To: blam; dfwgator
It is both. Historically there were twelve tribes of Israel, named for each son of Jacob (renamed Israel), and their descendants made up each tribe. Judah was one of them, and the term "Jew" is derived from his name. Many of the descendants of the tribes have been lost or were assimulated into other cultures over time. Modern Jews may not necessarily be from the tribe of Judah but the term Jew is today used as a general term for all.
That being said, Jews are also those who practice Judaism. One can convert to Judaism and be called a Jew yet have no known genetic link to the line of Judah.
16 posted on
09/17/2002 10:18:41 AM PDT by
agrace
To: agrace; LostTribe
18 posted on
09/17/2002 10:24:38 AM PDT by
blam
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