When did the Israelites end?

Answer 1

AnswerStrictly speaking, the Israelites were the people of Israel, the northern Hebrew kingdome, with its capital at the city of Samaria. Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BCE and many of its citizens sent into exile, where they were gradually absorbed into the local popualtion and disappeared as a separate ethnic group. Others fled as refugees to the much smaller, southern Hebrew kingdom of Judah or, to a lesser extent, to Egypt. Those who fled to Judah were readily absorbed into the local, Judahite population, while the refugees in Egypt in time also identified with the people of Judah.

The people of Judah, the southern Hebrew kingdom, are often referred to by scholars as the Judahites, although The Bible does not make that distinction. From about the time of the Babylonian Exile, they came to be known as Jews.

Answer 2

Generically, in terms of religion, tradition holds that Jewish belief began with Abraham, 3800 years ago. The Israelite religion continues today.

More specifically, "Israelite" means Israel and his descendants. Israel is another name for Jacob, who lived 3600 years ago.

During First Temple times, the name of Israel was applied to the Northern Kingdom (the Ten Tribes), while the Southern Kingdom was called Judah. In that limited sense, there was an end in 555 BCE (according to traditional chronology), when the Ten Tribes were exiled.