Editing Hebrews

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{{short description|Semitic-speaking Israelites, especially in the pre-monarchic period}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{About|the Hebrew people|the book of the Bible|Epistle to the Hebrews|the Semitic language spoken in Israel|Hebrew language}}
[[File:Judaean people are being deported into exile after the capture of Lachish.jpg|300px|thumb|[[Assyrian captivity |Judaean prisoners being deported into exile to other parts of the Assyrian Empire]]. Wall relief from the Southwest Palace at [[Nineveh]], [[Mesopotamia]], dated to 700–692 BCE (the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire| Neo-Assyrian period]]). Currently on display at the [[British Museum]].]]
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The '''Hebrews''' ({{Hebrew name|עִבְרִיִּים / עִבְרִים|ʿĪvrīm{{noitalics| / }}ʿĪvrīyyīm|ʿĪḇrīm{{noitalics| / }}ʿĪḇrīyyīm}}; {{Text|{{small|[[ISO 259|ISO 259-3]]:}} ''{{lang|he-Latn|ʕibrim}}'' / ''{{lang|he-Latn|ʕibriyim}}''}}) were an [[ancient Semitic-speaking peoples|ancient Semitic-speaking people]]. Historians mostly consider the Hebrews as synonymous with the [[Israelites]], with the term "Hebrew" denoting an Israelite from the nomadic era, which preceded the establishment of the [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Kingdom of Israel and Judah]] in the 11th century BCE. However, in some instances, the designation "Hebrew" may also be used historically in a wider sense, referring to the [[Phoenicia]]ns or other ancient Semitic-speaking civilizations, such as the [[Shasu]] on the eve of the [[Late Bronze Age collapse]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://psd.museum.upenn.edu/epsd/|title=Index of /epsd|website= psd.museum.upenn.edu |access-date= March 3, 2019}}</ref> It appears 34 times within 32 verses of the [[Hebrew Bible]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.stepbible.org/?q=strong=H5680%7Cversion=ESV&options=HVNUG&qFilter=H5680|title= עִבְרִי - Hebrew - iv.ri - H5680 - Word search - ESV - STEP|website= www.stepbible.org|access-date= March 3, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author= Brown |author2= Driver |author3= Briggs |author4= Gesenius |title= The NAS Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon |isbn= 0-198-64301-2 |year= 1952 |publisher= [[Oxford University Press]] |url= http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/hebrew/nas/ibriy.html |access-date= September 6, 2014}}</ref> Some scholars regard "Hebrews" as an [[ethnonym]],<ref>Douglas Knight, "Hebrews", ''The Oxford Companion to the Bible'': "An ethnic term, it antedated the common sociopolitical names Israel or Judah in the monarchic period, as well as the more ethnoreligious appellative Jew in later times."</ref> while others do not,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC&pg=PA567 Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible], p.567, "Hebrew, Hebrews... A non-ethnic term"</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=fuczEUuOt6UC&pg=PA266 ''Collapse of the Bronze Age''], p. 266, quote: "Opinion has sharply swung away from the view that the Apiru were the earliest Israelites in part because Apiru was not an ethnic term nor were Apiru an ethnic group."</ref> and others still hold that the multiple modern connotations of [[Ethnicity#Definitions and conceptual history |ethnicity]] may not all map well onto the sociology of [[Ancient Near East|ancient Near Eastern groups]].<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = 
 |first1               = 
 |editor-last1         = Steadman
 |editor-first1        = Sharon R.
 |editor-last2         = Ross
 |editor-first2        = Jennifer C.
 |date                 = 1 April 2016
 |title                = Agency and Identity in the Ancient Near East: New Paths Forward
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=0WreCwAAQBAJ
 |series               = Approaches to anthropological archaeology
 |publisher            = Routledge
 |page                 = 131
 |isbn                 = 9781134945443
 |access-date          = 14 November 2023
 |quote                = Ethnicity [...] is a [...] subtle and difficult phenomenon to explain within an ancient context. [...] I think it is dangerous to equate modern concepts of ethnicity with the sorts of social markers used in ancient times to distinguish groups of people from one another.
}} 
</ref>

