Israelites

Definition: Israelites

Israelites

Noun

1. (Old Testament) the ethnic group claiming descent from Abraham and Isaac (especially from Isaac's son Jacob); the nation whom God chose to receive his revelation and with whom God chose to make a covenant (Exodus 19).

Date "Israelites" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references)

Synonym: Israelites

Synonym: Hebrews (n). (additional references)

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Specialty Definition: Israelites

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This article concerns the twelve tribes of Israel as described in the Bible, and modern historical debates about the origins of the Israelites. Please read this entry in conjunction with the entry on the History of ancient Israel and Judah, Children of Israel, and the Bible and history.

Israelites in Biblical times

According to the Bible, the Israelites were the descendants of the children of Jacob, later known as Israel. His twelve male children were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Gad, Napthali, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin. Twelve tribes of Israel are listed in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible, Old Testament).

Tribe of Asher
Tribe of Benjamin
Tribe of Dan
Tribe of Joseph which was replaced over by those of his sons:
- Tribe of Ephraim
- Tribe of Manasseh
Tribe of Gad
Tribe of Issachar
Tribe of Judah or Tribe of Yehuda
Tribe of Naphtali
Tribe of Reuben or Tribe of Reuven
Tribe of Simeon or Tribe of Shimon
Tribe of Zebulun or Tribe of Zevulun
Tribe of Levi (This is a special case; see below)

The myth of the ten lost tribes

A simplistic understanding of Israelite history has led to the myth of the ten lost tribes. The ten lost tribes are those from the northern Kingdom of Israel, who were deported by the Assyrians in the 8th century BC. In the popular view, they all disappeared from history, leaving only the tribes of Benjamin and Judah as the forerunners of modern Jewry.

Some people hold that some of these ten tribes still maintained some semblance of their Israelite identity, and are waiting to be rediscovered. Various unorthodox views exist which continue the history of the lost tribes of Israel beyond this period, placing them variously in England or America. These viewpoints include those of the LDS church and the British Israelism of others, and Herbert W. Armstrong's teachings mentioning that that being the ancestors of American, England and Northwest Europeans they would have the dubious experience of the prophecies pertaining to Israel in the major prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Herbert W. Armstrong received his understanding of "British Israelism" from those who were not anti-Semitic. Armstrong believed that the Northwestern European Nations were descended from the tribes of Israel that migrated west from the areas they were exiled to in Asia.

However, Jews today are not descendants from only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin alone, but in fact are descendants of Israelites from all the other tribes of Israel (see below), as well as the converts to Judaism who joined them.

Most people believe that the southern Kingdom was only populated by the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, but this is not exactly so. Prior to King Saul, Israel was divided by its tribes with certain leaders from various tribes becoming judges of the tribe or surrounding tribes to fight the enemies of Israel. This is reflected in the book of Judges. Saul was selected as king, but after he acted rashly, the Bible says that God rejected his kingship and sought one who would replace him. David was then selected to be king, and his descendants were to rule over the House of Israel. For two generations, Israel had been united first under David for 33 years and remained so under Solomon for 40 more years.

Eventually, Israel suffered a civil war in 922 BC which split it into two parts. Jeroboam, Solomon's assistant, rejected the leadership of Solomon's son Rehoboam who wanted to tax the people heavily and this led to the revolt of the northern tribes and to the establishment of the (northern) Kingdom of Israel. It consisted of nine landed tribes: Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben and Gad, and some of Levi (which had no land allocation). This makes ten tribes, which later became known as "the lost ten tribes". However, Manasseh and Ephraim technically count as just one full tribe, so there were really eight full landed tribes, and part of one tribe without land. Samaria was its capital.

Judah, the southern Kingdom, had Jerusalem as its capital and was led by King Rehoboam. It was populated by the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Simeon (and also some of Levi). Simeon and Judah later merged together, and Simeon lost its separate identity.

In 722 BC the Assyrians, under Shalmaneser, and then under Sargon II, conquered Israel (the northern Kingdom), destroyed its capital Samaria, and sent the Israelites into exile and captivity. Much of the nine landed tribes of the northern kingdom become "lost." However, what is less commonly known is that many people from the conquered northern kingdom fled south to safety in Judea, the Southern Kingdom, which maintained its independence.

Thus, Judah then was populated with Israelites from Judah, Benjamin, Shimeon, some of Levi, and many from all of the other tribes as well. Today's Jews are descended from the inhabitants of this kingdom.

