TA2Md 444% Swill B xX @ The Jewish almanac : Rh archive.org D “A The Jewish almanac IDENTITY CRISIS A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TERMS FOR “JEW” Strictly speaking, i incoerwct to cab an | preterm bene Yiaroe ancient Israelite & “Jew” of to call a cor c elites A simile temporary Jew an "Israeine o¢ a "Hebeew cs the stor The first Hebrews may not re beer Jews action between sree at al, and comemporary Palestinis by im | Samuel and the interact am thee own definition of the term “Pales [Abeahaen| with Canaanies and other nor Sar,” hu 10 inchade Jews srr or sxoetites in Gen. 14 (see 13, whe people—although in choosing the ma the Greek tn the Palestinw’” Jor thes homeland. they b : ning “man of the yonder re picked @ name that orginally signified Jonah, Ahewise, at sea with a crew apposite 21 enclave ot k non-tsenelites, refers to himsel!l in dheir ist” tn the strict ser presence as a “Hebrew the original “Zion!” was & singe hill in Jerusalem, not o whole nd, much Sess n Tur ts possibly based on the from the Nie to the Euphwotes.” as the reposition éuer, mesréng “Across, maxiealisis mainian yonder” {the sudo 1 is an adjectival How these cuncosities of terme : sense of fs a compliated and imerest the mear = kd cio ooneel soma of of the general sence of "yorder-ite.” &. “for “Hebrew,” “Isroctn Jone eigner.” But since a number of regions in arnt "“Ziontet’—are essential ees je Enct are ated by the Both Jewish and we end under ver le. 3. Ever he-Yarden, “Transion their bane ena Ever ha Nahar, “Trans-tivert," |. e., Trae one oven | Bupheates), the seem ‘ort cosas just as wll ddlle East But lot the aga original meanings of these natigh Te regions, with no con vn part ea ala notation of foreignness—merely regonal people misconstrue o weed is as much apa | Particulartty. Confusion on the matier is Of its meaning as the “correct” rearing compounded by the a} axibiquity aed the histor five terms has in the frame of reference in which the desgna bere Fegan a aaa tion “Hebrew” originated: were the “He brews" thought of as “those out y from the standpoint of Mi those fram out yond point of Canaanites 8 dweler of one of these fambar occurs in the of the Penzatsuch to refer 10 To complicate the matier further, @ wor e. but only i thowe marratives, timiar in sound and meanrg opin. habiry tach as the Joseph story (Gen 39-48} cof khapéru, occurs in extrabiblical ancient and the Exodus story (Exod. 3-10), that are Newr Eastern scurces, where it may or may set in Egypt. wbere [sraelte ecyerded not designate an Israchte. The kings of the os foreigners. There “‘Hebeew”’ ts erther used Canaanite city-states, it as | by Egyptians to refer to Iseselnes or by becone lereel, wrote manny th Israeltns to refer to themaehes i the pres Egyptian Pharsahs, in the era just preceding ence of Egyptians—among themsaives, the the henaite exec from Egypte complare IDENTITY CRISIS e 22/644 | q | p>TA2Md 444% Zs will B The Jewish almanac: Rh... : x archive.org LH < ° The Jewish almanac by Egyptians scents ot by Isractites to refer to theme im the pres ence of Egyptinns—among . e Page3of620| q@ > >| ®| X743 fd ¥ “eee By al xX @ The Jewish almanac: Rh... archive.org The Jewish almanac ‘wey. [2] The stranger & @ gaardian angel of Esou, and the word “God™ should be trans lated “angels (3) The sirenger ts God Him ‘all, of an angelic representative, who souks to put Jacob rough # tral tnal—indeed his fint real experience of direct combat— belore recancting hin with bes beother ‘One way oF another. ‘is story is @ folk ‘etymology, and not» rebable guide to the edgnal mearing of the name ~tarne! depending on how 2s compaments ate strued cond mean “He. who:fights-for-God ‘God Fules.” or exen, vie corruption in peo nuncabon, “upright \yashar Ei) of “God ts u The name ‘children of laae!” ' interchange able Groughout the Bie with Jacob” or “Hause of scab also synonymous wih te poetic name Bene Yeshurun, “chikdsen of Yeshurun.”” The dew Ish homeland is called Erete Yisroel ("the Land of Irae), which 6 sometimes: also called Eretz Canaon |"the land of Cansen”) (The name “Cansan” has been variously explained as meaning “lowland,” “mer chant.” or “purple the last term reier ring to a hey industry of the Canwa which is also the source of the name “Phoe nian”) The land and people "tee Kingdom under the rules of and Soicenon duting the years 11 RCE. When King Solomon died, tise king dom split into a northem and 2 southern region, “Taeael” and “dudah The capital af the northern ki to be Jerusalem (lounded as a David) and became Samara (near the present-day Amb town of Nabhas, the bibbcal ety Shechern! Though the souther kingdom eventually became the bearer of Jewish density bv world history, the 1 