The Routledge Dictionary of Judaism
A member of one of the tribes of ancient Israel, whose history, culture, and religion are described in the Hebrew Bible.
The term “Israelite” distinguishes the religious practices of the children of ABRAHAM and SARAH from the religion of Judaism that emerged out of the biblical faith and that has been followed since the late biblical period by the people commonly referred to as Jews. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, some westernized Jews adopted the term “Israelite” to refer to themselves as adherents of the monotheistic faith of the Hebrew Scriptures but not as practitioners of Judaism, defined—negatively in their view—by its attention to a code of obligatory law and ritual.
This is the complete article, containing 114 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page).
View More Summaries on Israelite
