What Tribe Do The Jews Come From?
by Pastor Don Elmore
I looked on the website to find what the Jews themselves say in answer to the question: “Where Did The Jews Come From?” I found many which said the following:
“The Jews originate from the region of Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq). Originally, the Jewish people were called Israelites or sons of Israel, after the last Jewish Patriarch Jacob, who was also named Israel. The Israelites were composed of twelve tribes, of which the tribe of Judah was one. Although they were briefly unified in the 10th Century BC under the Kings David and Solomon, they eventually split into two kingdoms — one called Israel (with ten tribes) and one called Judah (with the remaining two tribes).
In a series of expulsions ending in 722 BCE, the tribes living in the Kingdom of Israel were expelled and SUBSEQUENTLY DISAPPEARED ONLY TWO TRIBES REMAINED Judah and Benjamin, alongside Jewish priest in the Kingdom of Judah. As Judah was the dominant tribe of the southern Kingdom (indeed, the kingdom was called Judah), the remaining Israelites became Judaites or Judaeans and eventually just Jews.”
As a second witness, we look at the definition of “What Does ‘Jew’ Mean” from The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, p. 397 — depending on the context, Yehudah variously means:
- Son of Jacob and Leah (named Judah)
- Tribe descended from Judah
- Nation of the southern kingdom under the dynasty of David, as distinguished from the northern kingdom of Ephraim or Israel
- Land of Judah.
Did you catch what they are saying? The term “Jew” or “Jews” in the Old Testament Scriptures never refers to the northern ten tribes of Israel, but only to Judah, the tribe of Judah, the southern house of Judah, or the land of Judah. Furthermore, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were never referred to as “Jews.”
So Ephraim, Manasseh, Reuben, Naphtali, Zebulon, Asher, Issachar, Simeon, Dan, and Gad the ten-tribes of the northern Kingdom of Israel that was divorced because they forgot the laws that our God gave to them and Benjamin and Levi of the southern Kingdom are NOT Jews! The Jews only claim the tribe of Judah as being their original ancestor and that can be easily proved wrong too.
What does the Bible say about who is a “Jew”? Where in the Bible is the first place where the word “Jews” is used in the King James Version? Is it in the Pentateuch? No. That means that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were never referred to as being Jews!
It is in the twelfth book of the Bible: 2 Kings. It is referring to the battle of the House of Israel and Syria against the House of Judah. In 2 Kings 16:5 it tells of “...Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war; and they besieged Ahaz, [king of Judah], but could not overcome him.”
We have the ten tribes of the northern Kingdom of Israel allied with the Kingdom of Syria in a battle with the southern Kingdom of Judah. Let’s look at the next verse:
“At that time Rezin king of SYRIA recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the JEWS from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day” (2 Kings 16:6; KJV).
Now let’s compare this with the New American Standard Bible (NASB).:
“At that time Rezin king of ARAM recovered Elath for ARAM, and cleared the JUDEANS out of Elath entirely; and the ARAMEANS came to Elath, and have lived there to this day” (2 Kings 16:6; NASB).
First of all, this proves that the northern Kingdom of Israel was not called Jews and they never are! And they didn’t disappear either as the Jews said:
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the TWELVE TRIBES which are scattered abroad, greeting.”
Who was the half-brother of Jesus writing to?
Secondly, the New American Standard Bible translated the Hebrew term Yehudi correctly, that is, “Judeans” because they were Israelites of the house of Judah. In fact, neither Yehudi or Yehudah, commonly translated “Jew” or “Jews, “ referred to anyone in the Old Testament Scriptures other than those pertaining to Judah; not “Jews.”
The “Jews” are NOT ISRAELITES. They are descended from the descendants of Edom. The Encyclopedia Judaica declares that “Modern Jewry is Edom;” and if they are descended from Esau, then they could not be descended from Jacob/Israel!
God says that He has war with Amelek (one of Esau’s descendants) for all generations and that Israel was to “Blot out the remembrance of Amelek from under heaven” (Exodus 17:15 and Deuteronomy 25:19). This is about the extermination of a particular race! Edom is stated to be “...The people against whom the Lord hath indignation FOREVER” (Malachi 1:4b). Those people were the people that God hated — “And I hated Esau...” (Malachi 1:3a).
The Canaanite/Edomite blood of any proportion is banned for ALL GENERATIONS. This includes the children of Judah and Simeon in their marriage with Canaanite women (Genesis 38); as well as with Esau. The major difference is that Esau did not marry or procreate the right seed!
Reference is often made to “God’s chosen people or race” suggesting wrongly that “The Jews” equates to all Israel. If these are “chosen”, then all the others must be “unchosen.” Scripture does not indicate that “The Jews” are Israelites, despite popular suggestion. Judaism has been a multi-racial religion since the before the days of our Savior. God treats different races very differently in the Bible.
