Many folks never heard of the distinction between Israel and Judah. In Genesis we read of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and of God's relationship to them. Abraham has other children and so does Isaac but the scriptures primarily deal with Jacob and his offspring from the time his name is changed to Israel [Gen.35:10]. The twelve sons and one daughter of Jacob are then called....the Children of Israel and the rest of the Old Testament is their story.

We all know of the enslavement in Egypt and [Genesis 48] explains the division of the tribe of Joseph into Ephraim and Manessah. During the Egyptian captivity there are thirteen tribes of Israel but after the Exodus the tribe of Moses and Aaron, the Levites, becomes a priestly tribe and is apportioned by population to serve the other tribes. That brings the tribal count to twelve.

After the exodus from Egypt the kingdom of Israel (all tribes) is divided. You can read of this in the books of Kings and Chronicles...primarily chapters eleven and twelve of 1 Kings. Ten tribes, in the north, kept the name Israel. The two tribes in the south are Judah and Benjamin....with their share of the Levitical priest line. They are then referred to as Judah...jointly and later in Biblical history they become known as "Jews" or the "house of Judah."

There are many prophesies to the nations of Israel and Judah...both jointly and separately, so when reading prophecy it helps to make this distinction. Later in history God in His anger sent the northern kingdom (house of Israel) into captivity to Assyria [11 Kings 17:24] and....they never return. The king of Assyria repopulated the now vacant land with pagans [11 Kings 17:6] and these folks blend in with their paganism some features of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob [11 Kings 17:33-34] with their now new neighbors....the Jews or the southern kingdom or....the house of Judah.

The ten tribes (house of Israel) is now lost to history....they became known by other names. Josephus knew who and where they were in the first centruy. Jesus knew who and where they were as He instructed His Apostles to "Go to them." The lost sheep of the house of Israel.

The southern kingdom of Judah (Jews) lived on in that area until they too were taken captive....to Babylon about 600 BC [11 Kings 25:1-7] but, they returned to the land seventy years later and the books of Ezra and Nehemiah chronicle that episode.

During the first century, the time we read most about in the New Testament, the ten tribes of Israel have still not returned and they are known as Israelites...and are NEVER REFERRED TO AS JEWS! The country of Judea is populated by Jews who are also Israelites, one tribe of the Isralites. These ten tribes are who Our Saviour refers to when He speaks of the "Lost Sheep," [Matthew 10:6 and Matthew 15:24] He also references them in [John 21:15-17]. He is not speaking here of the Jews of Judea. He was one...so were most of the Apostles. He is not speaking of the Gentiles or He would have not called them His lost Sheep !

So all Jews are of Israel but Israel is not all Jews.