By the time of the [[Roman Empire]], the term {{Transliteration|grc|Hebraios}} ({{Langx|grc|Ἑβραῖος|label=[[Greek language|Greek]]}}) could refer to the [[Jews]] in general (as ''[[Strong's Concordance|Strong's Hebrew Dictionary]]'' puts it: "any of the [[Jewish nation|Jewish Nation]]")<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.blueletterbible.org/nkjv/gen/1/1/s_1001|title= Genesis 1:1 (NKJV) |website= Blue Letter Bible|access-date= March 3, 2019}}</ref> or, at other times, specifically to those Jews who lived in [[Judea]], which was a [[Judaea (Roman province)|Roman province]] from 6 CE to 135 CE. However, at the time of [[early Christianity]], the term instead referred to [[Jewish Christianity|Jewish Christians]], as opposed to the [[Judaizers]] and to the [[Pauline Christianity |gentile Christians]].<ref>Acts 6:1: "Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution." - among other texts).</ref><!--Judaea was, from 6 CE until 135 CE, a [[Roman province]]--><!-- in which the Jews' sacred [[Temple in Jerusalem]] stood until 70 CE, when it was [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)| destroyed by the Roman army]]. -->

In Armenian, [[Georgian language|Georgian]], Italian, Greek, [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]], Serbian, Russian, Romanian, and a few other languages, the transfer of the name from [[List of Jewish ethnonyms |"Hebrew" to "Jew"]] never took place, and "Hebrew" (or the linguistic equivalent) remains the primary word used to refer to an [[Who is a Jew?#Ethnic definitions |ethnic Jew]].<ref>English "Jewish Museum of Venice" translates Italian ''Museo Ebraico di Venezia''. - See for example: {{cite web |author= Administrator |url= http://www.museoebraico.it/english/ |title= Jewish Museum of Venice - homepage |publisher= Museoebraico.it |access-date= August 4, 2012 |archive-date= August 17, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120817113532/http://www.museoebraico.it/english/ |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ghetto.it/ghetto/en/index.asp |title= Jewish Ghetto of Venice |publisher= Ghetto.it |access-date= August 4, 2012 |archive-date= December 25, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181225214824/http://www.ghetto.it/ghetto/en/index.asp%20 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

With the [[revival of the Hebrew language]] in the 19th century and with the emergence of the [[Yishuv]], the term "Hebrew" has been applied{{cn|date=November 2023}} to the Jewish people of this re-emerging society in [[Israel]] or to the Jewish people in general.

==Etymology==
The biblical term ''Ivri'' ({{lang|he|עברי}}; {{IPA|he|ʕivˈri}}) is usually rendered as ''Hebrew'' in English ({{langx|grc|Ἑβραῖος|link=no}}; {{langx|la|Hebraeus|link=no}}). The biblical word ''Ivri'' has the plural form ''Ivrim'', or ''Ibrim''. The definitive origin of the term "Hebrew" remains uncertain.<ref name="Hebrew">{{cite encyclopedia | title = Hebrew | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica | place = Chicago |year = 2009 }}</ref>

