Topical Bible: The Jews: Descended from Abraham

◄ The Jews: Descended from Abraham ►

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The Jews, also known as the Israelites or Hebrews, are a people group with a rich history that traces its lineage back to the patriarch Abraham. According to the biblical narrative, Abraham is considered the father of the Jewish nation, and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob form the twelve tribes of Israel. This entry explores the biblical foundation of the Jewish identity, their covenant relationship with God, and their historical significance as God's chosen people.

Abraham: The Patriarch

Abraham, originally named Abram, is a central figure in the Bible and is regarded as the founding patriarch of the Jewish people. The Book of Genesis introduces Abraham as a man of great faith, called by God to leave his homeland and journey to a land that God would show him. In Genesis 12:1-3 , God makes a covenant with Abraham, promising to make him a great nation: "The LORD said to Abram, 'Go from your country, your people, and your father's household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.'"

The Covenant with Abraham

The covenant between God and Abraham is foundational to the identity of the Jewish people. In Genesis 15, God reaffirms His promise to Abraham, assuring him that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. This covenant is further solidified in Genesis 17, where God changes Abram's name to Abraham, meaning "father of many nations," and institutes the rite of circumcision as a sign of the covenant. Genesis 17:7 states, "I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you."

Isaac and Jacob: The Line of Promise

The promise given to Abraham is passed down to his son Isaac and then to his grandson Jacob, who is later named Israel. Isaac, the child of promise, is born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age, fulfilling God's promise of an heir. The covenant is reiterated to Isaac in Genesis 26:3-4 : "Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham."

Jacob, Isaac's son, becomes the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. In Genesis 28:13-14 , God appears to Jacob in a dream, reaffirming the covenant: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south."

The Twelve Tribes of Israel

Jacob's twelve sons become the progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel, each tribe bearing the name of one of Jacob's sons. These tribes form the nation of Israel, which plays a central role in the biblical narrative. The tribes are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph (whose sons Ephraim and Manasseh are often counted as separate tribes), and Benjamin.

The Chosen People

Throughout the Old Testament, the Jews are depicted as God's chosen people, set apart to fulfill His purposes on earth. This special status is not based on their merit but on God's sovereign choice and His covenant with Abraham. Deuteronomy 7:6-8 emphasizes this unique relationship: "For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession."

Historical Significance

The history of the Jews is marked by periods of faithfulness and rebellion, blessing and judgment. Despite their struggles, the Jewish people have maintained their identity and continue to play a significant role in God's redemptive plan. The prophets foretold the coming of the Messiah, who would arise from the line of David, a descendant of Abraham, fulfilling God's promise to bless all nations through Abraham's seed (Genesis 22:18).

The Jewish people, as descendants of Abraham, hold a unique place in biblical history and theology. Their account is one of covenant, promise, and divine purpose, woven throughout the fabric of Scripture.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Isaiah 51:2
Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah that bore you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

John 8:39
They answered and said to him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Abraham
... So say the old traditions of the Arabs, who are descended from Abraham through Ishmael ...
You read again and again how his children, the Jews, turned back ...
/.../kingsley/the gospel of the pentateuch/sermon v abraham.htm

Whether Christ Should have Been Circumcised?
... He was descended from Abraham, who had received the commandment of circumcision
as a sign of his faith in Him. Fourthly, in order to take away from the Jews an ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether christ should have been 3.htm

False Civilization
... the Kenite tribe, which claimed"at least its chiefs"to be descended from Abraham,
by his ... away captive to Babylon with the rest of the Jews; and with ...
/.../kingsley/discipline and other sermons/sermon vi false civilization.htm

Faustus Does not Think it Would be a Great Honor to Sit Down with ...
... commendation of them, when He admonished the Jews that, if ... ground which he specifies
for our becoming Abraham's children, though not descended from him ...
/.../faustus does not think it.htm

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica and Berea.
... The Jews gloried in their extraction as noble, because they were descended from
Abraham, a man illustrious among his contemporaries, and a distinguished ...
/.../dick/lectures on the acts of the apostles/lecture xix paul and silas.htm

On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xxii. 42, Where the Lord Asks ...
... Now if it was said to Abraham, "In thy seed shall ... that question which He had proposed
to the Jews, when they ... If no one ascendeth but He that descended, that is ...
/.../sermons on selected lessons of the new testament/sermon xli on the words.htm

Jewish Chronology.
... which Abraham sojourned, and the entire family descended from him ... But the father
of this Abraham is Thare, [1062 ... it comes to pass that the Jews are denominated ...
/.../hippolytus/the refutation of all heresies/chapter xxvi jewish chronology.htm

To the Monks of Constantinople.
... the ever living God is Himself Creator of the Universe; the Jews that about ... of the
body and of the soul, and that they are descended from Abraham and David ...
/.../theodoret/the ecclesiastical history of theodoret/cxlv to the monks of.htm

From the Flood to Abraham
... except that of Arphaxad from whom descended Abram ... the Asiatic supremacy and especially
in the Jews who conquered ... In ages long before Abraham and Moses the world ...
/.../tidwell/the bible period by period/chapter iii from the flood.htm

Argument. --Again He Proves from the Gospel that Christ is God.
... the flesh." As much they as the Jews, holding that ... that he might return thither,
He who descended thence must ... only man, how did He say, "Before Abraham was, I ...
/.../chapter xv argument again he proves.htm