Jew; Jewess; Jewish
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [1]
ju ̄ , jōo ̄ , jū´ish , jōō ´- ish (, יהוּדי yehūdhı̄ , plural יהוּדים , yehūdhı̄m ; Ἰονδαῖοι , Ioudaı́oi ; feminine adjective יהוּדית , yehūdhı̄th ; Ἰονδαΐκός , Iou̇dai̇kós ): "Jew" denotes originally an inhabitant of Judah ( 2 Kings 16:6 applies to the two tribes of the Southern Kingdom), but later the meaning was extended to embrace all descendants of Abraham. In the Old Testament the word occurs a few times in the singular. ( Esther 2:5; Esther 3:4 , etc.; Jeremiah 34:9; Zechariah 8:23 ); very frequently in the plural in Ezra and Nehemiah, Esther, and in Jeremiah and Daniel. The adjective in the Old Testament applies only to the "Jews' language" or speech ( 2 Kings 18:26 , 2 Kings 18:28 parallel Nehemiah 13:24; Isaiah 36:11 , Isaiah 36:13 ). "Jews" (always plural) is the familiar term for Israelites in the Gospels (especially in John), Acts, Epistles, etc. "Jewess" occurs in 1 Chronicles 4:18; Acts 16:1; Acts 24:24 . In Titus 1:14 a warning is given against "Jewish fables" (in Greek the adjective is found also in Galatians 2:14 ). The "Jews' religion" ( Ioudaismós ) is referred to in Galatians 1:13 , Galatians 1:14 . On the "Jews' language,' see Languages Of The Old Testament; on the "Jews' religion," see Israel , Religion Of .