The most generally accepted hypothesis today<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?t=kjv&strongs=h5680 | editor-last=Gesenius | editor-first=H. W. F. |title=Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/genesis/14-13.htm| work=Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges |title=Genesis 14:13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| editor-last=Ernest |editor-first=Klein |title=A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English |url=https://www.sefaria.org.il/Klein_Dictionary%2C_%D7%A2%D6%B4%D7%91%D6%B0%D7%A8%D6%B4%D7%99?lang=he}}</ref> is that the text intends ''ivri'' as the adjective (Hebrew suffix -i) formed from ''ever'' (עֵבֶר) 'beyond, across' (avar (עָבַר) 'he crossed, he traversed'), as a description of migrants 'from across the river' as the Bible describes the Hebrews.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Joshua 24:3 But I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates and led him through all the land of Canaan, and I multiplied his descendants. I gave him Isaac|url=https://biblehub.com/joshua/24-3.htm|access-date=August 4, 2020|website=biblehub.com}}</ref> It is also supported by the 3rd century BCE [[Septuagint]], which translates ''ivri'' to ''perates'' (περατής),<ref>{{cite web| title=Abram the Hebrew = Αβραμ τῷ περάτῃ |url=https://www.blueletterbible.org/lxx/gen/14/1/t_conc_14013}}</ref> a Greek word meaning "one who came across, a migrant",<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Liddell|first1=Henry George|last2=Scott|first2=Robert|title=περατής|website=A Greek-English Lexicon|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dperath%2Fs|access-date=September 3, 2022}}</ref> from ''perao'' (περάω) "to cross, to traverse",<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Liddell|first1=Henry George|last2=Scott|first2=Robert|title=περάω|website=A Greek-English Lexicon|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=pera/w1|access-date=September 3, 2022}}</ref> as well as some early traditional commentary.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bereishit Rabah 42:8|url=https://www.sefaria.org.il/Bereishit_Rabbah.42.8?lang=he|type=on the first mention of the word ''ivri'' in the Bible: the phrase "Abram the ''ivri''" of Genesis 14:13}}</ref> [[Wilhelm Gesenius|Gesenius]] considers it the only linguistically acceptable hypothesis.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wilhelm Gesenius|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Gesenius'_Hebrew_Grammar/2._Sketch_of_the_History_of_the_Hebrew_Language|title=Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar|chapter=Sketch of the History of the Hebrew Language }}</ref> The description of peoples and nations from their location "from across the river" (often the river [[Euphrates]], sometimes the [[Jordan River]]) was common in this region of the ancient Near-East:<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Beattie|first1=D. R. G.|last2=Davies|first2=Philip R.|date=March 1, 2011|title=What Does Hebrew Mean?1|url=https://academic.oup.com/jss/article/56/1/71/1661105|journal=Journal of Semitic Studies|language=en|volume=56|issue=1|pages=71–83|doi=10.1093/jss/fgq059|issn=0022-4480}}</ref> it appears as ''eber nari'' in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]<ref>A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, Jeremy Black, Andrew George, Nicholas Postgate, page 64</ref><ref>[https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/search_results.php?SearchMode=Text&ObjectID=P336126 Example]: definition of [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa02/sig?%E2%98%A3%40saao%2Fsaa02%25akk-x-stdbab%3Ae-bir-ID%E2%82%82%3DEber-nari%5Bacross%20the%20river%2F%2FSyria%20west%20of%20Euphrates%5DGN%C2%B4GN%24Eber-nari eber nari] in Akkadian-language [http://oracc.iaas.upenn.edu/saao/saa02/P336126/html Treaty of Esarhaddon King of Assyria with Baal King of Tyre] (British Museum, London, UK)</ref> and ''avar nahara'' in [[Aramaic]] (both corresponding to Hebrew ''ever nahar''), the Aramaic expression's use being quoted verbatim in the Bible, for example in an Aramaic letter sent to the [[List of monarchs of Persia|King of Persia]] in the [[Book of Ezra]]<ref>[https://biblehub.com/ezra/4-11.htm Ezra 4:11, New American Standard Bible]: "To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, ''the men in the region beyond the Euphrates River''" (Aramaic: ''enash avar nahara'').</ref> or in the [[Book of Nehemiah]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nehemiah 2:7 Hebrew Text Analysis|url=https://biblehub.com/text/nehemiah/2-7.htm|access-date=August 4, 2020|website=biblehub.com}}</ref> sometimes rendered as Trans-Euphrates.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nehemiah 2:7 in the New International Version translation: "may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates"|url=https://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-7.htm|access-date=August 4, 2020|website=biblehub.com}}</ref>

