The word “Jewish” can refer to both an ethnicity/race and a religion. From a biblical perspective, the Jewish people originated as a tribal/ethnic group descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God chose the Israelites as His special people and entered into a covenant relationship with them. The religion of the Israelites (Judaism) was intrinsically tied to their ethnic identity as God’s chosen people.
However, over time, the ethnic and religious meanings of “Jewish” became more complex. After the destruction of the second Temple in 70 AD, observance of Judaism was no longer tied to residence in the land of Israel. Jews were dispersed around the world, maintaining their ethnic/cultural identity and religious practices. So “Jewish” took on more of a religious meaning, referring to practitioners of Judaism regardless of ancestry.
Yet the ethnic component remains relevant. Many Jews, even if non-religious, still identify ethnically as Jewish based on parentage/ancestry. Israel re-established a Jewish nation-state in 1948, once again tying Jewish ethnicity to residence in the ancestral homeland.
So in summary, from a biblical standpoint, “Jewish” referred primarily to an ethnic group – the descendants of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Over time, due to dispersion and assimilation, “Jewish” took on increased religious connotations. Yet the racial/ethnic undertones remain, as Jewishness is passed down through bloodline/ancestry. The religious and ethnic meanings are intertwined but distinct. One can be racially Jewish but not religiously, or a religious convert and so Jewish by faith but not ethnicity. The complexity of the term reflects the long, multifaceted history of the Jewish people.
Origin as a Chosen Race / Ethnic Group
The concept of the Jews as a distinct ethnic group begins in Genesis with God’s calling of Abram (later Abraham) and God’s covenant with him and his descendants (Gen 12:1-3). Several key passages establish the Israelites as God’s “treasured possession”, a people set apart from the nations around them:
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 7:6)
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 14:2)
“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;” (Exodus 19:5)
God sets apart the people of Israel as wholly belonging to Him. He repeatedly refers to them as “my people” and calls them His “treasured possession” (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 7:6; Deuteronomy 26:18). This special status is by virtue of God’s gracious choice, not because of any merit in the people themselves (Deuteronomy 7:7-9).
This chosen status is conferred on the ethnic descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. It is hereditary, passed down through the generations to all members of the Israelite race/tribe. When establishing His covenant with Abraham, God says “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you” (Genesis 17:7). The terms of the covenant are applied not just to Abraham but also his biological descendants.
The familial, ethnic nature of this group identity is reinforced through the emphasis on genealogies and family lines in the Old Testament. Much attention is given to tracing the descendants of Abraham through the 12 patriarchs (sons of Jacob/Israel). One’s Jewishness is determined at birth by matrilineal descent. Converts like Ruth were incorporated into the ethnicity through marriage and childbearing (Ruth 4:13-17). This ethnic definition of Jewishness remains the norm up through the New Testament era and beyond.
Yet even as an ethnic group, the Jewish people have a religious dimension to their identity from the start. They are called to follow the Lord God who has set them apart. Circumcision is the physical sign of their covenant relationship with Yahweh (Genesis 17:9-14). They are given religious laws to follow – first the Mosaic Covenant and later the Law of Moses.
So in summary, the Old Testament depicts the Jews as a chosen people, set apart for God’s purposes. Their special status is on the basis of God’s gracious election and covenant with Abraham and his offspring. They are a biological family unit descended from Abraham, the founder of the people group. So their identity is very much rooted in ethnicity and kinship. Yet this ethnic identity also has a strong religious component, as they are called by God to worship and obey Him.
Blurring of Ethnic and Religious Identity in the Intertestamental Period
In the Intertestamental Period (between the Old and New Testaments), the ethnic and religious connotations of “Jewish” began to shift and take on new layers of meaning. With the destruction of the Jewish temple in 586 BC, the exile to Babylon, and later conquest by Assyria, Greeks and Romans, the Jews were dispersed all throughout the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world.
Large vibrant Jewish communities sprang up in Alexandria, Egypt and other urban centers across the Empire. Living as minorities in foreign lands, the Jews had to maintain their religious and cultural identity without control of Judah/Israel as a sovereign homeland.
“Jewishness” was redefined around portable cultural identifiers like Sabbath, festivals, rites of passage, kosher laws, houses of prayer, sacred texts, etc. Proselytes converted to the Jewish faith while still Gentile by blood. So by the first century AD, there were both ethnically Jewish communities (descendants of Abraham through Jacob’s 12 sons) and communities of non-ethnic converts to Judaism. There emerged different categories and nuances around Jewish identity.
Yet even in dispersion, Jewish ethnic identity remained strong. Genealogies were scrupulously maintained, tracing back family trees generation by generation. The Jews continued to think of themselves as exiles longing for restoration of their homeland. As Dutch scholar Vemer notes, “When a Jew thought of identity, he thought in terms of peoplehood and nationhood, not in terms of religion.”
The blurring of Jewish ethnicity and religion accelerated after the destruction of the Second Temple and expulsion of Jews from Jerusalem in 70 AD. With no central place of worship and sacrifice, Judaism had to reinvent itself around localized communities gathering to study scripture, pray and uphold traditions. Anyone could convert to this culture/religion, irrespective of ancestry.
