Who is a Jew: The Meaning of the Word Jew
How do you dertermine who is a Jew?
First we need to know what a Jew is. To do this we have to know that there is a Denotation (the meaning of the word) and a Connotation (what people believe the word means and eventualy it will become the Denotation) for every word.
The Denotation for Jew in the time of Judah and Israel.
Someone from the tribe of Judah.
The Connotation for Jew in the time of Judah and Israel.
Someone from the Kingdom of Judah.
Originally, the term Yehudi referred specifically to members of the tribe of Judah, as distinguished from the other tribes of Israel. However, after the death of King Solomon, the nation of Israel was split into two kingdoms: the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel (I Kings 12; II Chronicles 10). After that time, the word Yehudi could properly be used to describe anyone from the kingdom of Judah, which included the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi, as well as scattered settlements from other tribes. The most obvious biblical example of this usage is in Esther 2:5, where Mordecai is referred to as both a Yehudi and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
We can both see that the term Jew is applied to somone that is from the Kingdom of Judah. In the 6th century B.C.E., the kingdom of Israel was conquered by Assyria and the ten tribes were exiled from the land (II Kings 17), leaving only the tribes in the kingdom of Judah remaining to carry on Abraham’s heritage. These people of the kingdom of Judah were generally known to themselves and to other nations as Yehudim (Jews).
So it is seen that the term Yehudim now describes the only remaining adherents of the religion of Abraham. So it can be assumed that the Denotation and Connotation changed at that point.
The Denotation
Someone from the Kingdom of Judah
The Connotation
A follower of the religion of Judah.
After Judah is conquered the Connotation becomes more widespread because Judah no longer exsists.
The Denotation
Someone from the Kingdom of Judah
The Connotation
A follower of the religion of Judah.
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. Technically, this usage is inaccurate, just as it is technically inaccurate to use the word “Indian” to refer to the original inhabitants of the Americas. However, this technically inaccurate usage is common both within the Jewish community and outside of it.
This is my take on it, I will expand this more once I figure out how to get this thing to work.