[[File:Canaanites and Shasu Leader captives from Ramses III's tile collection; By Niv Lugassi.png|thumb|[[Ramesses III prisoner tiles]] depicting Canaanite and Shasu leaders as captives. Most archaeologists regard the Hebrews as local [[Canaanite people|Canaanite]] refugees and possibly some Shasu settling down in the hill-country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://members.bib-arch.org/biblical-archaeology-review/34/6/9|title=Shasu or Habiru: Who Were the Early Israelites?|date=August 24, 2015|website=The BAS Library|access-date=March 3, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch04-2.htm|title=Israelites as Canaanites|website=www.fsmitha.com|access-date=March 3, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://members.bib-arch.org/biblical-archaeology-review/34/6/8|title=Inside, Outside: Where Did the Early Israelites Come From?|date=August 24, 2015|website=The BAS Library|access-date=March 3, 2019}}</ref>]]
[[File:Samuel e david.jpg|right|thumb|A depiction of the Ancient Hebrews in [[Dura-Europos synagogue]]]]
[[File:Dura Europos fresco Jews cross Red Sea.jpg|thumb|[[Moses]] leads the Israelites across the [[Red Sea]] while pursued by [[Pharaoh]]. Fresco from the [[Dura-Europos]] synagogue in Syria, 244–256 CE]]
{{bibleverse||Genesis|10:21|HE}} refers to [[Shem]], the elder brother of [[Ham (son of Noah)|Ham]] and [[Japheth]], and thus the first-born son of [[Noah]], as the father of the sons of [[Eber]] (עבר), which may have a similar meaning.

Some authors such as Radak and R. Nehemiah<ref>[https://www.thetorah.com/article/who-were-the-hebrews Who Were the Hebrews?]</ref> argue that ''Ibri'' denotes the descendants of the biblical patriarch [[Eber]] (Hebrew עבר), son of [[Salah (biblical figure)|Shelah]], a great-grandson of Noah and an ancestor of [[Abraham]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5406-eber|title=EBER - JewishEncyclopedia.com|website=www.jewishencyclopedia.com|access-date=March 3, 2019}}</ref> hence the occasional [[Anglicisation|anglicization]] ''Eberites''. Others disagree, arguing that the Eberites and Hebrews were two different ethnicities, with the former specifically inhabiting Assyria. Nonetheless, the descent of Hebrews from Eber is acknowledged.<ref>{{Cite Jewish Encyclopedia|title=Eber|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5406-eber|first1=Emil G.|last1=Hirsch|first2=Eduard|last2=König|authorlink1=Emil G. Hirsch|authorlink2=Friedrich Eduard König|volume=5|page=30}}</ref>

