Dear Refiner's Fire...

First, I like to begin with a statement that scripture gives us about Israel is that their name or nationality was never JEW ISRAELI, OR SEMITE. Scholars and "bible experts" say the name Jew was only applied to the tribe of Judah (Yahudah in the Hebrew). So, Moses could not have been a Jew because he was from the tribe of Levi making him a Levity (Num 26:59). Those that were from the tribe of Yahudah, were known as Yahudites in Hebrew of Judahites in English, not Jews, and Yahudites only made up 1/12th of the nation of Israel.

The word/name "JEW" is not a Hebrew word, It's English. There is no letter "J" or "j" equivalent in the Hebrew language. As a matter of fact, the letter "J" is one of the last letters to be added to the English alphabet. So I ask, "What is the nationality of the Hebrews?"

Our Response....

(1) You don't need to give us a lesson on Hebrew. Most of us at The Refiner's Fire are Jews and we speak Hebrew.

(2) Abraham was the first Hebrew. God changed his name from Abram (Gen. 17:5). In Gen. 14:13 he is called Abram the Hebrew. So we can see that Yeshua (Jesus) is descended from "Abram the Hebrew." Even to this day, Jews are also called "Hebrews", and the language of the Jews is "Hebrew."

Abraham and his descendants were given the unconditional covenant of the Promised Land (Gen. 17:8) and the covenant of circumcision (Gen. 17:10). Abraham is the father of the Jews (Acts 3:12-25). Isaac was his son and Jacob was his grandson (Matt. 1:2). Thus, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are known as the Patriarchs, the fathers of the Jews.

(3) Biblically, a Jew is a descendant of Abraham through Isaac through Jacob. A Jew is anyone whose mother and/or father is a Jew. Jews are a nation and a people. To be considered Jewish one must be a physical descendant of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 12:1-3).

"Jews" are any offspring of Isaac (with whom God made His Covenant). In common speech, the word "Jew" is used to refer to all of the physical and spiritual descendants of Jacob/Israel, as well as to the patriarchs Abraham and Isaac and their wives, and the word "Judaism" is used to refer to their beliefs.

Where does the word "Jew" come from? It comes from the Hebrew word Yehuda (Judea) which was the ancient Kingdom of Jews in the Land of Israel. After the conquest of the southern Kingdom of Judea and the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the Romans in 70 c.e., the majority of Jews left Israel and dispersed throughout the world. Since then there have been Jewish communities in all countries including Europe, Ethiopia, India, China, and surrounding Middle Eastern countries. Jews took on the complexion of whoever was living in that area. In hotter climates we developed darker skin and in colder climates we developed lighter skins. If you go to Israel today you will see Jews of all different colors and features.

Abraham was chosen by God to become the father of a new nation--the Jewish one. There are many reasons and explanations for this. Among others: a) Abraham realized the existence of God on his own, while living among idolaters who completely denied God's existence. Furthermore, Abraham did not keep this knowledge for himself, rather he spread it to anyone who would listen and influenced many people to acknowledge God. b) Abraham was the first person who was a actually ready to sacrifice his life for God.