Is Abraham a Semite a Jew a Hebrew or Israelite explain exegetically?

Answer 1

Abraham was a Hebrew. He wasn't called an Israelite, because he was the grandfather of Israel (Jacob) and his children, the 12 tribes of Israel. He wasn't called a Jewish man in his time, but because he practiced Judaism, Jews refer to him as the first Jew.

He was definitely Semitic being a descendant of Shem (who was a child of Noah).

Abraham's genealogy goes like this ("^" represents "a male child of" for those underneath):

Noah

^

Shem

^

Arphaxad

^

Shelah

^

Eber

^

Peleg

^

Reu

^

Serug

^

Nachor

^

Terach

^

Abraham

Answer 2

Abraham was a Hebrew. The Hebrews later became known as Israelites, and then became known as Jews. Abraham was also a Semite*.

*A Semite is any person who speaks a Semitic language, such as Hebrew, Canaanite, Akkadian, Aramaic, or even Arabic.

Answer 3

All four. "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. In that sense he is called a Jew since anyone who repudiates idolatry is called a Yehudi (Talmud, Megillah 13a).
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