Since the 19th-century CE discovery of the second-millennium BCE inscriptions mentioning the [[Habiru]], many theories have linked these to the Hebrews. Some scholars argue that the name "Hebrew" is related to the name of those [[Nomad|semi-nomadic]] Habiru people recorded in [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] inscriptions of the 13th and 12th centuries BCE as having settled in [[Egypt]].<ref name="entry in britannica.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hebrew|title=Hebrew - people|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=March 3, 2019}}</ref> Other scholars rebut this, proposing that the Hebrews are mentioned in later texts of the [[Third Intermediate Period of Egypt|3rd Intermediate Period of Egypt]] (11th century BCE) as [[Shasu|Shasu of ''Yhw'']],<ref>{{cite journal | last = Rainey | first = Anson | title = Shasu or Habiru. Who Were the Early Israelites? | journal = Biblical Archaeology Review | volume = 34 | issue = 6 (Nov/Dec) | publisher = Biblical Archaeology Society | date = November 2008}}</ref> while some scholars<ref>{{Cite web|title=Klein Dictionary, עִבְרִי|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Klein_Dictionary,_עִבְרִי|access-date=August 4, 2020|website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref> consider these two hypotheses compatible, ''Ḫabiru'' being a generic Akkadian form parallel to Hebrew ''ʿivri'' from the Akkadian equivalent of ''ʿever'' "beyond, across" describing foreign peoples "from across the river",<ref>See above the discussion of the Akkadian and Aramaic expressions ''eber nari'' and ''avar nahara'' respectively, corresponding to Hebrew ''ever nahar'', being widely used in the ancient Near-East.</ref> where the letter [[Ayin#Hebrew ayin|ayin]] (ע) in Hebrew corresponds to ''ḫ'' in Akkadian<ref>{{Cite book|last=Klein|first=Ernest|url=https://archive.org/details/AComprehensiveEtymologicalDictionaryOfTheEnglishLanguageByErnestKlein/page/n357/mode/2up|title=A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary Of The English Language|year=1971|pages=692}}</ref> (as in Hebrew ''zeroaʿ'' corresponding to Akkadian ''zuruḫ''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Search Entry|url=http://www.assyrianlanguages.org/akkadian/dosearch.php?searchkey=6333&language=id|access-date=August 4, 2020|website=www.assyrianlanguages.org}}</ref>). Alternatively, some argue that Habiru refers to a social class found in every ancient Near Eastern society, which Hebrews could be part of.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=D. Friedberg |first=Albert |date=22 February 2017 |title=Who Were the Hebrews? |url=https://www.thetorah.com/article/who-were-the-hebrews#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20Hebrew%2C%E2%80%9D%20a%20member,the%20original%20language%20of%20man. |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128014216/https://www.thetorah.com/article/who-were-the-hebrews |archive-date=28 November 2023 |website=The Torah.com}}</ref>

==Use as synonym for "Israelites"==
{{See also|Israelites|Who is a Jew?|History of ancient Israel and Judah}}
In the [[Hebrew Bible]], the term ''Hebrew'' is normally used by foreigners (namely, the Egyptians) when speaking about [[Israelites]] and sometimes used by Israelites when speaking of themselves to foreigners,<ref>William David. Reyburn, Euan McG. Fry. ''A Handbook on Genesis''. New York: United Bible Societies. 1997.</ref>{{Page number needed|date=September 2022}} although [[Saul]] does use the term for his fellow countrymen in {{Bibleverse||1 Samuel|13:3|HE}}. In {{Bibleverse||Genesis|11:16-26|HE}}, [[Abraham]] (Abram) is described as a descendant of [[Eber]]; [[Josephus]] states "Eber" was the patriarch that Hebrew was named after proceeding from the [[Tower of Babel]] at the time of Eber's son [[Peleg]], from which ''Hebrew'' would eventually become derived.<ref>Flavius Josephus - [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0526.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.6.4 Antiquities of The Jews, Book I, Chapter VI, Paragraph 4]: {{langx|el|Ἀρφαξάδου δὲ παῖς γίνεται Σάλης, τοῦ δὲ Ἕβερος, ἀφ᾽ οὗ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους Ἑβραίους ἀρχῆθεν ἐκάλουν: Ἕβερος δὲ Ἰούκταν καὶ Φάλεγον ἐγέννησεν: ἐκλήθη δὲ Φάλεγος, ἐπειδὴ κατὰ τὸν ἀποδασμὸν τῶν οἰκήσεων τίκτεται: φαλὲκ γὰρ τὸν μερισμὸν Ἑβραῖοι καλοῦσιν.|translation=Sala was the son of Arphaxad; and his son was Heber, from whom they originally called the Jews Hebrews. Heber begat Joetan and Phaleg: he was called Phaleg, because he was born at the dispersion of the nations to their several countries; for Phaleg among the Hebrews signifies division.}}</ref><ref>‘To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth (''erets'') was divided’ ({{Bibleverse||Genesis|10:25|HE}})</ref>

According to the ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' the terms ''Hebrews'' and ''Israelites'' usually describe the same people, stating that they were called Hebrews before the conquest of the Land of [[Canaan]] and Israelites afterwards.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=HEBREW |encyclopedia=Jewishe Encyclopedia |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7445-hebrew |access-date=March 3, 2019}}</ref> 

