The Fundamentals of Judaism
J _Orient_05 06.2.1 4:54 PM ページ 138 The Fundamentals of Judaism Steven E. Langnas Israel—The People HE expressions Hebrew, Israeli, and Jew have often been used inter- Tchangeably and as synonyms. The Bible calls Abraham Ibri, Hebrew, meaning “from the other side,” probably because he immigrat- ed from the other, eastern side of Euphrates. Abraham’s grandchild Jacob had an additional name, Israel. Therefore, his twelve sons and their descendents were called Children of Israel, the nation or people of Israel. The word Jew comes from Judah, the most prominent of Jacob’s sons. Jew became the name for the entire people who, in the Judean kingdom, survived the downfall of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 before the Common Era, while Israel’s ten tribes were led into captivity. Nowadays for that reason, the people are called Jewish, their belief Judaism, their language Hebrew and their country Israel. The people of Israel started as one family, descending from Abraham the Hebrew, who lived ca. 3800 years ago. The monotheistic belief represented by Abraham and the “covenant with God” he concluded, continually renewed by these descendents, characterized this family as followers of a special faith. The family did not impose any exclu- sive claims to this faith—quite the opposite—it also tried to include those of different beliefs. This family, suffused with God, and those who joined them increased in numbers. They viewed the Torah as their Basic Law received from God and appropriated the country promised them by the Lord as their homeland.
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