There is a lot of confusion in the Church today about Judah, Jews, Israel and Zionism. This is due to errors in rendering some Hebrew and Greek; mistaken definitions and recently the distortion of the Bible through countless revisions and interference. The result is now a poor understanding of the intent of Scripture, and how we see Israel, Jews and Zionists in light of today’s evangelism. So, we need to uncover the source of original error and later manipulation, as we cannot come to the truth without the relevant facts in evidence, and we can’t do that without correct definitions, or knowing why the Bible has been altered and by whom. So, let’s first look to Israel’s history to find an answer to some of the confusion, especially its effect on the Evangelical Churches.
Jacob and Israel:
Jacob was the second born of Rebekah and Isaac; grandson of Abraham, and a Hebrew by birth. He was of 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 a central figure of the Old Testament. It is through his 12 sons the Tribes of Israel and Israelite kingdom is formed. The Abrahamic Covenant is enacted in his offspring to fulfill God’s promise; Redemption also would come through Abraham’s seed.
Judah and Judea:
Jacob’s 4th son was Judah; it is through him we see the line of promise and 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 is the same as Moses being a Levite, and Dan being a Danite. Judah was NOT a Jew; we will get to Jews shortly.
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 in Jerome’s Bible of the 4th Century. This means, the remnant of Judah and Benjamin living in Judea in the 1st Century are Judeans, along with anyone else from any ancestral background living there at the time.
Judah and Israel:
Israel and Judah are not the same, neither are the names interchangeable, their only link is family: Judah was one Israelite tribe; Israel is twelve tribes. As we see in his blessing from Jacob, Judah held the Scepter, which speaks of the kingship and 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)
After 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 north at Samaria.
Israel and Ephraim:
The House of Israel later becomes the body of the nations promised to Abraham, under the name Ephraim… then take another stick, and write upon it, for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel his companions. (Eze 37:16) In 2 Chronicles we see confirmation; do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel, with all these Ephraimites. (2Ch 25:7)
Moses also 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. (Deut 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; (Hos 7:11) which speaks to falling back to the Law and lack of faith, which we often do.
Israel was taken from their homeland by Assyria 740-722BC: (2Ki 17:6-23) over 700 years before Jesus was here; only the remnant of Judah inside Jerusalem’s walls remained. James wrote to Israel, his salutation confirming every tribe was in the dispersion. James, a servant of God and of the LORD Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. (Jas 1:1)
Taking nineteen years; the several million of Israel-Ephraim and much of Judah was exiled never to return. The only sign of David’s former kingdom were those of Judah, Benjamin and Levi left behind, taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar between 597 and 586BC. Seventy years later they were released by King Cyrus to return to Jerusalem, rebuild the temple, becoming the Jews of New Testament times.
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 from Asher. Barnabas, and John the Baptist were Levites, Paul was from Benjamin. Itinerant traders passed through mainly Jerusalem; others had settled making it an ethnically diverse region, later joined by the Romans, at first, in support of the Herodians kings. So, everyone living in the region was Judean, just as everyone living in Australia is an Aussie no matter their cultural origin.
Now, the names Judah, Judean and Jew can be confusing so we need to do some sorting out. First: Judah has no standard plural form. The correct plural of Judah is Judah-ites, but you can pluralize Judean making it ‘Judeans.’ Importantly, one cannot transpose Judah (singular) to Jews (plural) in Greek because Judah and Jew are two completely different words centuries apart. But, it is the mistranslation of the Greek Ioudaia and Ioudaios, which formed the seed of an error relating to Judeans and Jews. So, how did it get into the Bible?
Early Greek writers used Ioudaios to denote Judeans, and Ioudaia to denote Judea, but by the time the English word Jew appeared in the 18th Century, Bible editors had decided all Judeans were Jews, so it made no difference which word was used, which was an epic mistake. Calling all Judeans Jews completely ignored the whole of Judean society of the 1st Century and as Josephus and Roman archives indicate, only a fraction of Judeans were Jews. While all the Jews in Judea were Judeans, not all Judeans were Jews, or from Judah.
Now, the first place we find the word Jews in the Bible is twice in the 2nd Book of Kings, which is an error in translation, as the Hebrew e.ieudim (Plural) means Judah-ites. In Kings; Chronicles; Ezra; Nehemiah, Ester, Jeremiah and Isaiah, with verses containing the word Jew(s), we see the same mistake, as the Hebrew b.iỳûdi 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.
The Jews of the 1st Century were the remnant of Judah, Benjamin and Levi, not Judah only, and is descriptive of the spiritual hardness we see in Acts regarding Paul; and when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse saying they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. (Acts 23:12) And especially with their call to crucify Jesus; his blood be on us and our children (Mat 27:25) showing their mocking hearts and cynical minds. The connotation of ‘the Jews’ in the New Testament is one of accusation and criticism, far removed from the peace and grace of the Apostles and Christ, and the Good News of the Kingdom.
