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Who is considered the first Jew and why?


By Chani Benjaminson

Abraham, 1813-1638 BCE, is considered the first Jew.

A native of Mesopotamia, he rejected the idolatrous ways of his ancestors and contemporaries; he was the first person to use his own cognitive abilities to discover and recognize the one G‑d. He then actively publicized his newfound monotheistic beliefs among his fellow citizens.

Eventually G‑d revealed Himself to Abraham and commanded him to leave his ancestral home and travel to the land of Canaan (later known as the Land of Israel). G‑d then promised this land as the eternal inheritance of his descendants.

Abraham took upon himself the observance of the mitzvot (divine commandments) and at the age of 99 he followed G‑d's command to circumcise himself and the men of his household.

Click here for more on Abraham and his spiritual wanderings.

See also "Jews" or "Israelites"?

Best wishes,

Chani Benjaminson,
Chabad.org
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By Chani Benjaminson   More articles...  |   RSS Listing of Newest Articles by this Author
Chani Benjaminson is co-director of Chabad of the South Coast, coordinator of Chabad.org's Ask the Rabbi and Feedback department and is a member of the editorial staff of Chabad.org
All names of persons and locations or other identifying features referenced in these questions have been omitted or changed to preserve the anonymity of the questioners.

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Reader Comments
Latest Comments:
Posted: July 16, 2009
I am asking about a Jew in terms of NATIONALITY -

If Abraham was a Jew, then it makes Ismael also a Jew, doesn't it?
Posted By Truth Seeker

Posted: Mar 26, 2008
Protocol
Perhaps Sarah's mother was the first Jew. Otherwise how could Issac be a Jew?Abraham converted so he could marry her.
Posted By Abijah

Posted: Mar 23, 2008
to gershon
where is the proof that the israelites are that nation?
Posted By Anonymous

Posted: Mar 23, 2008
Who is considered the first Jew
Mordechai was the first referenced as a Jew, but Abraham the first Hebrew.
Posted By Jerome, Hillsborough, NJ

Posted: Mar 22, 2008
scriptural proof
We read in Gen. 12:

1. And the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.
2. And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will aggrandize your name, and [you shall] be a blessing.

This nation became the Jewish nation.
Posted By gershon

Posted: Mar 22, 2008
First,
Avraham is mentioned in written Torah as being Hebrew (in Bereshith as 'Avraham the Hebrew'); and although the word 'Jew' ('Yehud', 'Yehudi') is derived from Judah, being Hebrew and being Jewish are pretty much synonomous; and Avraham is the first to be specifically described as 'Hebrew'.

Coincidentally, the first known Jew in America was also named Avraham:

Avraham Karp.

He resided in Petersburg, Virginia; a town I've actually been in on a number of occasions.
Posted By Thomas Karp, New Haven , Ct.

Posted: Mar 19, 2008
First Jew
Were there Jews before the Giving of the Torah?
Posted By Eliezer, montevideo, uruguay

Posted: Mar 19, 2008
Why not Noah?
Wasn't Noah righteous as well? And where is the reference in the torah that Abraham, was indeed the first Jew?
Posted By Anonymous



 


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