Hebrew, any member of an ancient northern Semitic people that were the ancestors of the Jews. Biblical scholars use the term Hebrews to designate the descendants of the patriarchs of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)—i.e., Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (also called Israel [Genesis 33:28])—from that period until their conquest of Canaan (Palestine) in the late 2nd millennium BCE. Thenceforth these people are referred to as Israelites until their return from the Babylonian Exile in the late 6th century BCE, from which time on they became known as Jews.

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