dom was chaser in tnbal componitian 80 thve old confederate league that had origeally conquered the land The kngricen of Ismet was defeated by the Assyrians in 722 ACE aed the inhabitants were deported to the East—the stert of the legends of the “Ten Lost Tribes of fsrac” (Judah, the seth Wingdom. surveed ntl defeat by the Baby forians and the Babylonan exihe in 586 BCE) A few mn fsraclees reenaie around Sarna, inlernaming wth Assyrians and preserve form beaelte regan based on the Pentateuch These were the peopive later called “Samarnans,”” howe re Jection of post: Pentateuchal Jewish tradition lad them into fequent conficts with latter day Jews. The Samantans survive today at an Arabic-speaking minority in beael and the Wow Bank. not fuly integrated inex either Sewnsty or Arab socieny hikdewny ot Bet Yaakou): neypectively: per hing Page 40f 620 | > ‘ernetite.” he “Hebrew, man synonym for “dew” througho biblical history down to modem eres, wth perhagn bess adaptnbity to peorative usage than the other terms. Since the founding of the sate of Israel a 1948 the term has come to jostle against the newer seem fael.” which i not synonymous. in ge Tsxaelne” means a biblical Solower of the relagon of Maves and dese lerael!” means a cititen of the whether Jewtsh in religion of course, 1 children of Israel (Kenesset Yisroel) and weaatis are Jewssh “sr Asserobly of lara ‘People israel" (Am act) have always been the teres pre ferred by Jews for thee own peopletood In fact, eachy Christianity paid its respects to the attractiveness of these names by think ing of Christendom as a new "Israel zw te originally deere the tribal name “Judah.” the name of the fourth san of dacob. Jodabines, thar is, de scendants of Judah, were organized (along with seme neghboring mbes) by their hins man King Dovid into @ mini-bingdon cen tered fe. Hebeon belore David became the first iid pan-Israelte monarch Pre to th time the Judahites were cut off from their northern beetuen by encampenets of Pil istres When David captured the city of Jerusalem from the Jabusites {a Canaarine people), he opened up @ vital cordor connecting the northern and the southern Inbws, thus permitting wrrdeation of the ne tion Irae. David was then made king ov ait srael, in peeterence to the ‘of Saul. The tenuous union of northern an south of Denid and his son Solomon Soloman died the two regions again spilt al from one ancther Is Wusly that the end religous character of Judah tingdoe north—more cosmopoltan tribal territorial claims, duel as a culture during exte “Jewish” im the pre IMS understanding the tent term “Jew {hes n bes worked well during the but when was dil The exile of Judah came when large numbers ot the inh eported to Babylon. From then dean” came to be the principle torm aie it remained $0 to the present of Esther, set in Persia Mordecai (technically a member of the “Ten Lost Tribes") ts called “yeudi.” Jude Jew. the book even © duces the vert mityahed "becoming Jewtsh Judie.” Booth tacses suggest tha went7T43ad%“4%4%4%-> Swill B xX @ The Jewish almanac: Rh... Qo md archive.org The Jewish almanac | Sewn oF Arab socieny I wotarn.~ Both tacscars suggest that the E [money (Roman coins found in Britain}; Jew's | of the kingdom of @ Page 50f620| q | Dh | ®| xX orden. But present-day |yvyvye Gad xX @ The Jewish almanac: Rh... Qo md archive.org The Jewish almanac money (Rome coins found in Bttain) Je af the kingdoe pitch (bitumen from te Dead Seal: and o Palestinian Ar course, Jew's heep (s twanging instrument arian area a8 ther home popular in pessant culture didnot Strip (the lat PALESTINIAN: ane As noted exer, "Palestine Raman desigrtion for the whole land of lsrae themselves were met be in people eho in an about the year £. not i that Gndwed, possibly simul ikdnens of Ieeneite conquests Christians and me general migatce of Sen that pat sprwad across the « en achem Beegin's: paltical Asa Mn: peal to the status quo of the The Homers hates ul speak of “Palestinian A Jews," the tanar inc 2 immigrated st split ethnical the Geoek we that i, inhabit something like “pramont to @ Hebrew: vw and ance he became they, hired same of Mee situation suggew . Crete. Tr . f ae tal central reap oes al the and s0 made possible Jen imo. & nation eenple Mount that Land. B-wee of Israel “the P aouae to be shoet teed tabpedic erat a province of the term ae tkea over te ater the | century ct It tl sews revived by and On by 1922 the Brite revived the bere tc Ignate at least part of the aren specities 2s inter area included both rf fas Goome ia but in practice, the est of religion and came wo be designate ' pot cantiauity we contar of their exintence — f | e Page6 of 620 | that the weny first Jews were those who | Jews can defin