Israel consists of twelve tribes, and only one of them could claim to be Jews, that would be those coming from the tribe of Judah.
Depending on how you count, Israel has thirteen tribal names (with Levi not receiving a land allotment): Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Levi, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Benjamin, Ephraim, Manasseh.
But more to the point, Scripture itself shows that the word
“Jew” is not limited to physical descendants of Judah. In
Esther 2:5, Mordecai is explicitly called both
“a Jew” and
“a Benjaminite.”
The same can be said of the apostle Paul
Romans 11:1
“I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.”
Acts 22:3
"I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day."
As Greg Bahnsen argues, Scripture’s own testimony is the fundamental evidence of its authority; therefore we must let Scripture’s own usage of terms (such as “Jew”) govern our definitions, rather than importing definitions from outside the Bible.
I would also note that we often have a tendency to exalt the state of Israel above other nations, whereas Scripture states that God’s purpose in granting salvation to the Gentiles is to
provoke the Jews to jealousy and so bring them back to Himself.
Romans 11:11
I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
We should also note the solemn words of the Jewish crowd before Pontius Pilate:
Matthew 27:25
“His blood be on us and on our children”
Please understand that my point is not to demean Israel, but to remind Christians that, according to Scripture, we should not regard the nation of Israel as
more exalted than any other Gentile nation, which seem to be a dispensational Christian thing. It naught ought be the case in my opinion because the bible plainly states:
Romans 2:11
For there is no respect of persons with God.
Acts 10:34-35
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
In His Grip
c.