Jews as Israelites

Whatever the historical origin of the Israelite tribes, they had a distinct identity as recently as 722 BC, when the Assyrians conquered the northern Kingdom of Israel and sent its populace into exile. Many Israelites from the northern kingdom fled to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. At this point in time Judah's population melded into a conglomerate of people from all the Israelite tribes. In 586 BC the nation of Judah was conquered by Babylon. About 50 years later, in 537 BC the Persians (who conquered Babylon 2 years before) allowed Jews to move back to Jerusalem. By the end of this era, members of the tribes seem to have abandoned their individual identities.

Today's Jews are mostly descended from the Israelites of Judah, and thus are often identified as Israelites. Note that over time people joined the Jews, and married with the descendants of the Israelites. The number of converts is not trivial, but not so large as to swamp out the origin. It is thus fair to say that Jews today are descendants of those Israelites who lived in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, along with many converts who joined them.

One should take note of the historical debate over the accuracy of the Bible's account of the origin of the Israelites, discussed more fully in the entry on the History of ancient Israel and Judah.

Non-Jewish descendants of the Israelites

Most descendants of the Israelite tribes are not Jewish; over the last two millennia the Jewish kingdom of Israel was destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of its citizens were taken away into slavery or killed. The survivors assimilated into their surrounding cultures, and became lost to the Jewish people.

Anti-semitic pseudo-Israelite religions and cults

Ironically, there are many anti-semitic groups which claim to be only "true" Israelites. These include the Black Israelites of New York City and the neo-Nazi inspired Christian Identity movement.

There are a small number of other religious groups that do not claim to be Jews, but nonetheless claim the mantle of being "spiritual Israelites" as they have faith in the God of Israel. Some of these groups are openly hostile to Judaism, as they see themselves as the "true" Jews; while others are friendly to Judaism.

The general pattern among most of these groups is that they believe the Jewish people who exist today are at best only a small percent of the actual descendants of the Israelites, and at worst are demonic imposters who mislead the world about the word of God. Each of these groups independently sees themselves as the true descendants of Jacob, and claim the mantle of being an Israelite for themselves alone. None of these groups recognizes the validity of the other groups.

External links

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Israelites."

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Crosswords: Israelites

English words defined with "Israelites": Aaron ♦ David ♦ exodus ♦ Feast of the Unleavened Bread ♦ golden calf ♦ Israelitish ♦ Jericho, Joshua, Josue ♦ Law of Moses, Leviratical ♦ manna, manna from heaven, miraculous food, Mosaic law, Moses ♦ Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar II, Nebuchadrezzar, Nebuchadrezzar II, Nehushtan, Numbers ♦ Passover, Pesach, Pesah ♦ Saul, shofar, shophar, Sion ♦ Teraphim, Theocratical ♦ Uncircumcised, Unclean animals ♦ Zion. (references)

Specialty definitions using "Israelites": Achan, Adoni-zedec ♦ Bamoth, Beth-car, Black Cap, Bochim ♦ Chushan-rishathaim ♦ Dophkah ♦ Ebronah, Ehud, Exodus, Book of ♦ Gibeonite ♦ Hashmonah, Hiel ♦ Ibleam, Iim, Ije-abarim ♦ Jethro ♦ Karoon, Kehelathah, Kirjath-huzoth ♦ Make Bricks without Straw, Makheloth, manna, Mattanah, Mithcah, Moabite Stone, Mosera ♦ Nahaliel ♦ Oboth, Og ♦ Pithom ♦ quails ♦ Red Sea, Passage of, Rimmon-parez ♦ Sandalphon ♦ Treasure cities ♦ Zalmonah, Ziklag, Zur. (references)

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Modern Usage: Israelites

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	Hello Israelites! You are pigs! (VeggieTales: Dave and the Giant Pickle; writing credit: Frank Daniel; Alain Robbe-Grillet)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Israelites

Domain	Title
Books	Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide (reference) Death, Burial, and Afterlife in the Biblical World: How the Israelites and Their Neighbors Treated the Dead (reference) Israel and the ancient world; a history of the Israelites from the time of Abraham to the birth of Christ (reference) Philosophies of Life of Ancient Greeks and Israelites (reference) The Israelites (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Israelites

