Truly Who Is A “Jew”

In order to know who a Jew is, you must first understand how the term came about and the development of the corresponding languages.

Originally, the term was the Hebrew word Yeh-uw-diy (pronounced Yehoodee) and it was used to describe those who were descendants of the tribe of Judah (Yeh-uw-dah), one of the twelve tribes of Israel (Yisra’el). So how was it changed and why? Before I get to that, let me explain some Hebrew.

What we now see as the V (Vav) in Hebrew was from the beginning of the language a W, or rather it had the W sound. [Since this article was first written, 2001, further research has shown that it was first a V and then for a time was used as a W, finally returned back to the V]. Notice the W that I have written above. As the language went through history the W sound of the Vav came to rest only with the two vowel sounds of the “u” and “o” that it was combined with, and the remaining Vav usage used the V sound. The combination of these two vowel sounds with the Vav, in a sense, annul the consonant sound altogether, as they carry the same sound when used with the other letters. A Vav with an “o” is represented as “ow” (pronounced “oh”) and a Vav with an “u” is represented as “uw” (pronounced “oo”). It is this “oo” sound that all of the languages tried so hard to maintain.

In approximately 960 to 930 B.C.E. (Before Common Era) the 12 tribes split into two kingdoms, Judah and Israel. Israel consisted of ten tribes and the northern territory. Judah was around Jerusalem. Approximately 725 to 720 B.C.E. the kingdom of Israel was taken captive by the Assyrians. It was after this time that the name Yehuwdiy (Jew) became synonymous with all the Israelites, due to Judah being the only reigning kingdom remaining.

In 325 B.C.E. after Alexander the Great had conquered the Israelites and Judah (along with Greece, Egypt, Persia, and part of India) they became Hellenized and used the Greek language because it was the order and language of the conquerors and commerce throughout Alexander’s empire. So Judah, and the Israelites were both Hellenized before the arrival of the Romans.

The Hebrew word Yehuwdiy was then translated into Greek as “Ioudai” (pronounced Ee-oo-die). Notice how “Yeh” was replaced with “I”, “uw” was replaced with “ou”, and “diy” was replaced with “dai”. All of this to try to retain the same sounds, as close as possible.

In 200 B.C.E., the Old Testament was translated into the Greek language by the Israelites.

The Romans who used the Latin language had some dealings with the Greeks, but it was not until about 146 B.C.E., when they conquered the former Greek empire, that they became really Hellenized.

Still at this point, none of the languages had a “J” in their alphabet and neither Greek nor Hebrew have a “J” in their languages to this day.

It would not be until 63 B.C.E. that the Romans conquered Judea (Judah and the Israelites). The Romans did not force their language on their conquered territories, but rather continued the use of Greek. Latin was used only by the true Romans; therefore, the New Testament was written in Greek in the First century C.E. (Common Era). It was not until 390 C.E. (450 years after the conquering) that the Scriptures were translated into Latin.

Here again the Greek word “Ioudai” became the Latin word “Ieudae.” Notice the only one real change is the “ou” to “eu” but it retains the “oo” sound. To this day Latin uses the “I.” The only “J” in Latin is used in law and youth only, and even then it was not developed until its counterpart in the other languages.

The “J” was developed in the small letter form about 1200 C.E. between the 11^th & 17^th centuries, or Late Middle Ages, when two “I”s were written together by the scribes, a tail was added to the second (last) “I”. In other words, instead of the “ii” they wrote “ij”. This is handwriting not printing by the press. Later, the first “I” began to receive the tail, instead of “ij” they now wrote “ji”.

In 1380 C.E. John Wycliffe (born circa 1320s) and his followers hand wrote the first English translation of the Bible in England near Oxford University. Mr. Wycliffe, whose first name was actually “Iohann,” used the “I” not a “J.”

The printing press was invented by Iohann (John) Gutenberg of Germany and perfected in the 1400s in the Rhineland. The first thing he printed was the Latin translation of the Bible in the 1450s and there was no “J” in this printing. By 1500, Italy had some 73 printing presses all printing the Latin Bible with no “J.”

Before I go further, let me show you the origins of the English language. It is derived from an ancient Germanic language, called Low German, spoken by the Anglo-Saxons which incorporated words of Scandinavian or Celtic origin. Although Rome conquered the British Isles in 120 to 180 C.E., Latin was of little influence. Even less so than it had been in Judea. It was not until Christianity came between 440 and 597 C.E. that it started having some real influence. Later in the 1060s, the Norman French invaded and the combination of all became the English vernacular. As you see, it is primary Germanic [with some Briton influence from the beginning].

In 1522 C.E., Martin Luther translated the Bible into German and the Latin “Ieudae” became “Ieude.” The Germans gave their “I” a “j” consonant sound at the beginning of words, as such the “I” at the beginning began to receive the characteristic tail by the scribes in the 1600s.

William Tyndale printed the first Bible in English on the printing press in 1525-6 C.E., Myles Coverdale printed an English Bible version in 1535 C.E., John Rogers (notice the J) printed one in 1537 C.E., The Great Bible was printed in 1539 C.E., the Geneva Bible in 1560 C.E., the Bishop’s Bible in 1568 C.E., the Duoay Old Testament in 1609 C.E., and the King James version in 1611 C.E. In English the “Ieude” of German became “Jeue,” dropping the “d.”

As English matured, the “Jeue” became “Jew” both of which are pronounced “Joo.” As you see, the “oo” sound prevailed through it all. It was not the invention of the printing press that brought about the “J,” but rather the handwriting of scribes. The Germanic “J” consonant sound of the “I” also had its influence. Mainly it is all the evolution slowly as each language tries to translate the sound of the word into their language and characters.

So finally, Who is a “Jew?” An Englishized title, incorrectly representing all Israelites, from the original Hebrew title, Yehuwdiy, which correctly described the descendants of One tribe of the Israelites, Judah (Yehudah), until circa 720 B.C.E. when it was applied to all Israelites. The first usage of “Jew” (Yehuwdiy) in the Bible is 2 Ki. 16:6. Yahoshua Himself says He is a “Jew” (Yehuwdiy) and the King of the Jews (Melekh HaYehuwdiy). So a Jew is a Yehuwdiy.

Also of note, the word Greek or Greece should be properly written as ‘Ellanis or ‘Ellas (pronounced Hellanis or Hellaws), which is where we get the words Hellenized or Hellenistic. The title, Greek, is the Englishized Latin title, Graecia, which meant “Barbarian.” Originally, the Greeks and their language were barbaric to the Romans because they could not understand it. Later the Romans came to understand the language, but the title stuck.

These examples are not the only variations in spelling that happens when translations are made. I will show only one more, Mashiyach (pronounced Maw-shee-ak) in Hebrew, has come to be spelled Mashiah and Messiah in English.

First published 1-2002, © 2001, 2017

Return to Table of Contents

Or continue to A Genuine Messianic Jewish Identity