…and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. (Job 6:24)
There is a lot of confusion in the Church today about Judah, Jews, Judea, Israel and Zionism. This is down to a number of reasons, including errors in rendering some Hebrew and Greek; misread Scripture; mistaken definitions and more recently, the distortion of this important record through revision. The result has seen a poor understanding of the Apostles and Prophets, with the Bible now altered in many editions. Its effect on how we view Israel and Palestine cannot be ignored in light of current Church teaching, and today’s skewed evangelism.
So, we need to uncover the source of an error influencing not only governments, but the Christian-Zionist movement. We cannot come to the truth without the pertinent facts in evidence, and we can’t do that without correct definitions. So, let’s look to Israel’s history to find an answer to the confusion affecting the majority of countries and especially, Evangelical Christendom.
Jacob and Israel
Jacob was the second born son of Rebekah and Isaac; a Hebrew and the grandson of Abraham and Sarah. He was the line of Shem, descended from Seth, the third son of Adam. After the Covenant given to Abraham, and the Law to Moses; Jacob is the central figure of the Old Testament. It is through his sons the Israelite nation is born. The Abrahamic Covenant is enacted in his offspring to fulfill God’s promise; Salvation would come through Abraham’s seed.
To accomplish this, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, which means the LORD prevails, that His Word is fulfilled. His offspring now grow in number becoming the 12 Tribes of Israel, each named after one of Jacob’s sons; eventually becoming a unified Kingdom. Yet Israel is not a name as such, but a sign of the LORD’S purpose in Abraham’s line continued through Jesse and David. They remain in effect Hebrews, hence Paul’s letter addressed to their descendants.
Judah and Judea
Jacob’s fourth son was Judah; it is through him we see the line of promise and the kingship. From Genesis to Malachi, Judah is rendered; ỳhûdâh. (Strong’s: H3063) Another rendering to show relationship is the use of a suffix shown as; b.iỳûdi (Strong’s: H3064) which means Judah-ite. It has the same inference as Moses being a Levite, Dan being a Danite and Paul being a Benjamite.
There is also the possessive use pertaining to tenure; the land and assets the tribe inhabits or holds shown as, the borders of Dan, the cities of Ephraim or the land of Judah. The Greek word for the land of Judah is Ioudaia, the inhabitants were known as Ioudaios. There is only one mention of the shorter version, Judea found in Ezra (5:8) from y˚hûd, which is Chaldean.
The Latin form is Iudaea from which we get the longer Judaea, which came from Jerome’s Vulgate Bible of the fourth century. While the more common Judea is Chaldean and Judaea Roman, they both mean the same as the Greek. This means, the remnant of Judah and Benjamin living in Judea in the first century are Judeans, along with anyone else from any tribal background residing there. We will get to Jews shortly.
Judah and Israel
Israel and Judah are not the same, neither are the names interchangeable, their only link is family: Judah is an Israelite tribe. As we see in his blessing from Jacob, Judah held the Scepter, which speaks of the Christ to come. The Scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (Gen 49:10)
Following the failure of Solomon in the later years of his reign, the LORD broke the Kingdom of Israel into two Houses after his son Rehoboam, inherited the throne. The House of Judah was Judah and Benjamin; the remaining ten tribes, under their king Jeroboam, became the House of Israel. Judah retained Jerusalem, while Israel established their capital at Samaria.
Israel and Ephraim
The House of Israel becomes the body of the nations promised to Abraham, but later went under the name of Ephraim… then take another stick, and write upon it, for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel his companions. (Ezekiel 37:16) In 2 Chronicles we see; do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel, with all these Ephraimites. (2Chronicles 25:7)
Moses confirmed this new name in his blessings upon the tribes… let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph (Ephraim). His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. (Deuteronomy 33:17) We see it again in Hosea, when the tribes are removed to Assyria to begin their journey north and west. Ephraim also is like a silly dove without a heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria. (Hosea 7:11)
Israel is removed from their homeland seven hundred years before Jesus was here; only the portion of Judah inside Jerusalem’s walls remains. James wrote to them, his salutation confirming every tribe was present in the dispersion. James, a servant of God and of the LORD Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. (James 1:1) Taking nineteen years; the several million of Ephraim and Judah were taken out of their lands never to return. The only sign of David’s former kingdom is the remainder of Judah and Benjamin, and the portion of Levi spread throughout the tribes.
Judeans, Judah and Jews
At the time of the Apostles, Judeans included Greeks; Egyptians Chaldeans, Parthians, Edomites, Jews, Samaritans and a handful of Israelites returned from Assyria. Anna the prophetess was of Asher. While we see many itinerant traders, we also find others have settled making it a culturally diverse region; later joined by the Romans, at first in support of the Herodians kings.
But it is clear; the names Judean, Judah and Jew are confusing for some, so we need to do some sorting out. First, the name Judah has no plural form; one cannot transpose Judah (singular) to Jews (plural) in Hebrew or Greek. But, we can do it in English by replacing Judah with a new word and spelling. Yet it is the Greek Ioudaia and Ioudaios, which formed the seed of an error relating to Judeans and Jews. So, how did it find its way into the Bible?
Early editors used Ioudaios to denote Judeans, and Ioudaia to denote Judea, but by the time the word Jew appeared in the revisions of the 18th Century, editors had decided all Judeans were Jews, so it made no difference which word was used. Calling all Judeans Jews completely ignored the whole of Judean society, and as Josephus and Roman records confirm, only a small number of Judeans at the time were from Judah, Benjamin and Levi. While the Jews in Judea were Judeans, not all Judeans were Jews, or from Judah. Due to their traditions and more than a little arrogance, Jews kept to themselves, and were generally despised by the local population.
