the First Week of Advent
Click here to learn more!
Bible Dictionaries
Jew, Jews, Jewess, Jewish, Jewry, Jews' Religion
Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words
or is used (a) adjectivally, with the lit. meaning, "Jewish," sometimes with the addition of aner, "a man," Acts 10:28; 22:3; in Acts 21:39 with anthropos, in some mss. (a man in the generic sense); the best mss. omit the phrase here; in Acts 13:6 , lit., "a Jewish false-prophet;" in John 3:22 , with the word chora, "land" or "country," signifying "Judean," lit., "Judean country;" used by metonymy for the people of the country; (b) as a noun, "a Jew, Jews," e.g., Matthew 2:2; Mark 7:3 . The name "Jew" is primarily tribal (from Judah). It is first found in 2 Kings 16:6 , as distinct from Israel, of the northern kingdom. After the Captivity it was chiefly used to distinguish the race from Gentiles, e.g., John 2:6; Acts 14:1; Galatians 2:15 , where it denotes Christians of Jewish race; it distinguishes Jews from Samaritans, in John 4:9; from proselytes, in Acts 2:10 . The word is most frequent in John's Gospel and the Acts; in the former "it especially denotes the typical representatives of Jewish thought contrasted with believers in Christ ... or with other Jews of less pronounced opinions, e.g., John 3:25; 5:10; 7:13; 9:22 " (Lukyn Williams, in Hastings' Bib. Dic.); such representatives were found, generally, in opposition to Christ; in the Acts they are chiefly those who opposed the Apostles and the Gospel. In Romans 2:28,29 the word is used of ideal Jews, i.e., Jews in spiritual reality, believers, whether Jews or Gentiles by natural birth. The feminine, "Jewess," is found in Acts 16:1; 24:24 .
It also denotes Judea, e.g., Matthew 2:1; Luke 1:5; John 4:3 , the word "country" being understood [cp. (a) above]. In Luke 23:5; John 7:1 , where the AV has "Jewry," the RV translates it as usual, "Judea."denotes "Jewish," Titus 1:14 .
"Judaism," denotes "the Jews' religion," Galatians 1:13,14 , and stands, not for their religious beliefs, but for their religious practices, not as instituted by God, but as developed and extended from these by the traditions of the Pharisees and scribes. In the Apocrypha it denotes comprehensively "the Government, laws, institutions and religion of the Jews."
lit., "to Judaize," i.e., to conform to "Jewish" religious practices and manners, is translated "to live as do the Jews," in Galatians 2:14 .
"in Jewish fashion," is translated "as do the Jews," in Galatians 2:14 .
These files are public domain.
Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Jew, Jews, Jewess, Jewish, Jewry, Jews' Religion'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ved/j/jew-jews-jewess-jewish-jewry-jews-religion.html. 1940.
