Dear Martha,
The answer to your question is “that depends.” There are a lot of people mentioned in the Biblical text and a lot of them were pagan. But, if you are asking specifically about those who were believers in YHWH, then the answer to the question would be that they were Hebrew until after the return from Babylonian captivity in 536 when the Southern Kingdom of Judah and the Temple at Jerusalem becomes the focus of their worship. They were then and from that time forward known as Jews.
Best wishes,
Roy Blizzard |