Professor Nadav Na'aman and others say that the conflation of Hebrew with Israelite is rare and is only used when Israelites are "in exceptional and precarious situations, such as migrants or slaves."<ref>{{cite book |author=Carolyn Pressler |url=https://archive.org/details/genderlawhebrewb00matt |title=Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |year=2009 |isbn=978-0567545008 |editor=Bernard M. Levinson |editor-link=Bernard M. Levinson |page=[https://archive.org/details/genderlawhebrewb00matt/page/n152 152] |chapter=Wives and Daughters, Bond and Free: Views of Women in the Slave Laws of Exodus 21.2-11 |editor2=Victor H. Matthews |editor2-link=Victor H. Matthews |editor3=Tikva Frymer-Kensky |editor3-link=Tikva Frymer-Kensky |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Carvalho |first=Corrine L. |title=Encountering Ancient Voices: A Guide to Reading the Old Testament |publisher=Anselm Academic |year=2010 |isbn=978-1599820507 |page=68}}</ref> Professor Albert D. Friedberg similarly argues that Hebrews refer to socioeconomically disadvantaged Israelites, especially in the context of the [[Book of Exodus]] and [[Books of Samuel]].<ref name=":0" />

In {{Bibleverse||Genesis|14:13|HE}}, Abraham is described as ''Avram Ha-Ivri'' which translates literally as "Abram the Hebrew." Hebrew, in this context, might refer to Abraham's descent from Eber. It might also refer to Abraham's [[Hebrew language|primary language]] or his status as a migrant from the "other side of the river".<ref name=":0" />

Theologian [[Alexander Maclaren|Alexander MacLaren]] believes that Hebrew was a nickname for all migrants who migrated to Canaan from the other side of the Euphrates River (or the Jordan River), from the perspective of the 'long-settled' aboriginal inhabitants of Canaan. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Genesis 14 MacLaren Expositions Of Holy Scripture |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/maclaren/genesis/14.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208035016/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/maclaren/genesis/14.htm |archive-date=February 8, 2024 |website=Biblehub.com}}</ref> 

== Use as synonym for "Jews" ==
[[File:1940'S POSTER ENCOURAGING SAILING ON HEBREW SHIPS. כרזה משנות ה-40 הקוראת לשוט באוניות עבריות.D247-028.jpg|thumb|left|200px|1940s poster:<br/>''Sail on Hebrew ships!'']]
By the Roman period, "Hebrews" could be used to designate the Jews, who use the Hebrew language.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Hebrews |title=Hebrews|access-date=March 3, 2019|via=The Free Dictionary}}</ref> The [[Epistle to the Hebrews]], one of the books of the New Testament, was probably directed at [[Jewish Christian]]s.{{cn|date=February 2022}}
{{Quote box|width=246px|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|align=right|quote= A friend of mine in [[Warsaw]] told me about a [[Poland|Polish]] journalist who visited [[Israel]] for the first time. On his return he reported with great excitement:<br/>“You know what I’ve discovered? In Israel, too, there are Jews!”<br/>For this Pole, Jews are people who wear a long black kaftan and a big black hat. [...]<br/> This distinction between [[Israelis]] and Jews would not have surprised any of us 50 years ago. Before the foundation of the State of Israel, none of us spoke about a “Jewish state”. In our demonstrations we chanted: “Free Immigration! Hebrew State!”<br/>In almost all{{efn|Hebrew-language}} media quotations from those days, there appear the two words “Hebrew state”, almost never “Jewish state”.|3= [[Uri Avnery]], born in 1923.<ref name="uri">{{cite web |last1=Avnery |first1=Uri |title=The Original Sin |url=http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1290871909 |publisher=[[Gush Shalom]] |access-date=26 January 2023 |date=27 November 2010}}</ref>}}
In some modern languages, including [[Armenian language|Armenian]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Romanian language|Romanian]], and many [[Slavic languages]], the name ''Hebrews'' (with linguistic variations) is the standard [[ethnonym]] for Jews; but in many other languages in which both terms exist, it is currently considered derogatory to call Jews "Hebrews".<ref>Yitzhaq Feder, in an online-article (c. 2013), "[https://www.thetorah.com/article/dont-call-me-hebrew-the-mysterious-origins-of-the-first-anti-semitic-slur Don't Call Me Hebrew! The Mysterious Origins of the First Anti-Semitic Slur]" suggests the term's present-day derogatory quality goes back to the origins of writing about the Jewish people.</ref><ref>E. G. Kraeling, "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/529014 The Origin of the Name ''Hebrews'']", ''American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures'' 58/3 (July 1941): 237-253.</ref>

