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Who were the Jews? Are they the same people who became the Israelite nation?
It all started with the patriarch Abraham. He had a son called Isaac, who in turn had a son called Jacob. Jacob wrestled with God (Gen. 32:22-31) and after this encounter, his name was changed to Israel (vs 28). Thus the Israelites were descendants of Jacob. On the other hand a Jew was originally a citizen of Judah, one of the tribes of Israel (2 Kings 16:6; 25:25; Jer. 32:12). The term however later took on a wider meaning to include all 12 tribes (Ezra 6:14-17), and thus all persons of the Hebrew race in whatever country they lived (Acts 2:10).