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Historic Usage: Israelites

Author	Date	Quotation
John Locke	1690	And therefore God almighty when he would express his gentle dealing with the Israelites, he tells them, that though he chastened them, he chastened them as a man chastens his son, Deut. (Second Treatise of Government)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Use in Literature: Israelites

Title	Author	Quote
Sylvie and Bruno	Carroll, Lewis	That teaching is best for children, and the Israelites seem to have been, mentally, utter children.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Israelites

Subject	Topic	Quote
Economic History	Jordan	Subsequent invaders and settlers included Hittites, Egyptians, Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arab Muslims, Christian Crusaders, Mameluks, Ottoman Turks, and, finally, the British. (references)
Lexicography	Devil's Dictionary	MANNA, n. A food miraculously given to the Israelites in the wilderness. When it was no longer supplied to them they settled down and tilled the soil, fertilizing it, as a rule, with the bodies of the original occupants.
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Usage Frequency: Israelites

"Israelites" is generally used as a noun (plural) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Israelites" is used about 93 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (plural)	100%	93	34,067

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expression: Israelites

Hypenated Usage
	Ending with "Israelites": non-israelites.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Israelites

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Expression	Frequency per Day
israelites	55
hebrew israelites	47
black israelites	25
black hebrew israelites	19
african hebrew israelites	5
china israelites	5
ancient israelites	4
israelites lyrics	4
hebrew israelites true	4
african hebrew israelites jerusalem	3
history israelites	3
des israelites la priere	2
ancient china israelite israelites	2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translation: Israelites

Language		Translations for "Israelites"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Swedish		israeler. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Israelites

Language	Period	Translations
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	israhel, israhele, israhelem, israheli, israhelis, israhelitem, israhelitis. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Bible Trace: Israelites

Language	Date	Source	Romans Chapter 9, Verse 4
Greek (transliterated)	250 BC	Septuagint	OitineV eisin israhlitai wn h uioqesia kai h doxa kai ai diaqhkai kai h nomoqesia kai h latreia kai ai epaggeliai
Latin	405	Vulgate	Qui sunt Israhelitae quorum adoptio est filiorum et gloria et testamenta et legislatio et obsequium et promissa
Old English	990	West Saxon	Israeles folces. Him is cildcyre swa suna; him is godlic wuldor, þa annese, seo æ-giefu, templbegong and þa gehat.
Middle English	1395	Wyclif	Whos is adopcioun of sones, and glorie, and testament, and yyuyng of the lawe, and seruyce, and biheestis;
Renaissance English	1526	Tyndale	Which are the Israelites. To whom pertayneth the adopcion and the glorie and the covenauntes and the law that was geven and the service of God and the promyses:
Jacobean English	1611	King James	Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Victorian English	1833	Webster	Who are Israelites; to whom pertain the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Basic English	1964	Ogden	Who are Israelites: who have the place of sons, and the glory, and the agreements with God, and the giving of the law, and the worship, and the hope offered by God:
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Matched Bible Translations: Israelites

