Jews

Biblical Occurrences

The term "Jew" originally referred to a person belonging to the tribe of Judah, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, or to the southern kingdom of Judah. After the Babylonian exile and the return from exile, its meaning broadened to designate the people of Israel as a whole.

In the Old Testament, the term appears frequently in post-exilic books such as Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Daniel. Esther 2:5 introduces Mordecai as "a certain Jew." The Korean Revised Version, New Edition (Gaeyeok Gaejeong) generally renders the term as "people of Judah" or "Judahite" in the Old Testament and as "Jew" in the New Testament.

In the New Testament, the term appears often in the Gospels, Acts, and the Pauline epistles. Jesus was called "King of the Jews" (Matthew 2:2; John 19:19). Paul wrote that the gospel comes "to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16).

Background

The Hebrew Yehudi and the Greek Ioudaios both derive from "Judah." After the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, the remaining people of Judah became the core of the nation through the exile, and the name thus became established. In the Bible it is used alongside the older name Hebrews and the name "Israel," which designates the covenant people.

In the New Testament period, the Jews were divided into various parties, such as the Pharisees and the Sadducees. There were also many Greek-speaking Hellenistic Jews living dispersed outside Palestine. Circumcision, the Sabbath, and dietary laws served as markers by which Jews distinguished themselves from Gentiles.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

The New Testament regards the Jews as the people entrusted with the oracles of God (Romans 3:1-2). It also declares that "salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22). At the same time, it teaches that in Christ there is no distinction, "neither Jew nor Greek" (Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 2:14-17). Paul states that a true Jew is one who has received circumcision of the heart, not outward circumcision (Romans 2:28-29).

Interpretations and Issues

• The future of Israel: The statement in Romans 11:26 that "all Israel shall be saved" is read differently by different traditions. Dispensationalism holds that ethnic Israel will be restored within a divine plan distinct from the church. The covenant theology tradition generally regards the church as the one people of God, composed of Jews and Gentiles together. Within this tradition, some read the verse as referring to the whole body of believers, while others take it to mean that many Jews will be converted at the end of the age.
• The modern State of Israel: Some regard the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Others hold that the covenant people of Scripture must be distinguished from the modern state.
• "The Jews" in the Gospel of John: In John's Gospel, the term often refers to the religious leaders who opposed Jesus. Since the Holocaust, many churches have acknowledged with regret that this usage was historically employed to condemn the Jewish people as a whole.
• The Talmud and the Bible: The Talmud is not Scripture but a collection of later rabbinic interpretations. Many of the stories commonly circulated as "Jewish methods of education" or "Jewish wisdom" do not appear in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

Romans 1:16 and Romans 9–11 are frequently cited in sermons on missions and on Israel. Pilgrimages to the Holy Land in Israel are also widely undertaken. Some churches and mission organizations have adopted evangelism among Jews as a missionary task.