disciples of Yeshua, who were all Jewish, were hiding because they feared
the Jews).
To understand
the meaning of of the word "Jew", we must understand the context in which it is
said or written.
Bloodline or Tribal
In
probably the truest sense of the word, a Jew is someone who is a
descendant from Judah, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, and a grandson of
Abraham. To explain the story of Judaism or Christianity you have to go
back to Abraham. Abram (his name was changed to Abraham later) is
identified as a Hebrew,* meaning he was a descendant of Eber (his great,
great, great, great grandfather).
*Although the term “the Hebrew people” has
become synonymous at times with the term “Jew,” it would not be accurate
to say that the terms mean the same
thing. All Jews are Hebrews, but not all Hebrews are Jews.
God told Abram to move to
another place. From this time on Abraham lived in a tent, never again having a permanent home.
Because of Abraham’s obedience to God and His laws,* God blessed Abraham.
Genesis 26:5
5 Because that Abraham
obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes
and my laws*.
*Many believe that
all of the laws of God were first established at the time of Moses. This
is not accurate. We know this because Abraham is blessed for keeping
God’s laws.
Before Sinai, God
established laws for all mankind to live by known as "Noahide" laws. I
will discuss this further in the next chapter.
Because
Abraham followed God, there were some important promises made. It is
through those promises that God will carry out the redemption of mankind.