The English word, Jew was first seen in the 1729 Daniel Mace New Testament. But it was the 1769 revision of the King James Bible, which brought it into common use using the letter ‘J’. The 1611 King James used the letter ‘I.’ The first English language book to make a clear distinction between the letters ‘I’ and ‘J’ appeared in 1633. The idea behind the letter ‘J’ was first expressed in the 15th Century by the Italian, Giorgio Trissino.
Now, the first place we find the word Jews in the Bible is in the 2nd Book of Kings, which was an error, as the Hebrew e.ieudim means Judah-ites. In the Kings; Chronicles; Ezra; Nehemiah and Ester; Jeremiah, and Isaiah verses using the word Jews, we see the same mistake as the Hebrew plainly means, people of Judah. There is no mention in the Minor Prophets apart from Zechariah, who used Jew only once, which again should have been rendered Judah-ite. These books concern Judah before, during and after their Babylonian exile. They also mention the Assyrians at the walls of Jerusalem, when their siege came to an abrupt halt due to the LORD’S intervention.
The word Jew cannot be tied to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob or Moses who were Hebrews and Israelites.
It was not around or even invented at the time of the Exodus, or when Israel settled Canaan. The word, Jew has been assigned as a substitute for Judah in many Old Testament verses, even though it has nothing at all to do with the time, or people. Jew and Jews can only be affixed to Judah and Benjamin returned from Babylon: the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees, and the Sanhedrin rulers of the Jews. Jew is a New Testament word, which first saw the light of day in 1769.
Definitions: OT
Israel: the 12 tribes of the Old Testament descended from Jacob.
Israelite: a descendant of Jacob and his sons.
Judah: the 4th son of Jacob and Leah.
Judah-ite: a member of the tribe of Judah
Joseph: the 1st son of Jacob and Rachel.
Ephraim: the 2nd son of Joseph and Asenath born in Egypt.
Definitions: NT
Judea: essentially the land of Canaan/Palestine. Its boundaries contracted or expanded according to those in power at the time. It became a Babylonian province during Judah’s exile, and was later taken into the Roman province of Syria.
Judean 1: anyone resident in the province of Judea.
Judean 2: a member of the tribe of Judah resident in Judea.
Jew 1: a descendant from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin who followed Talmudism.
Jew 2: anyone proselytized into or who kept the Jews religion.
Definitions today:
Zionism: a national-socialist political ideology.
Zionist: anyone who holds to the idea of Jewish homeland or Zionism.
Israeli: a Jew living in the Zionist State.
Judaism: a religion based on the Talmud and later rabbinical teaching and writings.
Jew 3: anyone today who practices Judaism.
Jew 4: anyone today from any race, custom or people, converted to the Jewish religion.
Palestinian: an Arab, or person of non-Jewish religion, with ancestral links to Palestine living in the State of Israel; comprising Muslims, Christians, and persons of no conviction.
Christian-Zionist: an evangelical Christian (usually) who holds the view modern Israel is the result of biblical prophesies; a supporter of the Zionist State; that the Jews are a chosen people. One who believes Jesus will return to convert the Jews; a Trinitarian (usually) and a believer in the Rapture. Commonly an adherent of HRM that Hebrew is the only true language of God and of Salvation.
Sum
The Church today has been misled when it comes to the Jews in Palestine. This has come through the mistaken ideas of passionate men in their very mistaken belief, Jesus will not return until the Jews are again in Jerusalem. To further this view, the language of the Bible has been altered, and a false narrative established in favour of the Jews, the majority of which have no familial right to the land, all the while ignoring of the history of Israel and Judah, including their expulsion. The true meaning of names, places and lineage has been unmistakably slanted, leading to a falling away from the truth and purpose of Scripture in this regard. Until one knows the true origin of peoples, their names and meaning, and God’s purpose for us all, confusion will continue to reign.
Historically the Jews were the Pharisees and Sadducees of the New Testament. They answered to the Sanhedrin and the local rulers of the Herodian line. They were strict adherents to the Law of Moses, yet opposed Jesus and His teachings. After Jesus said; the kingdom of God is within you, they rejected Him, calling for His crucifixion as it did not agree with their worldly kingdom plans. Politically active, they caused much disruption leading to their downfall in the later part of the first century when overcome and by Vespasian and Titus. Many survivors were taken into slavery, some fled to Spain. Those who had not returned from Babylon remained, a few afterward migrated into Eastern Europe or returned to Palestine years later. Today we see a very different Jewry.
Jesus revealed the truth of them when He said: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. With no God given authority, the Scribes and Pharisees of today have made for themselves a new Israel and history; Zionists of no Judean ancestry clearly opposing God and His Prophets. Through subterfuge, conflict and laws, they have duped the world and the Church, especially pro-Zionist Christians who support them by using Scripture relating to fulfilled historical events, as justification for the Zionist State.
The only Israel appointed to exist today, is not material but Spiritual; the Israel of God mentioned by Paul; those who live by the Prophets, Apostles, and every word of the LORD. Jesus seeks those who keep His Commandments and Faith. The Great Commandment Hear O Israel; the LORD our God is One Lord. (Mark 12:29-31) was given by Jesus when asked, what is the first Commandment of all? The Israel of God keeps this Command and the Faith of Jesus Christ.
We see the same LORD throughout Paul’s letter to the Hebrews. When Paul declared, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8) he revealed the Existing One. He spoke of the Ever-Living God who met with Abraham, Moses and Jacob, and guided Ancient Israel in their wanderings. (1C0 10:4) The very same who said to the Pharisees, before Abraham was, I am: the Lamb without spot, our Salvation and Redeemer made plain for all to see.
Again, in love and peace,
James