1657.—The Meaning of Jew.
Does the term Jew apply to all of the tribes of Israel, or to the tribe of Judah alone? The word is used as referring to a citizen of the kingdom of Judah, embracing the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and the Levites among them, tho spiritually it has a far larger meaning. Scholars differ as to its derivation. Some contend that it came from Jahwe (another way of spelling the covenant name of God), Jahwes (Jews, as in our language), the people of Jahwe or Jehovah. Others hold that it came from the tribe of Judah. But in God's mind this comprehended all; for in Judah was the rulership, and from that tribe came Christ, the Creator, the Redeemer, the King of all Israel. Gen. 49:10. Therefore Jesus declares, “Salvation is of the Jews.” John 4:22. And therefore Paul declares, “He is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Rom. 2:28, 29. The true child of God is a Jew, grafted in through Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.