by David Werdiger

Created on: April 27, 2009   Last Updated: May 10, 2009

Abraham is commonly considered the first "Jew" (although the term was introduced much later), as he was the first to recognize God and introduce monotheism to the world. God made two covenants with Abraham: the command of circumcision for him and all his descendants, and the Brit bein HaBetarim (covenant between the parts), where God promised that Abraham's children will be strangers for a period of 400 years, after which they will be redeemed. This is the exile into Egypt and subsequent exodus. While the specific names for the Jewish nation developed over time, this shows the link from the first Jew to the formation of the Jewish nation at the exodus from Egypt.

Abraham had both Isaac and Ishmael; Isaac had both Jacob and Esau. These families had their deficiencies, as one child followed his father's path, and one did not. However, Jacob is described as "the chosen one of the patriarchs" because all of his children were righteous, and therefore, they were chosen to be the twelve tribes. After fighting with the angel, Jacob was given the name Israel, meaning "he who fought with God", and from this point on, the name was most commonly used for the nation of his children. Nevertheless, at the foot of Mt Sinai, the names are still used interchangeably: "so say to the house of Jacob; and tell the children of Israel" (Exodus 19:3). The names of Jacob and Israel symbolically represent different spiritual aspects of the Jewish nation (Jacob comes from the term "heel", so symbolizes humility, but Israel symbolizes kingship), so at that time, and at various other places in scripture (such as Psalms 14:7, 81:4, 114:1, and 135:4), both terms are used.

In blessing the twelve tribes (at the end of the book of Genesis), Jacob skipped the firstborn Reuben, the next two sons Simeon and Levi, each for specific errors and failings. Instead, he chose Judah as the leader tribe, and the progenitor of the royal house of David. The name Judah is similar to God's own name (the tetragrammaton).

After the passing of King Solomon (son of King David), the Jewish Kingdom split in two: the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, who remained faithful to traditional practice and continued the Davidic line, and became known as the Kingdom of Judah, and the other ten tribes, who embraced idolatory, and were known as the Kingdom of Israel. For many years, two parallel dynasties remained in place, until the ten tribes were exiled by ancient Assyria. There is much conjecture regarding where the ten tribes ended up and who they are today (if indeed they remained in one place or were simply dispersed amongst the other nations). Whoever they are (and subject to their pedigree being verified), they are considered part of the original Jewish nation.

We first see the term "Jew" used in the book of Esther, where the Jews are called "Yehudim", a term derived from the name Judah (Yehuda in Hebrew). So it seems logical that the name was adopted to refer to the people of the Kingdom of Judah.

From the time of its conquest, led by Joshua (successor of Moses), the land between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean sea was known as the land of Israel. The Jews continued and continue to refer to the land by that name. It was the Roman empire who dubbed the land "Palestine", and this name stuck through several successive empires. The original name Israel was restored with the formation of the state in 1948.

While several names for the Jewish nation came about and changed over time, it is clear that all these names refer to the same continuous group of people - descendants of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

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