Bnei Israel
From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.
Children of Israel (Hebrew: בני ישראל), Bnai Israel, (or Bnai Yisrael, Bnei Yisrael, Bnei Yisroel), means Sons of Israel or Children of Israel in Hebrew. In the Torah they are the twelve sons of Jacob, renamed Israel in Genesis known as the Twelve Tribes.
In the Book of Exodus the Israelites are constantly referred to as the Bnai Yisrael when God speaks to Moses etc.
This name is not to be confused with the modern State of Israel whose citizens are called Israelis some of whom are Muslims and some Christians. Only about 70% of modern-day Israel's citizen's are actually Jews.
After the split of the Hebrew Kingdom, the Southern Kingdom came to be known as the Bnei Judah, while the Northern Kingdom came to be known as the Bnei Israel.
See the Children of Israel page for the interpretation of this Biblical term today.
Other appearances
There is an ethnic-religious group in Afghanistan which refers to itself as the Bnai Israel, or House of Israel, or Bani Israel. This group is referred to in English as the Pashtuns. Some Pashtuns claim to be the historical descendants of the "ten lost tribes" of the northern Kingdom of Israel which were taken into captivity by Assyria.
Jews in India are sometimes referred to as Benai Israel.
There is a Surah in the Quran with the title Bani Israel or House of Israel. This Surah takes its name from verse 4. This Surah was revealed in the last year before Hijrah. See Bani Israel (Quran sura).
