Hebrew

Hebrew (Heb. Ibri עַברַי, plur. עַברַים or עַברַיַּים Ex 3:18; fem. עַברַיָּה, "Hebrewess," plur. עַכרַיּות Greek Ε᾿βραῖος), a designation of the people of Israel, used first of their progenitor Abraham (Ge 14:13; Sept. τῷ περάτῃ). This name is never in Scripture applied to the Israelites except when the speaker is a foreigner (Ge 39:14,17; Ge 41:12; Ex 1:16; Ex 2:6; 1Sa 4:6,9, etc.), or when Israelites speak of themselves to one of another nation (Ge 40:15; Ex 1:19; Jon 1:9, etc.), or when they are contrasted with other peoples (Ge 43:32; Ex 1:3,7,15; De 15:12; 1Sa 13:3,7). See Gesenius, Thes. Heb. s.v. (The only apparent exception is Jer 34:9; but here there is probably such an implied contrast between the Jews and other peoples as would bring the usage under the last case.) By the Greek and Latin writers this is the name by which the descendants of Jacob are designated when they are not called Jews (Pausan. 5. 5,2; 6:24, 6; Plut. Sympos. 4, 6, 1; Tacit. Hist. 5, 1); and Josephus, who affects classical peculiarities, constantly uses it. In the N.T. we find the same contrast between Hebrews and foreigners (Ac 6:1; Php 3:5): the Hebrew language is distinguished from all others (Lu 23:38; Joh 5; Joh 2; Joh 19:13; Ac 21:40; Ac 26:14; Re 9:11); while in 2Co 11:22 the word is used as only second to Israelite in the expression of national peculiarity. On these facts two opposing hypotheses have been raised; the one that Israelite or Jew was the name by which the nation designated itself (just as the Welsh call themselves Cymry, though in speaking of themselves to a Saxon they would probably use the name Welsh); the other is that "Hebrew" is a national name, merely indicative of the people as a people, while Israelite is a sacred or religious name appropriate to them as the chosen people of God. This latter opinion Gesenius dismisses as "without foundation" (Lexicon by Robinson, s.v.), but it has received the deliberate sanction of Ewald (Ausführl. Lehrb. der Heb. Spr. p. 18, 5th ed.).

Derivation of the Name. —

I. From Abram, Abraei, and by euphony Hebrcei (August., Ambrose). Displaying, as it does, the utmost ignorance of the language, this derivation was never extensively adopted, and was even retracted by Augustine (Retract. 16). The euphony alleged by Ambrose is quite imperceptible, and there is no parallel in the Lat. meridie =medidie.