Language	Romans Chapter 9, Verse 4
Cebuano	Sila mga Israelinhon, ug nailaha ang pagkainanak, ang kadungganan, ang mga pakigsaad, ang pagkahinatag sa kasugoan ang pagsimba, ug ang mga saad;
Croatian	Oni su Izraelci, njihovo je posinstvo, i Slava, i Savezi, i zakonodavstvo, i bogoštovlje, i obeæanja;
Danish	de, som jo ere Israeliter, hvem Sønneudkårelsen og Herligheden og Pagterne og Lovgivningen og Gudstjenesten og Forjættelserne tilhøre,
Dutch	Welke Israelieten zijn, welker is de aanneming tot kinderen, en de heerlijkheid, en de verbonden, en de wetgeving, en de dienst van God, en de beloftenissen;
Finnish	ovat israelilaisia: heidän on lapseus ja kirkkaus ja liitot ja lain antaminen ja jumalanpalvelus ja lupaukset;
French	qui sont Israélites, � qui appartiennent l`adoption, et la gloire, et les alliances, et la loi, et le culte,
German	die da sind von Israel, welchen gehört die Kindschaft und die Herrlichkeit und der Bund und das Gesetz und der Gottesdienst und die Verheißungen;
Hungarian	A kik izráeliták, a kiké a fiúság és a dicsõség és a szövetségek, meg a törvényadás és az isteni tisztelet és az ígéretek;
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari	Mereka adalah umat yang terpilih dan Allah menjadikan mereka anak-anak-Nya sendiri, serta menyatakan kuasa-Nya kepada mereka. Ia mengadakan perjanjian dengan mereka dan memberikan kepada mereka hukum agama. Allah memberitahukan kepada mereka bagaimana mereka harus beribadat dan mereka sudah menerima pula janji-janji-Nya.
Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama	yaitu orang-orang Israel yang ada hak menjadi anak angkat, dan kemuliaan Allah, dan pakat setia, dan Taurat, dan ibadat, dan segala perjanjian Allah,
Italian	Essi sono Israeliti e possiedono l'adozione a figli, la gloria, le alleanze, la legislazione, il culto, le promesse,
Maori	No Iharaira nei ratou; no ratou nei te whakatamarikitanga, te kororia, nga kawenata, te homaitanga o te ture, te karakia ki te Atua, me nga kupu whakaari;
Norwegian	de som er israelitter, de som barnekåret og herligheten og paktene og lovgivningen og gudstjenesten og løftene tilhører,
Rumanian	Ei sknt Israeliyi, au knfierea, slava, legqmintele, darea Legii, slujba dumnezeiascq, fqgqduinyele,
Shuar	Israer Weeá shuar ainiawai. Tura ni Uchiría ainis Yus achikiaruiti. Yusa wincharisha niijiai pujumiayi. Yaunchu Chicham ni weatrijiai iwiaramuncha tura Muisais akupkamuncha susamiayi. Tura Yusa Jeen Niin shiir awajsatniun jintintiamiayi. Tura ukunam shiir tsankatkattana nunasha ujakmiayi.
Swahili	Hao ndio watu wa Israeli ambao Mungu aliwateua wawe watoto wake, akawashirikisha utukufu wake; aliagana nao, akawapa Sheria yake, imani ya kweli na ahadi zake.
Swedish	De äro ju israeliter, dem tillhöra barnaskapet och härligheten och förbunden och lagstiftningen och tempeltjänsten och löftena.
Uma	Owi to Israel mporata wori' rasi' ngkai Alata'ala, apa' hira' toe tauna to napobagia Alata'ala ngkai owi, napajadi' -ra ana' -na moto. Napopohiloi-ra baraka' -na. Ngkai pojanci Alata'ala hi to Israel owi, ria posidaia' -ra hante Alata'ala. Nawai' -ra Atura-na, natudui' -ra ada mpepue' -ra. Wori' pojanci Alata'ala to lompe' hi to Israel.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Misspellings: Israelites

Misspellings
	"Israelites" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Isabellita, israelitish, isrealites. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Anagrams: Israelites

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-e-e-i-i-l-r-s-s-t"
	-1 letter: realities, serialise, serialist.
	-2 letters: ateliers, earliest, leariest, leisters, realises, realists, realties, reslates, saltiers, saltires, satirise, seriates, stealers, tearless, tireless.
	-3 letters: aeriest, airiest, airless, artless, atelier, earless, easiest, easters, elaters, ireless, laities, lasters, leasers, leister, liaises, listees, listers, realest, realise, realist, relates, relists, resails, resales, reseals, reseats, resiles, resites, reslate, retails, retiles, sailers, salters.
	Words containing the letters "a-e-e-i-i-l-r-s-s-t"
	+1 letter: revitalises.
	+2 letters: epistolaries, internalises, literariness, materialises, restabilizes, secularities, semitrailers, shrievalties.
	+3 letters: antislaveries, erasabilities, irritableness, painterliness, personalities, reusabilities, semiliterates, specularities, subliteracies, versatilities.
	+4 letters: ceremonialists, credentialisms, criticalnesses, desirabilities, dilatorinesses, illiterateness, intercessional, literarinesses, reestablishing, rehospitalizes, separabilities, severabilities, shareabilities, solitarinesses, superqualities, ultrasensitive, universalities, vesicularities.
	+5 letters: antifederalists, despiritualizes, disequilibrates, eclaircissement, electrodialysis, generalisations, hypersalinities, impersonalities, incrementalisms, incrementalists, inheritableness, irritablenesses, materfamiliases, measurabilities, mensurabilities, observabilities, overstabilities, painterlinesses, parasexualities, perishabilities, pictorialnesses, preestablishing, proletarianises, reasonabilities, resectabilities, respiritualizes, semicrystalline, semiterrestrial, sinterabilities, solderabilities, spiritualnesses, spreadabilities, superspecialist.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.