Who Are The Jews?

It is commonly taught in Seminaries and Bible Colleges that Abraham was a Jew. It is also taught that Isaac and Jacob were Jews, that Moses was a Jew, and that the people who passed through the Red Sea on dry ground were all Jewish. It is also taught that it was the Jews who wandered in the wilderness for forty years and then entered into the Promised Land. David and Solomon are also commonly called Jews.

The truth of the matter, however, is that none of the above are ever called Jews in the Bible. Biblically, reference is not made to the Jews until long after the splitting of the Kingdom, which occurred in the days of Rehoboam. This splitting of the Kingdom is recorded in 1 Kings chapters 11 and 12. From that time forward, there were two Kingdoms — the Northern Kingdom was called Israel (1), and the Southern Kingdom was called Judah. (2)

It is only the people of the Southern Kingdom who were ever called Jews; and the first Biblical reference made to the Jews was during the days of Pekah, 18th King of Judah, in the mid-eighth century BC! “Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day.” 2 Kings 16:5-6

This is the first mention of the word Jew in the Bible. The word in Hebrew is Yehudi, and means Judahite, or, one belonging to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. (3) In Greek, it is Ioudaios, and means the same thing.

Unger’s Bible Dictionary records that the term Jew is “a name formed from that of the patriarch Judah, and applied first to the tribe or country of Judah, or to a subject of the kingdom of Judah (II Kings 16:6; 25:25; Jer. 32:12; 38:19; 40:11; 41:43; 52:28) in distinction from the seceding ten tribes, the Israelites.” Smith’s Bible Dictionary says that the term Jew means simply a Judean, or, a resident of Judea.

It is therefore ridiculous to refer to all the Israelites of the Bible as Jews, because the overwhelming majority of Israelites were never called Jews.

It is even more absurd to call the Jewish people of today “God’s chosen people,” because, as I will demonstrate, the truth of the matter is that most of modern Jewry is not descended from Jacob-Israel at all.

A little honest research reveals that the Jews of today are more a religion than a race, and a corrupt religion at that.

Please thoughtfully consider the following facts — During the Babylonian captivity, many of the heathen adopted the religion of the Jews. (4) They were not Judahites, but would have been known as Jews nonetheless, because of their religion.

Thus began the adulteration of the Jews.