Now while we’re looking at Paul, not once did he describe himself as a Jew, but he did announce himself as an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin, (Rom 1:11) which brings us to ethnicity and statehood. In his well-reasoned article on the Holocaust and Zionism, Rabbi, Gedalya Liebermann wrote: Judaism is not a race nor is it a nationality. That was and still remains the consensus amongst the rabbis.
Therefore, Judaism is a religion practiced by anyone from any ethnic background; it defines what it is to be a Jew today and throughout history. The same rules apply to a follower of any other faith. Jews also use the Holocaust as a rallying point for their ‘Jewishness’ and to guilt-trap the unwary. (See: Shulamit Aloni, former Israeli MP – “it’s a trick we use…”)
As to language, the original Greek for Judeans and Judah has been mistranslated over the years by accident, and more recently through intent to confuse and mislead. A good example is found in the Interlinear Scripture Analyzer translation of Ioudaios given first in English as JUDA-an (meaning a Judean) followed by the word Jew, which encompasses three tribes and a religion. It is designed to give the impression of racial legitimacy when there is no such thing as a Jewish race. Are Catholics or Baptists a race? Clearly no, and like Jews today they come from multiple ethnic locations.
Another reason for the mistranslation of these two Greek words in particular, is early editors of the Bible and later commentaries, were not aware of the millions of Israel-Ephraim growing in the West, thinking Israel was still in the vicinity suggesting the idea the Jews were in fact Israel, which is very wrong, and why the First Commandment in Mark’s Gospel (12:29) is often misunderstood.
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 in Canaan. The word, Jew has been assigned as a substitute for Judah in many Old Testament verses, even though it has nothing to do with the time or people. Jew and Jews can only be affixed to Judah, Benjamin and Levi returned from Babylon: Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Sanhedrin council.
Jew is a New Testament word, which first saw the light of day in English in the 1729 Daniel Mace edition. But it was the major 1769 revision of the King James Bible, which brought it into common use using the letter ‘J’. And for a little historical context: it was the same year Capt. James Cook started charting the coastline of New Zealand. The word Jew we know today is only 250 years old, retrospectively inserted into the Bible by those with a plan, in places it doesn’t belong…
Definitions: Old Testament
Israel: the 12 tribes 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: New Testament
Judea: the land of Canaan/Palestine. Its boundaries contracted or expanded according to those in power at the time. It became a Babylonian province in 607BC, 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 (Judah-ite) resident in Judea.
Jew 1: a descendant from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi who practiced the Jews’ Religion (Talmudism) which began in Babylon during their exile.
Jew 2: anyone proselytized into or who kept the Jews religion.
Definitions: Today
Zionism: a worldly national-socialist political ideology, generally non-religious.
Zionist: anyone who holds to the idea of Jewish homeland or Zionism.
Israeli: a Jew living in the Zionist State.
Judaism: a religion based in 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 calling, with ancestral links to the land living in the State of Israel; comprising Muslims, Christians and others.
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 to the Sacred Name Movement (SNM) which holds Hebrew is the only true language to be used when speaking the names of God and Jesus.
Summary and supplement:
The Christian Church, including Christian-Zionists, has been misled when it comes to Jews and Israel. This came through the misguided belief, Jesus would not return until the Jews are again in Jerusalem. To further this view, the language of the Bible has been altered with a false narrative established to favour Zionism, all the while ignoring the history of Israel and Judah, especially their exile. The meaning of names and lineage has been purposely changed, leading to the collapse of truth and the true function of Scripture pertaining to Israel, Judah and Jews. Until one knows the true origin of peoples, and God’s purpose in them, confusion will continue.
Historically, the Jews were Pharisees and Sadducees who answered to the Sanhedrin and Herodian Kings. They were strict adherents to the Mosaic Law and the Prophets, yet opposed Jesus and His teachings. After Jesus told them the kingdom of God is within you, they rejected Him, calling for His crucifixion as it did not agree with their worldly kingdom plans then, or today under Zionism.
Politically active, they caused much disruption leading to their downfall when overcome by Roman Emperors, Vespasian and Titus. Many were taken to Rome, some fled to Spain. Those who had not returned from Babylon remained there, a few afterward migrated into Eastern Europe and over the centuries returned to Palestine living among the new Christians. Today we see a very different Jewry. With no God given authority, the Scribes and Pharisees of today have made for themselves a new Israel on stolen land using a manufactured history through subterfuge and stealth. The birth of Zionism and its capture of Christianity was the last nail in the coffin.
The only Israel appointed by the LORD to exist today is mentioned by Paul in Galatians 6:16: For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And whosoever shall follow this rule, peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
It is about faith; faith in Jesus wherein work of the flesh has no advantage or reward. It is about becoming something new in Christ. It is not about Church or Jews, or a Zionist State in the Middle East, as the LORD’S Israel is not there. As Jesus told Pontius Pilate, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight so that I might not be delivered unto the Jews. (Jn 18:36) But, those who support and follow them today, who think the State of Israel can do no wrong, have most certainly been delivered…
In love and peace as always, so you might get to know this important truth.
James