So from the Intertestamental Period onward, “Jewish” gains additional religious and cultural connotations alongside its longstanding ethnic meaning. Jews spread out across the world, yet maintained their peculiar customs and identity. Converts who joined them became Jewish insofar as they practiced Judaism, while still being Gentile in origin. The disentangling of Jewish ethnicity and faith had begun.
The Ethnic vs. Religious Meaning in the New Testament Era
What, then, did the term “Jewish” mean in a 1st century context? How do the New Testament authors use the term? In what sense were the early Jesus followers Jewish or not?
Clearly, an ethnic/racial component was included. When Paul calls himself a “Hebrew born of Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5), he means he is Jewish by blood, descended from Abraham through the tribe of Benjamin.
Jesus is called the “King of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2) as descended from David and heir to the messianic throne. He observes that “salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22), referring to Israel’s status as chosen conduit of God’s blessing to the world.
Yet at times “Jewish” also includes proselytes – Gentile converts like Nicholas of Antioch (Acts 6:5). The Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) likely included Diaspora Jews not native to Israel (Acts 6:1, 9:29). The early church wrestled with the boundary between Jew and Gentile, ethnic insider and outsider.
So in the first century, “Jewish” certainly retained its link to ethnicity, ancestry and bloodline. But it could also refer more broadly to adherence to Judaism irrespective of race. The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) deals with whether Gentiles must become religiously and culturally “Jewish” by following Moses. Paul rebukes Peter’s hypocrisy in withdrawing table fellowship from Gentile believers who do not live “like a Jew” (Galatians 2:14).
So the New Testament reflects the complexities of Jewish identity emerging after the Babylonian exile. Yet relative to the Gentile world, the early Christians are depicted as fundamentally Jewish in background and worldview. The earliest church was centered in Jerusalem, led by Jewish apostles. The gospel spread first in Jewish communities across the Empire. Only later did the separate identity of the largely Gentile church emerge. This Jewish foundation shaped everything from ethics to theology to practices like meeting on the Sabbath. Whether ethnic Jews or not, the first Christians found their spiritual roots in Judaism.
Jews as Both Religious Group and Distinct Worldwide Peoplehood After 70 AD
The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD was a pivotal turning point in Jewish history. With the Temple gone and Judea under Roman control, Judaism could no longer tie faith to residence in the homeland. Jews dispersed across the Empire to places like Spain, North Africa and Mesopotamia. Far-flung yet unified communities became the new norm.
Religious authority transferred from the priestly Temple elite to local rabbis and teachers. Synagogues replaced the Temple as centers of study, prayer and community life. Sabbath, circumcision, kosher laws and Torah study became portable markers of Jewish identity across the Diaspora. Since Jewish ethnicity, culture and faith were so intertwined, maintaining tradition was itself an act of ethnic preservation.
This portability allowed Jewish communities to persist globally even without political autonomy in Israel. One could remain spiritually and culturally Jewish anywhere through fidelity to beliefs, rituals and customs. So Rabbinic Judaism shifted the emphasis toward religion as the defining core of Jewishness. Any sincere convert could join the Jewish people through conversion/adoption of Judaism.
Yet the ethnic component of Jewish identity never disappeared. However assimilated, Jews retained a sense of distinct peoplehood, common origins and shared historical experience. Marriage and business ties between far flung communities preserved lineage. Rabbis maintained genealogies linking congregants back to common ancestors in Israel. The shared tie to Zion remained part of Jewish consciousness and liturgy.
So after 70 AD, Jewish ethnic identity persisted through lineages, traditions, communal bonds, endogamy, resistance to assimilation, and longing for national restoration. But with Judaism decentralized and portable, the religious connotation gained prominence. Where Temple sacrifice once defined Jewish faith, now study, repentance and obedience to Torah did so. Yet Jew remained both an ethnic category and religious one.
The Complex Meanings of Jewishness Today: Ethnic, Religious, Cultural
This brings us to the present where the meaning of “Jewish” includes several shades:
Ethnic/Race – Someone can be Jewish by bloodline and ancestry yet non-practicing religiously. Jewish ethnic groups like the Ashkenazim, Sephardim and Mizrahim often intermarry, preserving centuries old lineages.
Religion – One can convert to Judaism from another faith or lack thereof. Non-ethnic Jews are full members of the community if sincere converts.
Culture – Jewish cultural practices, foods, music, literature, holidays and lifecycle events mark even secular/atheist Jews who are Jewish by family heritage alone.
Zionism – Attachment to Israel as the Jewish homeland persists even among diaspora Jews with only weak religious identity.
Persecution – Jewish peoplehood coalesced in response to discrimination/threats. Memories of oppression shape Jewish identity globally.
As Jews moved around the world while preserving their identity, “Jewishness” took on layers like religion, culture, nationalism and historical consciousness. One need not follow Judaism strictly or live in Israel to identify as Jewish. Due to this complexity, debate continues on the belonging of marginal groups like Messianic Jews.
Yet the ethnic component persists underneath the layers. To this day Jewish identity passes “by blood” from parents to children. Converts make up only a tiny fraction of Jews globally. Peoplehood endures as Jews marry within the community and maintain diaspora ties worldwide. Customs that began as covenantal markers of Israel’s election remain ethnic emblems after 3,000 years. So ancient biblical origins and tribal lineage remain woven into the fabric of Jewish identity in all its forms.