Presented by: The Master's Table Web Site

I received an e-mail with this very important point concerning the term "Jew" or "Jewish". The writer has asked to remain anonymous. I would like to thank him for this contribution to the Master's Table.
Web master Timothy M. Youngblood

He wrote...

Since the term "Jew" originated as a reference to the people of The House of Judah, it would be wrong to apply the term to all 12 tribes of Israel. For example, to say something like "the Jews were captive in Egypt" wouldn't make sense because The House of Judah wasn't even in existence yet. Or, to say "Moses practiced the Jewish religion" wouldn't make sense either since there was no such thing as "Jews" at that time. In other words, the Jews were only part of the Israelites, but somehow people take the term "Jewish" and typically apply it to the entire nation of ancient Israel and all of their rituals while worshipping God. On top of that, they often apply the term to all history of the Israelites which can lead to massive misinterpretation of The Bible. The term "Jew" didn't appear in The Bible until 2 Kings 16:6 when the Jews (House of Judah) were at war with Israel (House of Israel). It was a term that technically didn't even exist until times during and after the civil war in ancient Israel, but somehow that term has now become an "interchangeable word" for all of Israelite history. I fully believe that misunderstanding of the word "Jew" has caused much confusion among brethren in Christ.

Furthermore, Isaiah 65:15 makes it clear that God's physical Israelites would be called a new name in the future, and that God Himself would name them. The new name was "Christians", and the verse also makes mention that the original name of The Judahites (Jews) would be left behind as a curse. This was the separation of the "good figs" (faithful Jews) from the "bad figs" (unfaithful Jews) that Jeremiah prophesied about. A common mistake people make is that Christianity was founded by "gentiles spiritually grafted in", while the Jews were blinded and are still awaiting their eyes to be opened. Isaiah 65:15 and Isaiah 62:2 both make it clear that it was to be God's faithful, physical Israelites who would take on the name "Christians".

Thank you and I (Timothy) would like to add that Jesus was born a Jew and His apostles were Jews as well. The New Testament is not only a record of the Christian Church, but is also a record of the genealogy of Jesus which ties into the Old Testament Hebrews and the twelve tribes of Israel. The fact is that the Jews are only one tribe of the twelve tribes we read about in the Old Testament."