Among certain left-wing or liberal circles of Judaic cultural lineage, the word "Hebrew" is used as an alternatively [[Secularism in Israel|secular]] description of the Jewish people (e.g., [[Bernard Avishai]]'s ''The Hebrew Republic'' or left-wing wishes for a [[one-state solution|"Hebrew-Arab" joint cultural republican state]]). It is also used in some circles as a secular description of people of Judaic cultural lineage who practice other religions or none, including [[Hebrew Catholics]].

=== Use in Zionism ===
{{See also|Negation of the Diaspora}}

Beginning in the late 19th century, the term "Hebrew" became popular among secular Zionists.  In this context, the word alluded to the transformation of the Jews into a strong, independent, self-confident secular national group ("the New Jew") sought by classical Zionism. This use died out after the establishment of the state of Israel, when "Hebrew" was replaced with "Jew" or "Israeli".<ref name="shavitxiv">{{cite book|last=Shavit|first=Yaacov|title=The New Hebrew Nation|publisher=Routledge|year=1987|pages=xiv|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ziok8FgWCpQC&q=merlin%20kook%20hebrew&pg=PR14|isbn=0-7146-3302-X}}</ref>

[[David Ben-Gurion]], the first Prime Minister of Israel, believed that the Hebrews were the indigenous inhabitants of Canaan that joined Abraham's religion, after he settled in the region. He also believed that not all Hebrews joined Jacob's family when they migrated to Egypt and later, birthed the generation of Hebrews that endured the [[The Exodus|Exodus]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wazana |first=Nili |date=April 15, 2018 |title=Israel's Declaration of Independence and the Biblical Right to the Land |url=https://www.thetorah.com/article/israels-declaration-of-independence-and-the-biblical-right-to-the-land |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240207091222/https://www.thetorah.com/article/israels-declaration-of-independence-and-the-biblical-right-to-the-land |archive-date=February 7, 2024 |website=TheTorah.com}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
*''[[Ancient Judaism (book)|Ancient Judaism]]'', [[Max Weber]], Free Press, 1967, {{ISBN|0-02-934130-2}}
*{{cite journal|author-link= Solomon Zeitlin |last=Zeitlin|first= Solomon|title=The Names Hebrew, Jew and Israel: A Historical Study|journal= The Jewish Quarterly Review|volume= 43|issue=4|date=1953|pages=365–379|doi=10.2307/1453236|jstor=1453236}}
*Richard Kugelman, "[https://scholarship.shu.edu/jcs-bridge-I/ Hebrew, Israelite, Jew in the New Testament]." In The Bridge: A Yearbook of Judaeo-Christian Studies, Vol. 1, edited by John M. Oesterreicher and Barry Ulanov, 204–224. New York: Pantheon Books, 1955.
*{{cite book|last=Harvey|first=Graham|title=The True Israel: Uses of the Names Jew, Hebrew, and Israel in Ancient Jewish and Early Christian Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dy5D90UapWsC&pg=PR7|year=2001|publisher=BRILL|isbn=0-391-04119-3}}

== External links ==
*{{Commonscatinline}}

[[Category:Hebrews| ]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples of the Near East]]
[[Category:Canaan]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible nations]]
[[Category:Semitic-speaking peoples]]