Because they were the descendants of Yaakov (Jacob), who was also known as Israel.
Hebrew people later became called Israelites, then Judaeans, then Jews. Today they are called Jews.
The Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were Hebrews. Jacob took or was given the name Israel, and his descendants were known as the Children of Israel or Israelites (they were still Hebrews, of course). One of the tribes of the Israelites, descended from Judah, was known as the Judaites. The Judaite kingdom was the last surviving Israelite kingdom, and the survivors of the destruction of that kingdom came to be known as Jews, who still call themselves Israelites and Children of Israel, and who are still Hebrews.
The Hebrews are descendants of Jacob, who was also named Israel (Genesis ch.35). Therefore the Hebrews are called Israelites. Moreover, one of the Hebrew kingdoms (several centuries after Jacob) was called Israel.Answer:"Hebrew" is a generic name which could be applied to all the descendants of Eber (Genesis ch.10), an ancestor of Abraham. However, most of those nations choose not to use this title. Abraham himself was known as a Hebrew (Genesis ch.14), since he was proud to be a descendant of the righteous Eber. Later on, God conferred the title of Israel to Jacob, Abraham's grandson (Genesis ch.35). This is a title of honor. While we are technically Hebrews, the title of Israelites is preferred and is more specific.
Abraham, his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob were Hebrews. Jacob took or was given the name Israel. His descendants called themselves the Children of Israel, or Israelites. They were still Hebrews. The Judaites were one of the Israelite tribes. Later, the kingdom of Judah was the last surviving Israelite kingdom, and the survivors of that kingdom, all of them Israelites and Hebrews, came to be known as Jews.
After Jacob was renamed "Israel" in Genesis 32, his descendants were called "the children of Israel" or "Israelites".
The designation "Hebrew" was already familiar to the Egyptians in the 18th Century B.C.E. This would seem to indicate that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had become quite well known over a wide area, thus making the appellative "Hebrew" a recognizable one. During the time of King Saul "Hebrews" and "Israelites" were equivalent terms.
They were first called the Hebrews, then Israelites, then Judaeans, then Jews.
Israelites (Yisraelim in Biblical Hebrew), Hebrews (a term first used probably by Ancient Egyptians) and Bnei Yisrael ("Children of Israel") are all terms used for Jews before the Common Era.
They were called Israelites.
They had been calling themselves Israelites since the time of Jacob, and that did not change at this time. See also:More about Hebrews/Israelites/Jews
Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan.
The Israelites were what is now called Jewish. See also:Are Hebrews Israelites and Jews the same peopleWere the Israelites monotheistic