What is a Jew?

By: Elder Allen Daniels

In a recently Bible discussion, a brother in Christ asked this question, “Was Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees a “true blooded Jew?”

My answer to the brother was prefaced by another question: What is a Jew?

At the time of the writing of Gen 17:24-25 (Abraham being ninety-nine years old), there were NO Jews; the descendants of Abraham (Isaac and Jacob) were called Hebrews and later Israelites.

The well-known theologist, John Gill, writes, “Ur of the Chaldees; which Ben Melech renders a valley, was the place of Abram’s birth.  It was in Mesopotamia, that part of it next to Assyria being called the land of the Chaldeans; hence these are spoken of as the same by Stephen, in Acts 7:2-4: ‘And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.  Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.’”

The name “Jew” is primarily tribal (from Judah).  It is distinct from Israel, of the northern kingdom. After the Babylonian Captivity it was chiefly used to distinguish the race from Gentiles (John 2:6; Acts 14:1; Gal 2:15), where it denotes Christians of the Jewish race; it distinguishes Jews from Samaritans (John 4:9) and from proselytes (Act 2:10). The word is found most frequently in John’s Gospel and in the Acts; in the former it especially denotes the typical representatives of Jewish thought contrasted with believers in Christ, or with other Jews of less pronounced opinions (John 3:25; 5:10; 7:13; 9:22); such representatives were found, generally, in opposition to Christ; in the Acts they are chiefly those who opposed the Apostles and the Gospel. “Judaism” denotes “the Jews’ religion,” (Gal 1:13,14) and stands, not for their religious beliefs, but for their religious practices, not as instituted by God, but as developed and extended from these by the traditions of the Pharisees and scribes. In the Apocrypha it denotes comprehensively “the Government, laws, institutions and religion of the Jews.”

(Webster’s 1828 Dictionary; Lukyn Williams, in Hastings’ Bible Dictionary)

SO, what is a “true blooded Jew”?  Was Jesus a “true blooded Jew”?  Did He have any Gentile blood in Him?  He was a “Jew” because He was of the linage Judah, but he also had in His genealogy two Gentile women, “Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz [Boaz] begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse” (Matt 1:5); Rachab is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Rehab who was a harlot of Jericho.  Ruth, a Moabitess, was the daughter of Eglon, king of Moab. According to Jewish law it was unlawful for a Jew to marry a Gentile; nevertheless, the Scriptures declare that Ruth was married to Mahlon, the son of Jewish parents Elimelech And Naomi.

The word “Jew” (in its singular form) is first found in Scripture in Esther 2:5-6: “Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.”

The first appearance of “Jew” in the New Testament is in Matthew Chapter 2 and has reference to our Lord Jesus Christ, “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2)

Why was Jesus called “King of the Jews”?  Because according to Scriptural Prophecy the Messiah was to be the son of David and the heir of Solomon, “When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.  And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.” (Matthew 2:3-6).  The only two Jewish genealogies now in existence (Matthew Chapter one and Luke Chapter three) establish the fact that the man Jesus was indeed a Jew (because he came forth from the Tribe of Judah) and was “the son of David and the heir of Solomon,” which establishes beyond dispute that he had a legal right to sit upon King David’s throne.

If Jesus just came to save only the “natural Jews”, then what hope do the Gentiles (you and I) have in this scheme of salvation? Therefore, the question still remains, “what is a Jew?”  The Apostle Paul, who was a Jew by birth, redefined the term in Romans 2:28-29, “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” This is confirmed in Galatians 3:29, where Paul writes, “if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

The above concept is set forth throughout all of Paul’s Epistles.  Let us consider what he wrote to the to “the saints which are at Ephesus”, “Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both [Jew and Gentile] one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both [Jew and Gentile] unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.” (Eph 2:11-16.)

What is a Jew?  The answer depends in what context the question is asked. If you mean, what is a natural Jew, then you would have to know the genealogy of the person; if you are referring to the Jewish religion (Judaism), then you would be required to reject the whole New Testament and devote your life to the study of the Torah, attendance of daily synagogue worship, strict observance of the Sabbath, and other religious festivals, holy days, and adhere to the Jewish Dietary Laws.

But if you are a Christian (a born again believer and follower of Jesus Christ), then you must accept the Apostle Paul’s definition as previously stated in Romans 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”  This “Spiritual Jew” is not restricted to genealogy or geography, but includes a people out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation that dwell upon the earth; therefore, in the Christian Religion, there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. (see Rev 5:9, Rev 14:6, and  Col 3:11)

Published: 2012-01-22 by WAD