If you read The Hebrew Scriptures, it tells you flat out who and what we are. My explanation to you is from the Old Testament. Before there were “Jews,” which only references the tribe of Judah, there were Hebrews.
After the Exodus, all of the races and ethnicities that left with the Hebrews were shaped and reshaped as ONE People. HaIvri. The People.
It includes ALL the tribes and ALL those who gave their oral, verbal commitment to HaShem, ONE G-d, ONE people, while wandering in the desert. They included people from all over the world who left Egypt with the Hebrews.
There were NO Jews then.
Oh, I agree, but I will assume you agree there are Jews now. Or at least people who view themselves as and whom others view as Jews.
It’s not a big deal, but I just find it interesting that Jews just don’t fit easily into any one of the three common ways of grouping “peoples” today: religious group, ethnic group, nationality. They are all three at different times and from different perspectives.
The term ‘Jew’ is strictly unofficial, indicating the tribe of kingship to whom allegiance is owed.
The technical category is ‘ben Yisroel’ or ‘ben Yaakov’ (’son of Israel’ or ‘son of Jacob’).
The idea that there is a difference between Jews and the ‘true Israel’ is a Christian fantasy.