, or a little earlier, they are called Jews. This reflects not only their ethnic status in Babylon as a people without a country, but also their evolving religious beliefs.

Strictly speaking, the term 'Israelite' should refer to the people of the short-lived northern kingdom and, perhaps the people of the legendary United Kingdom that preceded. It can also refer to the Israelites of earlier times who lived in Egypt and fled under the leadership of Moses, although it is reported that scholars are almost unanimous in the belief that the Exodus from Egypt never really happened as described in the Bible. However, the Israelites who fled south into Judah after the events of 722 BCE created problems of national unity for the Judahite kings, who were forced to accept the term Israelite to refer to both groups of people who now lived in Judah. This also created an opportunity for the post-Exilic leaders after 500 BCE, because by keeping the notion of Israel and Israelites alive, they were helping to justify a hoped-for claim over the Samarian territory of the former kingdom of Israel.

In summary, the principal use for the name Israelites is for the inhabitants of the northern kingdom of Israel and perhaps the united Hebrew people who preceded them. The term Jews refers to the people of Judah (later Judea). However, the Jews often referred to themselves as Israelites, as discussed above.

Answer 4

The name Israelite is used for all the early Hebrews before and during the time of the United Kingdom of Israel, thought by some to have existed in the tenth century BCE. This term also applies to the inhabitants of the northern Hebrew kingdom of Israel, before its destruction in 722 BCE.

The inhabitants of the southern kingdom of Judah, prior to the Babylonian Exile, are generally referred to as the Judahites, or Jews. However, towards the end of the late monarchy, Jewish writers began to talk of Israel and Judah almost synonymously. No doubt, given the influx of refugees from the north, national unity was a factor in this usage, and power remained with the Judahite kings and religious leaders. Once exiled to Babylon, and on their return, the Jewish people increasingly referred to themselves as Israelites, although people in neighbouring countries did not accept this usage Their modern descendants, as well as converts to Judaism, are today's Jews.

Answer 5

The earliest term referring to the Israelites is "Hebrews" (Ivrim), which 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.
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.

(See: 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.

See: Jewish history timeline

Jewish ancestry

"Jews" refers to the 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.